Michael Davie wins BIGGA award

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Michael Davie wins BIGGA award: Greenkeeper Michael Davie – who set up a mental health support group to help his fellow professionals in the turf industry – has picked up the top award at the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association’s annual convention.

Davie, the course manager at Hazel Grove Golf Club, in Stockport, has tirelessly supported many BIGGA members and other greenkeepers, having overcome periods of depression in his own life.

In recognition of the incredible effort he has put in to supporting his fellow greenkeepers, Michael was awarded with the Outstanding Contribution of the Year Award, sponsored by Jacobsen.

After receiving the award, Michael Davie said: “I’m exceptionally humbled to receive this. It’s totally unexpected and really amazing.

“I’m retiring from greenkeeping in a few months and I hope the extra time that gives me will allow me to develop the mental health side of things.

“I’m looking into how I can try and help as many people as possible, so this is just the start!”

Michael established the ‘Greenkeepers mental health support group’ on Facebook so his peers could come together to support each other.

Michael also hosts a regular meet-up in Manchester, where greenkeepers discuss issues and provide a helping hand.

The UK’s best and brightest greenkeepers were recognised at a dazzling awards ceremony hosted by the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association at the opening night of BTME 2020.

BTME is the UK’s leading exhibition for those in the golf greenkeeping and sportsturf industries, with more than 5,000 BIGGA members, industry leaders and influencers expected through the doors of the Harrogate Convention Centre for the duration of the three-event.

The traditional curtain-raiser of the exhibition is the BIGGA Welcome Celebration, sponsored by Campey Turf Care Systems and hosted by television presenter Naga Munchetty.

A number of awards were handed out to BIGGA members who have done extraordinary things throughout their careers.

The Outstanding Contribution award is one of three BIGGA Awards given out to members during the event.

The other two are the Championship Greenkeeping Performance of the Year – sponsored by Rigby Taylor – and the Greenkeeping Project of the Year sponsored by Baroness and Kubota.

Grant Peters and the team at Parkstone Golf Club in Poole were winners of the Championship Greenkeeping Performance of the Year Award after successfully hosting the Ladies’ European Amateur Championship, in July, which was won by Berkhamsted’s Alice Hewson.

Also nominated in the same category were Craig Haldane’s Gleneagles team for the hosting the 2019 Solheim Cup, and Graham Brumpton and the team at Ipswich Golf Club, which staged the English Ladies’ Open Amateur Championship at Purdis Heath last summer.

The Greenkeeping Project of the Year Award was won by Darren Anderson MG and the team at Cheshire’s Bromborough Golf Club.

The team replaced a 46-year-old irrigation system, alongside rebuilding greenside bunkers. Completing the work in-house, it is estimated that the greenkeepers saved the club around £150,000.

Also nominated in the same category were Master Greenkeeper Andrew Kerr’s team at Surrey’s Surbiton Golf Club and Robert George’s team at Essex’s Thorndon Park Golf Club.

For the first time, a new set of prizes were introduced at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration.

The BIGGA Excellence in Communication Awards sponsored by Campey Turf Care Systems seek to recognise those BIGGA members who have embraced communication as a vital tool available to the modern greenkeeper.

Awards for the best use of social media and work in the community will be handed on the second day BTME on the Campey Turf Care stand, but at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration, the winner of the Innovation and Thought Leadership Award was unveiled.

The award is given to the BIGGA member who had written the most thought-provoking article for BIGGA’s monthly magazine, Greenkeeper International, with Ryun Holden, of Switzerland’s Golf Club Wylihof, claiming the inaugural prize for his feature discussing the importance of conveying a positive message from the greenkeeping team to golfers at their club.

Ryun received a £750 cash prize and all-expenses paid trip to Florida, where he will visit the Campey Air2g2 factory, Daytona International Speedway, TPC Sawgrass and TIAA Bank Field, the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

BIGGA chief executive Jim Croxton said: “I take immense pride in the BIGGA Welcome Celebration as it is the opportunity for our association to recognise the unbelievable hard work and dedication that BIGGA members all over the world demonstrate every day of their working lives.

“As we saw once again through the story of Michael Davie, it can become all too easy to get caught up in all the negativity that surrounds the golf industry.

“Yet there are many passionate and hardworking greenkeepers who have dedicated their careers to ensuring this great industry has a strong and vibrant future.

“BIGGA is nothing if not a community where members can come together to support each other through the bad times and the good.

“Thank-you to all our sponsors and to everyone who came along to support this brilliant event.”

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Winning bid announced for charity auction

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Winning bid announced for charity auction: Maskinia, the Authorised Doosan Construction Equipment Dealer in Sweden based in Linköping, is delighted to announce that the winning bid of SEK 202,000 (19,100 Euros) was made by local company, CN:s Gräv AB, in the company’s on-line charity auction of a new Doosan DX10z 1 tonne mini-excavator to raise funds to fight prostate cancer.

Held as part of Sweden’s anti-prostate cancer campaign, Mustaschkampen, the DX10z auction was run in collaboration with suppliers, RF System and Engcon, and in partnership with the auction site, Klaravik.

Doosan DX10z Blue Edition

Painted in the same blue colour used by the Mustaschkampen campaign, the DX10z carries the Mustaschkampen ‘moustache’ logo and the logos of the participating companies, RF System, Engcon and Klaravik. Designated by Maskinia as the Doosan DX10z Blue Edition, the machine has been delivered to CN:s Gräv AB, equipped with a new tiltrotator from RF System and new buckets from Engcon.

In a press announcement, CN:s Gräv AB expressed great joy and pride in being able to contribute to the fight against prostate cancer, a form of cancer that affects many people in the Linköping area. CN:s Gräv AB had been interested in the DX10z model from Doosan, so the company saw the auction as the perfect opportunity to contribute to the fight against cancer at the same time as bringing home the superior machine in its class.

Raising Funds to Fight Cancer

Two years ago, during the Svenska Maskinmässan 2018 Fair in Sweden, Maskinia auctioned off a unique black edition Doosan DX140W-5 wheeled excavator, which brought in SEK 760000 (71,850 Euros), which was divided into three equal parts between the three organizations, the Breast Cancer Association, the Prostate Cancer Association and the Child Cancer Foundation.

For more on Doosan construction equipment, visit the website: www.doosanequipment.eu

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Agrovista Amenity launches at BTME

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Agrovista Amenity launches at BTME: Maxwell Amenity and Sherriff Amenity, the professional turf and landscape division of Agrovista, have joined forces to herald the start of an exciting new era.

Agrovista Amenity, launched at BTME in January, brings together two of the most experienced and progressive teams in the amenity turf market and is the result of a long-term strategy for growth and evolution.

Agrovista Amenity launches at BTME

The new company represents a shared vision – an emphatic passion for this much-loved industry, a desire to create and implement new innovations, to deliver real results for customers and suppliers, to provide technical and service excellence and to empower and inspire staff to help them flourish and prosper.

Agrovista Amenity is just the latest step in delivering these values to the market.

Spearheaded by an experienced senior management team, customers will now benefit from a wider breadth of innovative products and specialist technical expertise. Furthermore, Agrovista Amenity is committed to offering improved customer interaction across on and offline platforms, through a modern, technical approach to amenity care.

It is the perfect addition to the Agrovista family – a company established more than 60 years ago, that takes pride in its traditional values of professionalism, cutting edge technology, and customer service.

Already servicing the sector through established brand Sherriff Amenity, Agrovista now extends a warm welcome to Maxwell Amenity.

Maxwell Amenity trades in the amenity, landscaping and horticultural sectors, offering product supply, media, sports turf contracting, and grounds training.

The consolidated expertise will enable Agrovista Amenity to thrive in the industry it knows best, operating across a wide range of turf sectors including greenkeeping, sports turf, the public sector and landscaping.

This future-proof, customer-centric business model will benefit all, according to John Marland, Head of Amenity:

“Agrovista Amenity has been built upon a commitment to innovation and the highest standards of customer service. There is a clear fit between our two businesses, as our services are highly complementary, so it creates exciting potential.

“As one, Agrovista Amenity will be well-equipped to pursue new opportunities for growth, to the benefit of our customers, suppliers and employees.”

Managing Director of Maxwell Amenity, Dave Saltman, added, “We are very excited about this new era; both our teams have highly-qualified and knowledgeable staff. Together with the greater research and product development support available, the new business will be a leading force in the professional turf sector, providing all customers with an even greater level of service.”

For more information, visit www.agrovista.co.uk

To view the video with Agrovista Amenity Head of Amenity John Marland at BTME, click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF_K1Q75ZGw

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School groundsman talks about role

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School groundsman talks about role: Lewis Pattinson, the head groundsman at Bradford Grammar School, has spoken of his pride at looking after the grounds at the school.

He said: “It’s not just a job, it’s a way of life.”

He tell us what his job is like and how he loves being a groundsman:

“I’ve worked here for five months and I manage the daily work activities of the Estates Department to ensure that the grounds, pitches and gardens are maintained and kept in good condition. I’m an award-winning Groundsman having won the Institute of Groundsmanship Young Groundsman of the Year in 2016. Before joining BGS, I worked as Deputy Head Groundsman at London Stadium for two years which is home to West Ham United Football Club.

“When I first saw the school grounds, I thought ‘what a fantastic challenge!’ They were good, but I wanted the standard to be excellent – just like the ethos of BGS. This value was instilled in me from a young age when I set up my own gardening company at 14 years old. I only got paid £5 a week pocket money, so I wanted to feel more independent.

“I cut everyone’s garden on the street and my next-door neighbour asked if I’d like to go and work for him as an apprentice Greenkeeper on his private golf course. He could see how passionate and interested I was. I suppose I already embodied BGS’s ‘Hoc Age – Get on and do it’ attitude from an early age, an attitude I see reflected everyday in our pupils and staff across 28 beautiful acres.

“One of my biggest achievements so far has been to put in place a new fertiliser programme using feedback from an Agronomist, who’s knowledgeable in turf grasses and their management. They provided useful practical advice as well as an overall assessment of the condition of the current BGS sport grounds. Going back to basics in this way allows us to track, maintain and achieve better results for our outstanding new £4m sport facilities that includes new cricket lanes, netball and tennis courts and astro-turfed hockey pitches as well as our all-weather sports barn.

“The sports barn and hockey pitches are world class, so I’ve invested in new machinery to maintain these and all the new pitches, inside and out. It’s all about continuous, top-level maintenance and care, to provide the best experience for pupils, staff and the wider community. Small details also have a big impact. For example, I’ve changed all the rugby posts. These used to be pulled out of the ground using a lorry, which over time can cause wear and tear on the turf. These have been replaced with new aluminium hinged rugby posts which are much better for long term use and the wider environment.

“I’ve worked professionally on many sports, ranging from Rugby League, Rugby Union, Football, Athletics and Major League Baseball. It’s not just a job, it’s a way of life. Nobody really goes to school and says: ‘I want to be a Groundsman’. People tend to naturally fall into it through other passions, myself included. I’ve spoken to many top Groundsmen who were professional footballers coming through the ranks. When they didn’t get taken on, they realised they still wanted to be involved in the sporting environment and ended up working in stadiums.

“I absolutely love working in a school after a large stadium. The environment is warm, intimate and I feel extremely valued and looked after here. From 14 years of age I knew this was my calling and now I can concentrate all my efforts on this fabulous school.”

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Groundsman’s near miss

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Groundsman’s near miss: A groundsman was almost struck as he replaced divets halfway through a race during one of Musselburgh Racecourse’s biggest days of the year.

The ‘near-miss’ incident occurred during the Edinburgh Cup in September when groundstaff had been warned to remember the main race of the day would see the runners go round the course twice over the two-mile event.

However, it appeared one of the workers forgot and was still replacing divets on the ground when the horses came round the bend towards him.

It was only when he heard jockeys shouting at him to get out of the way that he managed to duck under the barriers to safety.

Bill Farnsworth, racecourse general manager, said a stewards inquiry was launched after the incident and the British Horseracing Authority investigated ruling that all protocol had been followed by the racecourse itself.

The incident came to light at a meeting of Musselburgh Racing Associated Committee this week.

Mr Farnsworth said: “The Edinburgh Cup is a two-mile race and our head groundsman warned all the groundstaff to remember they go round twice.

“One of the groundsmen went out and obviously forgot it was a two-mile race.

“He was busy knocking in the divets as horses came around the bend and jockeys had to shout at him.

“He ducked off the track, it was a ‘near miss’.”

He added that a similar incident at Ascot in November had seen that course fined nearly £4,000 by the British Horseracing Authority for not following the proper protocol before the race.

Mr Farnsworth said: “The sport needs to decide if it is safe for people to get on track during racing, it is weighing up the benefit of repairing the track with the risk. There is always a risk of human error.”

A spokesman for the British Horseracing Authority confirmed it had carried out an investigation into the incident during the Edinburgh Cup, adding: “No further action was required.”

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