Turf News is the perfect place for professionals working within the UK’s vibrant turf industry – keeping you up-to-date with topical news, latest market developments and much more across all areas of the industry.
NEWS ARTICLES

IOG’s Rallying Cry

/in , , /by

IOG’s Rallying Cry: No-one involved in club cricket will be particularly surprised that the evolution of volunteers in key roles is an ongoing concern. Struggles to recruit enough umpires and shortages of scorers is as old as the hills.

Is it as bad as it ever was? I’ll leave that to you to ponder but the relatively small pocket of volunteers propping up tens of thousands of players across Yorkshire isn’t germinating, if I can put it like that.

IOG's Rallying Cry

In his first article for Cricket Yorkshire below, former Telegraph & Argus journalist Bill Marshall looks at the issue of where the cricket groundsmen of tomorrow are going to come from.

Rod Heyhoe, secretary of the Yorkshire branch of the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG), has issued a rallying call in order to attract younger members.

In his report to their annual meeting at Cleckheaton Sports Club, he wrote: “We again published and circulated to all members our programme of events, giving details of speakers and meeting dates.”

“Attendances at meetings are still very good – long may this continue into the future. We must be doing something right?”

“But we seem to have peaked on numbers attending this year and we cannot be complacent in moving forward. We need more younger people involved in branch matters. Where are you?”

Heyhoe added: “Your committee believe that we are here to help all the groundsmen – from professionals to amateur volunteers – to raise their profile and improve their knowledge and the playing surfaces in their respective sports and pastimes.

“Just over four years after the appointments of Jason Booth and his regional advisers running GaNTIP (Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme), a lot of their time has been spent helping local county FAs, county cricket boards and rugby league clubs improve their pitches.

“With the young directors and your branch officials working hard for the cause, I think we are moving forward and also encouraging the younger end into the business with apprenticeships and training schemes.

“This raises the profile of groundsmanship along the way, and it is good to see younger people attending our branch meetings, but there are not as many as we would like.”

Meanwhile, deputy chairman David Robinson wrote of the four pillars that hold the Yorkshire branch together.

He said that there were “the willingness of excellent industry speakers and sponsors who support the meetings, the sterling effort put in by Keith Johnstone and John Hawksworth at Cleckheaton Sports Club, all members and friends who regularly attend the meetings and contribute to the camaraderie, raffle prizes, cakes and overall ambience, and the small band of committee members who tie it all together.”

Robinson added: “Should any of these pillars begin to creak, the other three may begin to lean, despite all the goodwill generated to bind them.”

He also said that it was a great pleasure to listen to branch president Keith Boyce, the former groundsman at Headingley, at the ordinary meeting in December, even though he brought news of his impending retirement.

Robinson added: “Keith, you are inspirational and the reason that so many are committed to excellence in groundsmanship.”

Many Yorkshire County Cricket Club fans will remember Keith Boyce but he then transferred his knowledge to transforming the Richmond Oval, New Rover Cricket Club’s home.

Thanks to Bill for that contribution, he has had his ear to the ground on local cricket across West Yorkshire for many years and we hope to have more club features from him in the months to come.

Of course, the groundsmen may be out there already, just not necessarily members of the IOG, but the general point stands around the sustainability of cricket clubs and the key part that groundsmen play in that, along with ongoing training and knowledge transfer.

Click here to read the original article

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Pitchmark Announce Launch Of Turfix

/in , , /by

Pitchmark Announce Launch Of Turfix: Pitchmark announces at BTME the exciting launch of Turfix, a newly formed subsidiary of The Pitchmark Group. Turfix will act as Pitchmark’s sole UK distribution arm, offering premium pitch solutions to the professional sports turf sector. This will include bespoke advice, education and the supply of a wide range of products from manufacturers including Pitchmark, ICL, Harrod Sport, Tildenet and BMS.

“We have developed very good relationships with other manufacturers in the sports turf industry worldwide,” says The Pitchmark Group’s Chairman, Mark Rodman, who has over thirty years of experience in the horticultural and amenity sector. “We have a highly experienced team with years of knowledge of a wide variety of products. Pitchmark is a line marking specialist brand, and to in order to offer complimentary product ranges we felt creating a new structure was the best approach.”

Pitchmark Announce Launch Of Turfix

What makes Turfix different, Mark says, is the quality of service, with the facility to spend more time with groundsmen and implement specifically tailored solutions for all their requirements. Every turf support manager has been a groundsman or greenkeeper in their career, adding a unique level of understanding. Turfix customers nationwide will also have access to a unique GPS pitch-marking service using Pitchmark’s LineMaster system.

The introduction of Turfix is another landmark in The Pitchmark Group’s development that has led to rapid expansion and the appointment of three new directors. The company supplied all stadia at FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 and Euro 2016 France, and Pitchmark paint was also used to mark the pitch at the Principality Stadium for the Champions League Final 2017.

“Breaking new ground has been the hallmark of our business,” adds Mark. “Turfix brings together our experience and our understanding of what groundsmen need. It provides the ideal platform for sharing our knowledge and premium products.” Turfix officially opens for business on the 22nd January 2019 at BTME Stand 137, Blue Zone.

Turfix 03333 580505.

www.turfix.co.uk

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders

/in , , /by

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders: A vital question for a workshop manager is how to maximise efficiency and minimise labour and maintenance equipment costs. One area to achieve excellent savings is to look at how you maintain the sharpness of your cutting units.

As an illustration of this, Foley and UK distributor ProSport UK Ltd are delighted to acknowledge St Andrews Links Trust for choosing Foley Grinders as part of its maintenance programme for its complete range of professional TORO cylinder mowers.

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders

Foley United’s grinders are designed to be ergonomic and deliver on performance and reliability every time. St Andrews Links Trust like so many other clubs large and small are always looking for the latest techniques and will implement new ideas to deliver best practise, but it’s all about having the information to make that judgement. Which is why Foley United is so consistent in getting over the message about the benefits of relief grinding back to OEM specifications; it is a vital tool in achieving best practise in professional mower grinding.

Ian Robson ProSport UK Ltd the UK & Ireland Importer/Distributor for Foley United explains why relief grinding maximises the performance of reels by giving a factory finish every time.

Firstly, why is having sharp cylinders (reels) that are the correct shape so important anyway? The answer is obvious – unhealthy turf brings a whole host of other issues which are costly to correct. Therefore, prevention is a far more economic approach than a cure.

A huge amount of research and development has gone into designing a cutting unit to produce the cleanest cut possible with the least amount of fraying and tissue damage to the plant. The result is that all manufacturers of grass cutting equipment supply new units with relief ground edges.

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders

Why relief grind?

Tests carried out by leading manufacturers have established that relief ground cylinders stay on cut up to 3 times longer than spun ground ones and require less horse power to drive the unit, resulting in greater fuel efficiency and less stress on the hydraulic power systems. In addition, a relief ground cylinder will withstand the abrasive effects of top dressing far better than one spun ground because the relief edge on both the bed-knife and the cylinder allows the top dressing to clear the cutting blades easily, helping to prevent the dulling effect seen on spun only units.

Continual relief grinding also decreases the squeezing and tearing of the grass as the units get dull, and most importantly it allows the cylinder to be returned to a factory specification perfect cylinder as quickly as possible.

The overall cleaner cut achieved by relief grinding gives a better after-cut appearance, increased recovery rate due to the clean cut of the grass and reduces the stress on components because less horsepower is needed to drive the cylinder.

Horse Power Study

As a reel wears flat and loses shape (becomes coned), more stress and strain is put on the cutting systems.

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders

Using the figures from the above study a 5-gang cutting unit with relief can require up to 4.5 HP (5 x 0.88HP = 4.5HP) to drive the cutting units therefore a 35HP engine has 30.5HP remaining to drive the rest of the traction system.  A 5-gang unit which has been spun ground only, can require up to 13Hp (5 x 2.59HP = 13HP) leaving only 22HP to drive the rest of the traction system.

So, it has been established that relief grinding your cutting units saves you money not only by reducing workshop maintenance time with far fewer grinds but also through a reduction in fuel costs and replacement parts.

It is also important to acknowledge what relief grinding does for a reel. By removing metal from the trailing edge of the blade it forms a relief angle, which reduces the contact area of the cutting edges, resulting in less friction, longer wear life.

Efficiency A Priority For Foley Grinders

Typically, when a new mower is delivered the reels will be a perfect cylindrical shape. Over time the blade naturally loses shape, and the sharp edge it arrives with becomes flat and dull, often meaning the reel is no longer a perfect cylinder from end to end. This is referred to as ‘coning’ and a natural point for grinding to take place. The decision then sits between touch-up and spin grinding, or relief grinding.  If there is sufficient relief still on the reel then a quick touch-up is fine but once more than 50% of the relief has gone my advice would be to relief grind again and remove any coning.  Failure to remove the coning will eventually be seen in an uneven cut appearance of your turf.

But, the main question mentioned at the beginning comes back; how to get the most out of your workshop resources by choosing the most effective method to sharpen your cutting units. The answer is to trust the manufacturers judgement and return the reels as close to the original factory standard as possible, and for that, relief grinding is the best option. The bonus is this method also maximises performance and gives the best cut. www.prosportukltd.com

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug and Nemasys

/in , /by

Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug And Nemasys: As spring edges closer, now is the time of year dedicated to patrolling your garden to make sure no pests take over. If steps are not taken to tackle your pests now, they can become damaging to plants and vegetables as we move into the warmer months. Taking action now will ensure your time and hard effort is not lost.

But as the weather starts to warm up, which pests do I need to tackle first? Over the autumn and winter months, vine weevil larvae stay beneath the soil and feed on roots, causing plants to wilt and die, and if they survive, the grown adult weevils then eat plant leaves during spring and summer, resulting in irregular-shaped notches on the leaves. Also, slugs begin to make an appearance from March as the British climate makes the perfect breeding ground for them.

Tackle Spring Pests With Nemaslug and Nemasys

Nemasys and Nemaslug offer the perfect solutions to pest control, and the various species grown by BASF, in the only specialist nematode production facility in Britain, can protect your plants from a variety of pests.  BASF grow six different nematodes, all of which are simply mixed with water and either applied from a watering can with a coarse rose or sprayed onto the foliage and soil, depending on the variety. There is no need to keep children or pets away from treated areas and the whole programme is entirely biological so that all the Nemasys products can be used by organic gardeners.

Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer: apply from March to October

Vine weevils are beetles with a long, thin snout. It is actually the larvae of the weevil that causes the main damage to plants, as they remain in the soil and eat the roots. Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer targets the larvae while they are still in the soil and kills them before they have a chance to cause damage.

A regular regime of using Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer every four weeks throughout the growing season is the best way to control the pets.

Nemaslug: apply from March to October

With each slug laying up to 300 eggs, in up to 50 separate batches during a season – that’s a lot of slugs! It is estimated that each cubic metre of soil can contain around 200 grown slugs. The best time to target slugs is when they are newly hatched, so the period between March – October is ideal. As nematodes are able to travel through the soil, to where the newly hatched and young slugs’ dwell, they are able to attack them before they are even in sight, unlike slug pellets.

A regular regime of using Nemaslug every six weeks throughout this period, from March to October, is the most effective way to keep slugs controlled throughout the growing season which will help keep your plants safe.

Busy Show Season For EcoBunker

/in , /by

Busy Show Season For EcoBunker: Leading synthetic bunker edging solutions provider EcoBunker is getting ready for a busy few weeks as the winter trade show season approaches.

EcoBunker will be exhibiting at the BTME show in Harrogate, England, next week, and then, two weeks later, at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego, California. Chief executive Richard Allen and global construction specialist (and former Walker Cup golfer) Llewelyn Matthews will attend both events, along with a selection of EcoBunker’s global distribution network, and several high-profile clients.

Busy Show Season For EcoBunker

At BTME, EcoBunker was instrumental in creating a new feature for the show –an eighteen-exhibitor ‘scorecard challenge’. All attendees who interact with the eighteen participating exhibitors – and get a stamp on their ‘scorecard’ to illustrate the fact – will be entered into a draw to win £1,000. Find the EcoBunker team on stand 210. Two weeks later, at GIS in San Diego, EcoBunker can be found at booth 2762.

Richard Allen said: “Because of the proximity of the two big trade shows, this is always a busy, but exhilarating part of the year. It’s an opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Llew and I are especially looking forward to talking to prospective clients about our increasing capacity on the contracting side of the business – he spent much of last year on site at Dumbarnie Links in Scotland, our largest contracting project to date, with Llew and his team building seventy bunkers on the course.”

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.