Damage To Green And Missing Flags Frustrates Golf Club

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Damage to green and missing flags frustrates Timaru’s Highfield Golf Club: Highfield Golf Club wishes people would just leave their course the way they found it – in a nice tidy manner.

A number of flags used for on the greens have been going missing, while damage was also done to the green on the par 5 third hole on November 2.

The club’s greenkeeper Damian Rodgers said he couldn’t understand why people take the flags and hack at the greens.

“It’s just silly. I can’t understand why they’d do that. I mean why would you take a golf flag, what are you going to do with it.

“Some weeks we’ve had two or three flags go missing, other weeks none and at about $100 each to replace they’re aren’t cheap. It’s costing the club money.”

An insurance claim was looked into but with a steep excess the club opted against the idea.

Rodgers, who noticed the divots when he arrived to mow the third green about 8am on November 3, said the damage to the green was the first he’d since he started there 18 months ago.

“We’ve had plenty of flags go missing but that’s really the first bit of major damage to the greens.

“It’s honestly just a pain, it puts your day out and it meant I took a couple of hours trying to repair the green.”

The hole was out of action for most of the day on Friday and while it is now playable again, the divots from where the vandals hacked the green can still be seen.

“They’ll take a bit to fix completely but they hacked all round the holes and a couple of other parts on the green but we have fixed them so people can play the hole.”

Rodgers said they have an idea on who may have done it but isn’t certain.

“It’s in a secluded area the green, most of the stuff happens down this way because they often can’t be seen.”

He couldn’t understand why people would do those things at a golf club.

“It’s here for people to play. I don’t know why you’d do that it hasn’t done anything to them, it’s just really disappointing.”

Rodgers said they hoped this sort of stuff wouldn’t continue to happen.

This vandalism follows damage to the sports fields in Pleasant Point and at the Celtic club in Timaru that were badly damaged back in May and the smashing of war memorial panels at Caroline Bay on November 3.

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Hat-trick for Myerscough at IOG Awards

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Hat-trick for Myerscough at national IOG Awards: A Myerscough College learner has been honoured with a national accolade at the prestigious Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards 2017.

Tara Massey was named the Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year. 20-year-old Tara has just completed her intermediate apprenticeship with Myerscough College, working as part of the grounds team at Manchester City Football Club.

Hat-trick for Myerscough at IOG Awards

Tara was praised for “her level of understanding (that) is nothing short of astonishing. The level of knowledge answers within her portfolio of evidence is more comparable to Level 3 and 4 work, and something that should be highly commended.” She completed her Level 2 programme in record time and now is looking to start the Level 3 programme.

The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards are now in their ninth year and acknowledge the passion, dedication and challenges faced by grounds staff, volunteers and professionals across all levels of sport. Myerscough was once again well represented at the awards, with sportsturf learners past and present nominated in a number of categories.

In addition to Tara, former Myerscough College learner, James Wood, was named Young Groundsman of the Year. James completed a BTEC in Sportsturf before joining Manchester City. Meanwhile, Myerscough alumni Paul Burgess, who is now the Head Groundsman at Real Madrid, was given a Special Recognition Award.

They were given their awards at the ceremony, which is part of the annual SALTEX exhibition, where almost 700 of the UK’s and Europe’s leading grounds care experts from both the professional and volunteer sector, as well as dignitaries from the governing bodies of sport and influential sports administrators, honoured the expertise, dedication and passion of the grounds profession.

Lee Price, Employer Services Manager at Myerscough College said: “This is fantastic news for the College and congratulations to Tara. The IOG Awards winners can inspire more young people to consider a career in sportsturf. It’s great to celebrate so much success in the industry.’’

Tara Massey said: “I would say to other young women interested in the industry to not be scared, do not be put off and to just go for it. It’s a great job where no two days are the same, you have to solve lots of problems but you can often quickly see the rewards for you efforts.”

“I’ve really enjoyed the college side of my apprenticeship and never realised there was so much to the job. In the future I would like to progress both in my role and in my education and take things as far as I can.”

It’s the second successive year the category of Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year has been won by a Myerscough College learner, after fellow Manchester City sportsturf apprentice, Katie Croft, won the award in 2016.

There was further recognition for Myerscough College as the award for the National Governing Bodies Professional Sports Grounds Team of the Year went to Manchester City FC. The whole of the team completed their sportsturf training with Myerscough College.

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Durham CCC Groundsmen Honoured

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Durham County Cricket Club groundsmen honoured for keeping Chester-le-Street ground pitch perfect: Some of the unsung heroes of North-East sport have been honoured for their dedication to keeping a cricket field pitch perfect.

The grounds team at Durham County Cricket Club has won two major honours at this year’s Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards.

Durham CCC Groundsmen Honoured

The club won the Headland Amenity Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year and head groundsman Vic Demain was named individual Groundsman of the Year.

Both awards were presented at a ceremony at the National Conference Centre, in Birmingham, hosted by Talksport radio presenter Mark Saggers.

Mr Demain was appointed head groundsman at Chester-le-Street in 2015, following two years as deputy head groundsman at Trent Bridge.

The Durham grounds team of four full-timers and one part-timer ensure the Emirates Riverside Stadium pitch is maintained to the level demanded of an international cricket ground.

They keep records of moisture content and hardness of every match pitch, which are forwarded to the ECB so that a data picture is created for every game.

They also compile a daily record of all work undertaken on the pitch, and of daily temperatures and rainfall.

As well as internationals, the ground hosts County Championship, 50-over and T20 fixtures for Durham’s first team, second XI and academy sides, along with other events including rock and pop concerts.

The grounds team is also overseeing development of a new second XI pitch next to the stadium.

Mr Demain said he holds regular meetings with other groundsmen to: “reach out to the local community of groundsmen to help them develop within the industry”.

IOG chief executive Geoff Webb, said: “This year’s awards demonstrate the skills and passion of groundsmanship throughout the UK.

“Winning an award is testament to the dedication of the grounds teams and individuals whose ability to produce and maintain ever-improving playing surfaces, which enables more games to take place, goes largely unnoticed.”

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Tribunal Into Dismissed KCOM Groundsmen Ends

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Tribunal Into Unfairly Dismissed KCOM Groundsmen Ends: Two former groundsmen at the KCOM Stadium have been battling for compensation after being unfairly dismissed but will have to wait for weeks to find out the verdict of a tribunal hearing.

Head groundsman Mark Harrison and his number two Darrell Cook were sacked by the SuperStadium Management Company (SMC) in June.

A hearing at Wilberforce Court has already been told that the company ran by Ehab Allam admitted it unfairly dismissed the pair.

But the company is arguing that no compensation should be paid to the ground staff, claiming that Mr Cook worked as a kitman for Hull FC when he was supposed to be working for the SMC.

At the end of Friday’s hearing, tribunal judge Rita Rogerson told the men that they will have to wait “weeks not days” to find out if they will receive any compensation.

She said that she had “run out of time” to make a decision and the men would receive a written judgment.

During the hearing, Mr Cook denied allegations that he had been working as a kitman for Hull FC while employed to maintain the pitch at the KCOM stadium.

Giving evidence, he insisted that he kept the two roles separate from each other and said he had always helped prepare Hull FC’s kit for upcoming matches outside of his working hours for the SMC.

Although he said he had been the club’s kitman for 20 years, he had never been given an employment contract and was paid £65 per fixture.

His former employer says that CCTV footage and security records show him carrying out kitman duties on four dates when he was meant to be working for the SMC.

SMC barrister Melanie Teather said that although the company acted unfairly during the dismissals process, their sacking was justified because of their conduct. She also accused Mr Cook of “making up explanations” for his whereabouts, and providing “contradictory” evidence.

She told the hearing: “When [Mr Cook] did submit his evidence today, his evidence fundamentally changed and he gave no proper explanation as to why he had done so.”

Mr Cook said that he had been carrying out normal ground-keeping duties at the stadium. CCTV footage shown at the tribunal showed Mr Cook carrying a Hull FC shirt near the changing room, but he said the shirt belonged to his wife who worked in the Hull FC shop at the stadium.

Miss Teather accused Mr Harrison of being aware that Mr Cook was working as a kitman, on three of the days, they allege he was doing that work instead of groundsman duties.

In concluding statements, barrister for the groundsmen Nicholas Siddall said that much of SMC’s case relies on the belief that it has an “infallible system” to understand the comings and goings of Mr Cook while on duty.

He also argued that Mr Allam, who gave evidence on Thursday, resides in “an ivory tower” and doubted he would witness the day-to-day activities of the groundsmen.

The final judgement on the case will announced at a later date.

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SMC Boss Questioned At KCOM Groundsmen Tribunal

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SMC Boss Questioned At KCOM Groundsmen Tribunal: The company running the KCOM Stadium has admitted unfairly sacking two long-serving groundsmen following a dramatic day at an employment tribunal.

Mark Harrison and his number two, Darrell Cook, were dismissed from their roles managing the pitch at Hull City’s ground in April – a job they had held since 2002.

SMC said at the time they had been fired for gross misconduct amid claims the pitch had been deteriorating.

An employment tribunal in Hull was told on Thursday the SuperStadium Management Company (SMC) conceded the pair were unfairly dismissed earlier.

But the SMC is arguing it should not pay compensation to the two men and contend their actions still warranted dismissal.

Giving evidence, Mr Allam said he had relied on security system data and CCTV footage in deciding to refuse Mr Cook’s initial appeal against dismissal.

He said Mr Cook’s tracked movements around the stadium suggested had been working as a kit man for Hull FC during his normal working hours for the SMC.

Barrister Nicholas Siddal, who is representing the men after an online crowd-funding campaign, said: “You are relying on an inference that Mr Cook was doing something wrong?”

Mr Allam replied: “I am relying on my logical assumptions.”

Mr Allam said he believed Mr Cook was moonlighting with Mr Harrison’s approval.

“There was no purpose for him being where he was in the stadium. He wasn’t there doing something for me, therefore he must have been doing something for someone else.”

The tribunal heard both Mr Harrison and Mr Cook had no previous history of any disciplinary issues involving their work at the stadium. In evidence, Mr Harrison said he knew nothing about what Mr Cook did in his lieu time.

They were both sacked without being given any initial verbal or written warnings about their conduct.

Mr Siddall said neither man had been given any written reason for their dismissals in the formal decision letters from the SMC.

Mr Allam, who oversaw the internal appeal process which rejected their stance, acknowledged he had initially instigated the disciplinary investigation into the two men following concerns about the state of the pitch at the stadium.

Mr Siddal told the tribunal that letters sent to the two men by the SMC informing them of their appeal hearings stated they would be chaired by Mr Allam because he was “independent of the process with no previous knowledge” of the issues.

Mr Siddal said: “This was simply not true.”

The hearing will continue on Friday.

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