GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

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GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards: GreenFields, official Pitch Partner of the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League, have launched their second annual Pitch of the Year Awards. The Pitch of the Year Awards recognise individuals and clubs who work tirelessly to ensure that their pitches look and feel the best that they can despite often having limited resources.

The awards were launched via an online survey sent out to all clubs and they will be able to make one vote for their top pitch in the EVO-STIK NPL. Clubs have 21 days to complete the survey, and with nominations from 80% of member clubs for the 2018 awards GreenFields are hoping that 2019 will see even more clubs cast their all-important vote.

GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

Paul Milton, Commercial Director at GreenFields commented: “We are incredibly proud to be sponsoring and judging the second EVO-STIK NPL Pitch of the Year Awards and hope that even more clubs vote this year. There is so much hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining a pitch and it is of paramount importance to us that both individuals and clubs receive the recognition they so rightly deserve.”

Once the votes are in GreenFields will be shortlisting three clubs per division to carry out pitch inspections at towards the end of March. The shortlisted pitches will be judged on the following criteria: clegg and moisture results, visibility of lines, overall grass coverage, quality of grass in goal mouth areas and overall surface stability. The judges will also take time to interview each Groundsman on aspects such as fertiliser frequency and Summer renovation plans as well as taking into account the staff used for pitch maintenance, the maintenance equipment owned by the club, the weather on the day of the visit, the geographical location and weather implications, the average hours of pitch usage and the level of irrigation in place at the club. GreenFields will document the visits by using a dedicated app and by taking a series of photos.

EVO-STIK Northern Premier League Chairman, Mark Harris commented: “The quality of playing surfaces is an essential part of any thriving Non-League football club and the volunteers who maintain them are cherished. The Pitch of the Year Awards complement the Football Association’s Groundsman of the Year scheme by giving further recognition to those pitches in the Northern Premier League that are already of an exceptional standard. We are delighted to be working with GreenFields on this initiative.”

As with last year’s winners, (Premier- Whitby Town FC, North- Trafford FC and South- Loughborough Dynamo FC) there will be one winner per division. The winners will be announced at the League’s Annual End of Season Awards on 15 June in Blackpool and will be presented with a trophy along with a £500 voucher to redeem against maintenance materials or services from GreenFields.

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Greenkeeper Award Nominations Double

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Greenkeeper Award Nominations Double: The number of entries into Toro’s Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award last year increased with over double the amount from employer nominations.

This is a fact attributed to commitment to career learning from golf club employers, course managers and head greenkeepers, says David Cole from award sponsor Reesink Turfcare.

Greenkeeper Award Nominations Double

“These results were hugely pleasing to us. It demonstrates the faith employers have in the abilities of their students. We’re aware that without those who nominate their greenkeepers we wouldn’t find the talent we do, hence why we applaud those who let us know about their bright and shining stars.”

Proving the point in 2018 was course manager Steve Oultram from The Wilmslow Golf Club who nominated Daniel Ashelby winner of the Student Award and course manager Jon McMullen from Lee Park Golf Club who nominated winner Danny Patten for the Young Student Award.

Steve is heading to the Golf Industry Show in San Diego in February as part of his prize for nominating Daniel, while Jon has won a trip to Vidauban Golf Club in the South of France, one of the most exclusive European golf clubs there is, for nominating Danny.

Steve views the all-expenses paid trip to San Diego for nominating Daniel in his bid to win the coveted trophy as a great opportunity to bring home to Wilmslow first-hand knowledge on the latest products and services to benefit the golf industry.

He says: “I’m really excited about my trip to the Golf Industry Show, it’s going to be really beneficial to network with some of the industry’s leading people in golf and learn about what we may expect to see in the UK, and at The Wilmslow Golf Club, in the near future.”

Meanwhile, as only the third winner of the Young Award, Danny Patten has cemented his position as one of the very best young greenkeepers in the country, and Jon is excited to have the chance to visit Danny at Vidauban Golf Club.

He says: “Vidauban is known as one of the finest golf courses in the world and it’s a very exclusive club, so to see it myself, and to hear about Danny’s time there, is something I wouldn’t miss. It’s going to be amazing to experience the course and the way it’s run; it’s an example of excellence, so taking in as much as I can while I’m there is going to be a top priority.”

David Cole, managing director of Reesink Turfcare who was first involved in the awards in 1993, says: “We are very proud of the status the Student Award holds within the industry and the opportunity it has provided for career advancement over the years. The fact that employers are showing they do too by nominating their talented greenkeepers is a promising sign for the future of the industry.

“It’s important to remember that it’s not just the students who benefit from winning, their nominators do also. Not only do they receive an all-expenses paid trip abroad, but we mustn’t forget that the winners’ success is testament to the excellent support they receive from their employers, who we are delighted to be able to recognise.”

Both employers and lecturers can make nominations. Visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk/sgoty to find out how to make a nomination into the 2019 awards.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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BIGGA Award For Harleyford GC

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BIGGA Award For Harleyford GC: The greenkeeping team at Buckinghamshire’s Harleyford Golf Club has been recognised for its incredible performance in preparing the course for The Matchroom Sport Championship at a prestigious industry awards ceremony.

The greenkeeping team at Harleyford was tonight (22 January) announced as winners of the BIGGA Awards 2019 Championship Performance of the Year sponsored by Rigby Taylor just five years after the club was declared bankrupt.

BIGGA Award For Harleyford GC

Course Manager Craig Earnshaw and members of the Harleyford team accepted the award at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration hosted by Jacobsen, taking place on the opening day of the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Harleyford, which is the home course of European Tour star Tyrell Hatton, has a team of six greenkeepers whose office is 1.5 miles from the golf course – meaning a 15-minute drive from the maintenance facility to the first tee.

The team has not only been commended for its incredible work in preparing the course to a standard worthy of hosting a professional tournament, but the staging of the event didn’t go without incident.

When stormy conditions and heavy rain on the eve of the tournament completely washed out the club’s bunkers, the team worked through the night to replace the sand, with even Craig’s fiancée, Tracy Forth, being enlisted to cut rough and blow fairways.

The tireless efforts of the team paid off and Harleyford has been chosen to again host the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Matchroom Sport Championship once again in 2019.

Craig said: “This is mad, I can’t believe it to be honest. When you look at who I was up against, I am really just a little short for words. I didn’t think we would win. The guys on my team were amazing and they’re a real credit to the golf club.”

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “I’m delighted that the team at Harleyford was nominated for this award as they are a fantastic example of what can be achieved with a talented and determined team led by an exceptional course manager, as Harleyford has in Craig Earnshaw. For the club to bounce back from bankruptcy to the hosting of the PGA EuroPro Tour is quite remarkable and to then overcome the stormy conditions that plagued the build-up to the tournament is exceptional. Congratulations to everyone at the club and good luck for 2019!

“Congratulations also to the Gullane Golf Club and Carolina Golf Club teams, who were both worthy finalists after hosting exceptional tournaments during 2018. All are a credit to BIGGA and the greenkeeping industry as a whole.”

BTME 2019 runs until Thursday 24 January and features more than 159 exhibitors from all aspects of the turf management industry. The exhibition is a celebration of the golf greenkeeping industry in the UK and each year more than 5,000 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives come together to network and share the latest education and innovation opportunities.

Visit http://btme.org.uk/ for more information.

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Standing Ovation For Chipstead’s Jack

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Standing Ovation For Chipstead’s Jack: A greenkeeper at Chipstead Golf Club in Surrey received a standing ovation at the BIGGA Awards, held tonight (22 January) on the opening evening of the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition, in recognition of his selfless efforts in helping the homeless.

Jack Percival, 24, was among the prize winners at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration, where he was awarded the Outstanding Contribution of the Year sponsored by Jacobsen.

Standing Ovation For Chipstead’s Jack

Chipstead deputy course manager Jack hosted an event in Croydon on 23 December that provided food and warmth for the homeless during Christmas.

The 24-year-old, who was himself homeless for six months when he was 17, put out an appeal on social media for donations, with a huge number from within the golf industry and the wider world responding.

The work was a huge success, but is just one example of Jack’s incredible efforts to support the homeless and those less fortunate. Each Christmas he had previously made up sandwiches and soup and traveled via bus to Croydon to give out food to the homeless.

He also volunteers weekly with Croydon Nightwatch, which is where a member of staff encouraged him to seek support for the aid he provides at Christmas. Since then, Jack received vanloads of sleeping bags, hygiene essentials and warm clothes, in addition to donations of food, raising national awareness of his campaign.

Jack said: “This is unbelievable, I didn’t think I could cry in front of hundreds of people, it was just brilliant.

I didn’t do this for an award, I was homeless myself when I was 17 and I did six months on the street. I turned my life around, met my partner, and this is just the start for me. We did a big feed at Christmas and there was one guy who cried because he got a haircut. I saw a guy dance because he got new shoes and you can’t put a price on that.”

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “When I heard Jack’s story I was absolutely blown away. Having heard what he went through during those six months when he lived on the street and then seeing how he has worked tirelessly in the years since to not only turn his life around but also provide opportunities for others less fortunate, is quite inspirational.

“I’m delighted that we have been able to recognise Jack’s achievements in this small way. He is an incredible young man and I’m proud to call him a member of the association.”

“Congratulations also to Amanda Dorans and Carl Flavell, whose incredible stories made them extremely worthy finalists for this award.”

BTME 2019 runs until Thursday 24 January and features more than 159 exhibitors from all aspects of the turf management industry. The exhibition is a celebration of the golf greenkeeping industry in the UK and each year more than 5,000 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives come together to network and share the latest education and innovation opportunities.

Visit http://btme.org.uk/ for more information.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Golf Environment Awards 2019

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Golf Environment Awards 2019: The winners of the 2019 Golf Environment Awards (GEAs) have been announced at The Crown, Harrogate, in a ceremony hosted by STRI Group and The R&A.

Environmental Golf Course of the Year 2019 – Aldeburgh Golf Club

Creating what many thought to be impossible, an almost perfect blend of course and ecology to the point where it is hard to tell where one begins and another stops. All without sacrificing the playability of the course.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year 2019 – Phil Stain

Phil and his team’s knowledge of ecological practice to maintain a course that is in keeping with the surrounding countryside and create great community engagement.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

Outstanding Environmental Project of the Year 2019 – Wylihof Golf Club

An innovative new design of ecological enhancement shows that we still have a lot to learn. Conservation is a young science and there is still plenty of room for new ideas.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

Operation Pollinator 2019 – Corhampton GC

The club has shown that you have to be brave when it comes to habitat management, but the results of their efforts are well worth it creating big new expanses of habitat for pollinators.

STRI ecology consultant, Rowan Rumball, said: “A huge congratulations to the winners and finalists of this year’s awards. We have been amazed by the work that golf clubs and greenkeepers are doing for the ecological and environmental wellbeing of their courses and within the local community.

“Environmental best practice is an important part of all golf clubs’ working remit and through the introduction of next year’s Home Nations awards we hope more clubs will be encouraged to enter the 2020 GEAs.”

Golf Environment Awards 2019

A Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Gordon Moir, retired Director of Greenkeeping at St Andrews Links Trust.

STRI head of ecology, Bob Taylor, said: “It was a real pleasure to be able to honour Gordon Moir at the Golf Environment Awards 2019 with a Lifetime Achievement Award, giving recognition to his dedication to ecology and environmental sustainability, and all that he has achieved during his illustrious career spanning over 27 years at the St Andrews Links Trust”.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

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