John Deere & CMAE Organise Workshops

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John Deere & CMAE Organise Workshops: The recently formed Club Managers Association of Europe – Middle East & North Africa Region (CMAE MENA) has held its first club education seminars under the title ‘Building confidence in communication’, to train golf course and other managers for new challenges. John Deere supported this initiative by bringing in communication expert Bill McFarlan to deliver several seminars earlier this year.

Bill McFarlan has a passion for helping people build their confidence in communication, having been a broadcaster for 25 years with some of Britain’s top radio and TV stations. Sharing what he’s learned from broadcasting and business, he helps create and deliver passionate presentations on how to conduct interviews confidently with the media and at work.

John Deere & CMAE Organise Workshops

As clubs are becoming bigger, more diverse and more demanding, communication skills are more than ever a key requirement for managers at all levels. Using practical workshops, Bill McFarlan shared top tips and techniques on how to be relevant to any audience, deal with complaints and arguments, and recover difficult situations. The workshops were held at Education City Golf Club in Qatar, Al Mouj Golf Club in Oman and Dubai Creek & Yacht Club.

The events were also a great opportunity for John Deere to be involved alongside local dealers Progressive Trading Qatar, Oman Technical Agencies and Orient Irrigation Services, to meet the CMAE MENA members and support the team.

Carlos Aragones, John Deere’s Manager Sales & Marketing, Turf & Golf for Europe, CIS, North Africa, Near & Middle East, said: “Continued education is a core pillar of the John Deere philosophy, and through this partnership we are committed to making ourselves available to the association’s membership for advice and support.”

Michael Braidwood, General Manager at Education City Golf Club in Qatar and former CMAE Director of Education, said: ”CMAE MENA was delighted with the support John Deere offered us to be able to have our first educational seminars in the region. Without this support, the events would have not been possible. Over 60 club industry professionals benefited from Bill McFarlan’s expertise. It is great to partner with an organisation like John Deere, who have similar values to our own, and we look forward to working with them to deliver more first-class club executive education in the future.”

CMAE’s broader vision is to become the leading organisation for club management educational programmes, and John Deere is delighted to support the Association to achieve its goals.

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Mower Man Gets Wembley Invite

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Mower Man Gets Wembley Invite: A grass cutter whose efforts in creating a pitch “fit for Wembley” for children has been invited to cut the stadium’s pitch for real.

A tweet Jimmy Broadhouse shared of his work at a council field in Bilbrook, near Wolverhampton, has been seen almost three million times.

It also caught the attention of Wembley’s head groundsman, who sent an invite to Mr Broadhouse, known as Jimmy the Mower, on Twitter.

“It is amazing,” Mr Broadhouse said.

“Isn’t it every groundsman’s dream?”

Karl Standley, the Wembley head groundsman who sent the message, has been approached for comment.

But in the exchange with Mr Broadhouse, he said he was “100% serious” about the offer.

Mr Broadhouse, from Ditton Priors, who runs Ditton Services, added he would “try to sort it for August when the mowing has slowed down a bit”.

“I’m working seven days a week at the moment so it is just trying to find a time when I can get down there, but it is fantastic.”

“When I saw the message I was so excited, I could hardly sleep.”

The original post was massive with more than 43,000 likes and three million views.

Many people also shared their own proud photos of finely manicured turf.

Jimmy was deluged with comments and even offers of work.

“It’s been really great,” he said.

“It has been so positive and uplifting, I’m really happy.

“And it really highlights how much these parks and open spaces mean to everyone.”

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Greenkeeper Support Team Revealed

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Greenkeeper Support Team Revealed: The Director of Golf and Greenkeeping at Wentworth Club has spoken about his pride at the return of a greenkeeper support team to assist with course maintenance during the BMW PGA Championship this September.

Members of the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) will head to Wentworth for the European Tour’s flagship event, which for the 2019 season has shifted from its traditional May hosting to September.

Greenkeeper Support Team Revealed

The shift in dates has been necessitated by changes to the world golf calendar and reduced competition from other events should mean a star-studded field of players head to Virginia Water for the Rolex Tour event, taking place from 19 to 22 September.

Wentworth’s Director of Golf Courses and Greenkeeping, Kenny Mackay, is eager for the BIGGA volunteers to get the most out of their time as part of the team and so the group is divided between those who will undertake bunker raking duties and those who will play an active role in the preparation and maintenance of the West Course for the duration of the event.

Kenny said: “With the change in the schedule, the hosting of the BMW PGA Championship is going to be a completely new experience for the Wentworth team. The preparation of the course each morning is going to be very tight if we’re to stay ahead of the golf and so the BIGGA volunteers will prove vital as we work to achieve our aims of preparing a course fit for the European Tour’s flagship event.”

“Over the last two years we’ve really evolved the support team experience, so a portion of the volunteers have the opportunity to fully integrate with the Wentworth team. If you ask the volunteers who come regularly, every year is getting better and better. We want to ensure they learn many things that they can then take back to their own club.”

BIGGA members are invited to participate in the BMW PGA Championship Volunteer Support Team as an opportunity for career development that is provided as part of their membership. July will also see a separate team of members head to Royal Portrush to assist with The Open, while teams will also attend other major events, such as the Ladies British Open and the Solheim Cup.

To hear more from Kenny Mackay about the changes to the European Tour schedule and what it means to the Wentworth team, listen to episode 8 of the Green Room Golf Course Podcast, available on Apple Podcasts and via the BIGGA website.

The BIGGA Support Team for the BMW PGA Championship 2019 is:

Preparation support team

Adam Baldwin, Lilley Brook; Anthony Duffield, Ham Manor; Craig Woodman, Bramshaw; Daniel Evans, Maesdu Llandudno; David Ball, Thetford; Josh Dunn, Bramcote Waters; Kevin Tigg, Merrist Wood; Leigh Powell, Windlesham; Phillip Slater, West Herts; Rob Patrick, Stoneham; Sam Ewing, Crane Valley; Jonny Peacock, Rugby; David Taylor, The Bristol; Peter Meek, The Wisley; Seamus Gaughan, Migros Golf Park (Switzerland); Tim Leat, Rich River (Australia); Luke Lacey, Exminster; Callum Atkinson, Prestbury; Harry Misselbrook, Harewood Downs; Henry Aggar, Windlesham.

Bunker support team

Jeff Drake, Newbury & Crookham; Oliver Kirk, unattached; Sam Amey, Basingstoke; Nathan O’Sullivan, China Fleet; Kevin Weller, Dale Hill Hotel; Iain Biggs, Chesterfield Downs; Oli Norfolk, Tylney Park; David Westwood, Kingswood; Jamie Ingerson, Rochester and Cobham; Nick Street, Crews Hill; Billy MacArthur, Temple; Craig Gibson, Essendon Country; Steven Maples, Coventry; Oliver Clark, Mill Hill; Matthew Winney, East Sussex National; Jacob Kennard, Milton Abbey School; Aaron Stead, Surrey Down; Ashley Darnley, The Bristol; Charlie Cripps, Cams Hall Estate; Sam Bethell, Chipstead; Steve Bridgeman, Woking; Steven Hirons, Kirtlington; Tony Bartram, Wentworth; Stuart Simmonds, Boundary Lakes; Robert Brown, Bognor Regis; Adam Young, The Players Club; Daniel Allsworth, Drayton Park; Nicholas Edwards, Remedy Oak; Stevie-Jon Hood, Forest of Galtres; Lewis Turner, The Dyke; Ryan Lindsay, East Sussex National; Matthew Lindsay, Highwoods; Chris Mitchell, Maidenhead; Ryan Frankish, Spalding; David Smith, Newmarket Links; Gary Nimmo, Oundle; Jordan Belong, Camberley Heath; Patrick Redmond, Woking; Stuart Fry, Old Thorns; Jakob Schur, Rudding Park; Jorge Manso, Coombe Wood; Daniel Cowley, Stanmore; Lee Williams, Phoenix; Martin Coe, China Fleet; Kevin Hensman, Rowlands Castle; Steven Morgans, Harrow School; Jack Holman, Middleton Hall; Graham Down, Harewood Downs;

James Lomas, Hadley.

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Search For UK’s Best Park

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Search For UK’s Best Park: The Fields in Trust UK’s Best Park, 2019 is now open for a public vote to select the nation’s favourite local park. A total of 364 public nominations for parks and green spaces across the UK have been made – each one a much-loved part of its local community. Now it is time to choose the winners via an online public vote at www.fieldsintrust.org/best-park until noon on Monday 19th August.

Voting opens to coincide with “Have a Field Day” on Saturday 6th July, the annual celebration of parks and green spaces. Over 250 community-led events will engage thousands of people across the UK, people are coming together for picnics with their friends and neighbours, celebrating local parks and green spaces and joining a movement of fellow park users across the UK who want champion their parks and protect them for future generations to enjoy.

Search For UK's Best Park

Fields in Trust is a UK-wide charity that legally protects parks and green spaces in perpetuity. The UK’s Best Park Award recognises the role that parks play in our communities, supporting mental and physical health and bringing people together. The charity is concerned that many parks and green spaces are under threat and are at risk of being lost to development or a cycle of decline and disappearance. Last month Fields in Trust published research which revealed that over 2.5 million people across Great Britain live more than ten minutes’ walk from a park or green spaces. With public sector cuts leading to pressure on parks and green spaces, there is the risk that a lack of legal protection could lead to more being sold off or developed.

Fields in Trust Chief Executive Helen Griffiths said: “Our parks and green spaces are a vital part of UK community infrastructure. We know that they provide benefits to the physical health, mental wellbeing and community connections for people that use them, so we are delighted to see a record number of nominations for the UK’s Best Park award and it is encouraging to see so many people organising picnics with neighbours to celebrate how much they love their local park.  Fields in Trust is committed to protecting these valuable and much-loved parks and green spaces for future generations to enjoy.”

Nominations include small community gardens and large nature reserves, sports fields and playgrounds, each green space valued by its community and nominated by the regular park users who love to walk, run, cycle, relax, picnic and play with their children in the UK’s parks. The UK’s Best Park 2019 will see the park with the most votes in each of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland shortlisted with the UK’s Best Park, 2019 announced in mid-September.

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‘Bored’ Groundsman’s Grand Design

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‘Bored’ Groundsman’s Grand Design: A “bored” lower league football groundsman went to great lengths to create the perfect pitch – covered in geometric shapes.

Fed-up with ‘drawing’ the same outline on the Brechin City turf, Neil Wood, 54, decided to design something more creative with his lawnmower.

The patient Glebe Park groundsman spent six hours mowing the intricate pattern into the grass.

But despite the huge compliment, Neil, from the Angus town, remains humble about his design at the 4083 capacity stadium – home to the League Two side.

He said: “I usually cut the pitch in squares but we got bored of doing that so I wanted to do something different.

“The players were all taken back by it but they are happy with it. It’s nice to hear that the club think the design is the best in the world.

“It could be possible but I’ll just let them decide that.”

Neil carefully etched out the swirls by starting from the outside and works his way into the middle of the pitch.

He said: “I start from the outside and work my way in but I don’t change the height level of the lawnmower.

“I use the lines on the pitch as a rough guide which is probably why I manage to get it more precise.

“It’s just about changing your direction rather than the height level. Maintaining the pitch is ok in the summer but it’s hard in the winter.”

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