Pershore Groundsman Praised

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Pershore Groundsman Praised: Pershore Town groundsman Tim Phillips was singled out as an unlikely man of the match after ensuring that the club yet again avoided the wipeout of fixtures last weekend.

After snow and then rain, only three fixtures were played in Midland League Division One – and one of those on an artificial pitch.

Despite being next to the river and the soggy conditions, the King George V Stadium was playable and Phillips’ hard work was rewarded with Town’s best league win of the season as they defeated Chelmsley Town 4-0.

Phillips, a former referee, was runner-up in the league’s groundsman of the year competition and his expertise has been visible again.

“Our groundsman has done another great job. The game was never in doubt and that was down to Tim’s hard work,” said manager Quentin Townsend. “Despite all the rain, there was nothing wrong with the pitch.

“We spent quite a lot of money on the pitch in the summer, a four-figure sum, and we’ve turned down offers from clubs to groundshare to protect the pitch. We’ve put the pitch first and foremost.”

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Ipswich Town Prize On Offer

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Ipswich Town Prize On Offer: Entrants to this year’s Suffolk FA Groundsman of the Year competition — sponsored by Ransomes Jacobsen — are being given the opportunity to win a unique prize.

All entrants will go into a draw for the chance to spend a match-day at Portman Road with the Ipswich Town groundstaff.

This money-can’t-buy prize comes courtesy of Ipswich Town head groundsman Ben Connell, who will once again head up the judging panel for the Groundsman of the Year competition.

He said: “We are delighted to offer a local groundsman this unique opportunity to join the groundstaff and be part of the match-day experience at Portman Road.

“The winner will spend time and assist the groundstaff before, during and after the game, finishing off their day by visiting the board room.”

Ipswich-based Ransomes Jacobsen will be sponsoring the competition, which is open to clubs in Suffolk who play at Step 7 and below, for a second season.

The winning groundsman will again receive £200 to be spent on groundscare equipment, with the runner-up and third placed groundsman receiving £100 and £50 respectively.

Entry details are on the Suffolk FA website (www.suffolkfa.com).

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Nathan Hume Wins Sprayer Award

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Nathan Hume Wins Sprayer Award: Nathan Hume, Contracts Manager and Ecologist for national grounds maintenance experts, SH Goss Ltd, has won the prestigious Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year Award (ASOY). 

ASOY rewards top sprayer operators across the amenity industry, with the aim to share their best practices to enhance standards for all.

Presented for the first time at BTME Harrogate this week (23 January 2018), the ASOY Awards are organised by the Amenity Forum, and sponsored by ICL and Syngenta, in association with BASIS.

As well as the overall top operator, Nathan Hume was the winner of the Landscape & Industrial using hand held equipment category.

Also recognised by the Awards were Chris Phillips of Complete Weed Control South Wales, as the top operator for Sports turf using boom sprayer or hand held equipment, along with the company’s Lee Harrison, winner of the Landscape & Industrial using vehicle mounted equipment category.

Nathan primarily specialises in the prevention of invasive non-native plants. He operates in a wide variety of sites including airports, railways, cemeteries, rivers, forests, nature reserves, construction sites and golf courses.

“It was an honour to receive the Award,” he said. “Myself and the company have always followed best practice so it’s a nice justification that we are doing things right,” he said.

Commenting on Nathan’s success, from a record entry in the third annual ASOY Awards, Professor John Moverley, Chairman of the Amenity Forum, said: ‘‘The Awards seek to recognise the quality and level of professionalism in our sector. They highlight how professional amenity maintenance Keeps Britain Moving.

“All of the Category winners have demonstrated an extremely high level of professionalism; picking an overall winner was extremely difficult,” he reported. “They have all demonstrated the exceptional skills of operators across the amenity sector – doing their jobs to an extremely high standard every day.

“Secondly they have exemplified the whole concept of the safe use of pesticides, being applied correctly and in a sustainable manner.”

ICL Landscape and Industrial Manager, Mark Pyrah, added: “Accurate application, ably demonstrated by the skills of all the ASOY entrants, is a key element of effective stewardship of products and helping to ensure they will remain available,” he said.

“It is all about sprayer awareness – maintaining good application to maintain the product so that the individual is promoting best practice.”

Daniel Lightfoot, Syngenta Turf UK Business Manager, believed that the Awards should be a shining light of the amenity industry’s approach to safe and sustainable spray application.

“The independent judging panel highlighted Nathan has shown outstanding skills and worked to very high standards to achieve the best possible results. He has proved a worthy winner by showing that best practice can deliver efficient, cost effective and, above all, safe amenity spraying.

“Syngenta recognises that the skills of the sprayer operator are paramount in achieving the full potential from all applications and assuring the future sustainable use,” he added.

For more information, visit: www.amenityforum.co.uk

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New Golf Course Apprentice

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New Golf Course Apprentice: A green keeping apprenticeship at the internationally-renowned Castle Stuart Golf Links is the ideal job for Ethan Ramsay due to his love of golf and of working outdoors.

Ethan, 17, started his new role this month at the four-time Scottish Open venue, but is already very familiar with the famous links.

The former Millburn Academy pupil has spent time at Castle Stuart on work experience and was also part of the bunker squad during the 2016 Scottish Open. In addition, the 13-handicap golfer has played and caddied on the course several times.

“The Scottish Open was an amazing experience and gave me a taste of what it would be like to work full-time on this great course”, said Ethan. “I like playing golf and enjoy physical, outdoor work so I am delighted to get a chance to start my apprenticeship here.

“I hope I can have a career in the golf industry and that the job will also help my golf, at least on this course.”

Ethan joins a team of 11 full-time green keeping staff at Castle Stuart who are preparing for the 2018 season opening on 23 March. They will be joined by two seasonal staff between April and October.

While receiving on-site training at Castle Stuart, Ethan will also be studying for Scottish vocational qualifications in sports turf maintenance at SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College, in Fife, for three years.

Head greenkeeper James Hutchison said: “Ethan is really enthusiastic and has a real get-up-and-go attitude. He is keen to learn and is always asking questions which shows he wants to progress.

“At Castle Stuart he will be involved in all aspects of the course so he will develop a wide range of skills. If people impress here there will certainly be opportunities to move up the career ladder.”

Apprentices have a world-wide career opportunity with Caste Stuart as it offers placements and exchange programmes with other courses. In the past greenkeepers have visited Europe, Australia and the US as part of their learning experience.

James added: “Greenkeeping is a great career for young people. We have a fantastic working environment here and provide apprentices with the right tools and on-site training to prepare them for whatever they want to achieve.”

The quality of the Castle Stuart links has been praised by the likes of Phil Mickelson, who won the Scottish Open in 2013, and the 2016 winner Alex Noren. It is regarded as a model for modern course design by testing the best but being playable and enjoyable for players of all abilities.

Castle Stuart has also won awards for its environmental management, the course having been created from an area of former farmland and a site rich in wildlife.

For more information, visit: www.castlestuartgolf.com

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Theft At Cricket Club

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Theft At Cricket Club: A warning to be vigilant has been issued by a cricket club after thieves stole some of its expensive groundskeeping equipment.

On Friday morning, the groundsman at Maidenhead and Bray Cricket Club discovered that a storage container in the club’s car park in Bray had been broken into overnight.

Equipment stolen included a square mower and an aerator which are both used to keep the team’s outfield in pristine condition during the season.

Interim secretary Tom Allen told the Advertiser, “When someone does come and steal stuff or vandalise you just think why do it?

“People are volunteering and putting their own time in and this just ruins their hard work.”

The break-in has been reported to the police and the club is now asking fellow teams to keep an eye out for anyone selling similar machinery in the area.

Tom added, “We would just advise other clubs in the area to check nothing has been taken from their clubs and listen out for anyone selling these things.

“We’re lucky it didn’t happen during the season because it will probably take us a few months to replace.

“Let’s just hope that it’s just a one-off and it’s not going to be a spate of break-ins.”

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