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

Ollie Deeming Shortlisted For National Award

/in , /by

Ollie Deeming Shortlisted For National Award: The Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club groundsman has been shortlisted for a national award and will go head-to-head with a peer from a Premier League football club.

Ollie Deeming will contest the Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year award with Manchester City’s Tara Massey at the Institute of Groundmanship awards in Birmingham on November 1.

Ollie, 20, from Great Barton, has only been in the groundmanship industry for two years after initially volunteering to help former club groundsman Andy Spetch while studying sports coaching at West Suffolk College.

The promising groundsman is a former player at the club, having started in the under 13s, and says looking after the pitches at the Haberden is the “next best thing to playing”.

Ollie said: “I’m really happy. I’ve only been in the industry for two years and to be recognised for the work I am doing is fantastic.

“I used to play and started with the under 13s, but had a few injuries so I started volunteering with Andy Spetch to help on the pitches.

“I did a little bit of coaching, but decided I really wanted to focus on being a groundsman. It’s the next best thing to playing really.”

Ollie said he was “surprised” to be pitted against a groundsman from Premier League football giants Manchester City for the student award.

He said: “It is quite surprising when you consider the size of their club and the money they have compared with us at the grass roots end.

“It will be interesting to see how the judges make their decision. But it shows I’m doing well to be going up against someone from such a professional set-up.”

Ollie, who has taken two IOG training courses in sports and amenity turf maintenance, is responsible for the six-acre site at the Haberden, and maintains the three main pitches and the artificial surface at the club.

Independent judging will now take place at each venue and Ollie will find out if he is a winner Oscars-style at the ceremony next month.

The IOG Awards, which highlight the high standards of volunteer and professional groundsmanship, from grassroots to professional stadia level, will take place at the National Conference Centre, Birmingham on Wednesday, November 1.

To read the original article from EADT, click here

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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.

NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd At SALTEX 2017

/in /by

NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd At SALTEX 2017: Ignition specialist NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd will be highlighting its horticultural expertise at Saltex at the NEC Birmingham, on November 1 & 2, 2017.

NGK will once again be demonstrating its ignition prowess on stand KO55 at the show which is the UK’s premier national event for ground care, sports, amenities, estates and green space management.

NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd At SALTEX 2017

The horticultural sector is a growing market for NGK where extensive research and development has enabled it to produce a range of spark plugs specifically aimed at the horticultural market where their fast heating makes them ideal for engines that often work in harsh conditions.

NGK is an original equipment (OE) parts supplier of spark plugs, glow plugs, NTK Lambda and other engine management sensors to most of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers (VMs), with the same parts being available to the independent automotive aftermarket.

The company has been developing spark plug technology since the 1930s and manufactures plugs for every type of automotive engine, as well as for motorcycles, marine, horticultural, plant and many other applications.

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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.

G860 Combats Heavy Usage At Huish Park

/in , /by

G860 Combats Heavy Usage At Huish Park: With over 50 games a season taking place at the Huish Park Stadium, Yeovil Town FC’s head of grounds Richard Allsworth believes that his new Dennis G860 is the ideal mower to maintain such a heavily used pitch.

Richard has been head of grounds for Yeovil Town FC for the past four years and, along with one other member of staff, tends to the pitch at the main stadium, the first team training ground and the club’s academy facilities.

“With league and cup games, along with the youth FA Cup and academy games we have at least 50 matches here throughout the season. Plus, this season the ladies team will playing their home games here so that’s probably another nine games. It is busy but it has to be in these leagues – it’s a necessity in order to generate income. Yes, it can make things difficult but I came from the Memorial stadium which shared rugby and football (Bristol Rovers FC and Bristol Rugby).”

G860 Combats Heavy Usage At Huish Park

It was at the Memorial Stadium that Richard first started using the Dennis G860 mower, and based on his experience; there was only one mower he had in mind when it came to purchasing a new one.

“There is absolutely no contest when looking at mowers. I like the familiarity of having used one for nearly 20 years. It’s always been a fantastic mower and over the years has been subtlety refined – it’s a little bit quieter, a little bit smoother and I like the fact that the box lifts off so you can empty it easily. Essentially it is one unit that you can do lots of jobs with and it doesn’t take much time when adjusting the height of cut or changing cassettes.”

As Richard says, the Dennis G860 comes complete with an interchangeable cassette system in which the user has the option of fitting eleven different types of heads including scarifiers, verticutters, brushes, spikers, and slitters as well as six or eight bladed cutting cylinders.

As part of his maintenance programme, Richard relies on the 8 bladed cutting cassette to get the pitch ready for matchdays. He’ll carry out a double cut on a Thursday, followed by a double cut on a Friday and ensure that grass is at a length of 27mm before kick-off.

He also reported excellent results from the verticutting cassette, which he uses at both the stadium and the training ground.

“I absolutely love the verticutting cassette for grooming the pitch. I tend to use the verticutter once a month before I put down a liquid feed just to clean it out – so that I can expose the leaf, and expose the soil to keep it clean – which is necessary when so many games are played on it.

“I always do it more often in July to really thicken up the turf especially about a week and a half before the first game. It just helps me see exactly how thick the sward is and to give it a chance to fill out.

“We also have real problems with poa annua on both the stadium pitch and the training pitches as there are meadows and silage nearby so it just blows in. Just as the poa is starting to come through I’ll go over it with the verticutter cassette just to try and control it – it works really well.”

With the G860 offering so much versatility in just one machine it is easy to see why they are used not only by professional groundsmen at FIFA World Cups or prestigious sporting stadia, but also by clubs in lower divisions and volunteer groundsmen who tend to local clubs and grass roots pitches. In fact, Richard believes that the G860 proves a cost effective solution for all types of various groundsmen.

“Could I afford to go and get a mower for verticutting and a separate mower for scarifying? Probably not – therefore the G860 offers you the perfect solution.

“It’s light, it is manoeuvrable and it gives a definite stripe. It’s great for presentation and we are presenting the club’s image – the G860 is the perfect mower for this.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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.

DLF/Johnson’s Sports Seeds At SALTEX 2017

/in , /by

DLF/Johnson’s Sports Seeds showcase advanced cultivars and mixtures at SALTEX: Leading seed breeders DLF will be returning to Saltex 2017, showcasing two of the company’s latest breeding innovations, 4Turf Tetraploid Ryegrass and the new Turf Type Annual Ryegrass Quickston.

DLF’s technical team will also be on hand on stand J100 to offer advice on the latest cultivars and mixture selection from both the Masterline and Johnsons Sports Seed ranges.

As world leaders in tetraploid ryegrass technology, DLF’s 4Turf Tetraploid Ryegrass cultivars are of particular interest to groundsman currently considering autumn and winter overseeding mixtures. 4Turf has very good wearing qualities, exceptional tolerance to a broad range of common turf diseases, germinates quickly and offers extreme winter hardiness. 4Turf tetraploids develop a stronger, deeper rooting system which also improves the efficiency in which nutrients, including Nitrogen, are utilised. Found in Johnsons Sports Seed mixtures J Pitch, J 4Turf and J Rescue Stadia, as well as PM70, 79 and 81 from Masterline, this new species is highly suited to sports turf applications thanks to its strong colour and rapid establishment, even in cold conditions.

Also present in J Rescue Stadia, along with Johnsons J Rescue 100, is the latest turf type annual ryegrass cultivar from the DLF programme, Quickston. Quickston sees a significant improvement in the colour, fineness of leaf and shoot density of turf type annual ryegrass. Annual rye has the fastest establishment time and will germinate under low soil temperatures (down to 3.5oc) making it a popular choice for any winter or spring turf repairs.

In addition to seeing up-close some of the new grasses and technologies, visitors will also have the opportunity to enter a competition to win enough Johnsons Sports Seed mixture to renovate their sports pitch. DLF are also once again proud to be sponsoring the IOG Groundsman of the Year award at the annual IOG industry award ceremony, held in conjunction with Saltex.

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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.

Rasen Club’s Head Greenkeeper Retires

/in , /by

Rasen Club’s Head Greenkeeper Retires: After almost four decades keeping Market Rasen Golf Club’s greens in tip-top condition, head greenkeeper John Hewson has retired.

His lifetime of dedicated service to the Legsby Road club was recognised by Club President Richard Holmes and the many members and friends who gathered in the clubhouse to mark John’s retirement.

 Mr Holmes made mention of the huge contribution made towards the success of the club over many years by John and his team.
On behalf of the club, he also expressed gratitude to John’s wife Shirley, children Nicola and Simon, as well as his wider family, for the support they have provided for John over the years.

Mr Holmes said: “John has played a massive part in the success of the club and in the enjoyment of playing golf here, experienced by members, guests and visitors alike.

“The course is recognised as one of the finest in the county and much of credit for our reputation should go to John and the team he has led.

“Without a course of such quality there would not be a club.”

John joined the greenkeeping team as an apprentice in 1968 and rose through the ranks to become Head Greenkeeper in 1978.

In recognition of his many years of hard work and loyalty, John has been granted honorary life membership of the club.

He was also presented with an inscribed glass bowl and monies donated by the club and its members.

Mr Holmes added: “We look forward to seeing John on the course during more sociable hours as he works at reducing his handicap.”

New Head Greenkeeper at Market Rasen is Ben Lowery, formerly of Elsham Golf Club.

He started working for the club in early September, allowing John to assist Ben to settle in.

To read the original article, click here

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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.