New R&A Greenkeeping Scholar

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New R&A Greenkeeping Scholar: A Carrickfergus student has become the first in Northern Ireland to be awarded an R&A Greenkeeping Scholarship. Callum Burnside is currently undertaking a two-year foundation degree in Horticulture (Sportsturf) at the Greenmount campus of the College of Agriculture, Food & Rural Enterprise (CAFRE)

The R&A Greenkeeping Scholarship Programme was established in 2004 to help boost the careers of those undertaking higher level greenkeeping and sportsturf qualifications. CAFRE is the newest addition to the approved educational establishments participating in the programme, joining Scotland’s Rural College (Elmwood Campus) and Myerscough College in England.

Callum joins more than over 320 scholars worldwide across 30 different countries. He was previously awarded the Golf Union of Ireland cadetship in 2017. This involved mastering greenkeeping skills and achieving a work-based Level 2 Diploma in Greenkeeping while undertaking duties at the Greenmount’s Greenkeeping and Golfing Academy.

Wendy Cole, manager of Sustainability at the R&A, said: “Our rigorous application and interview process ensures that only the best candidates are chosen to be R&A Greenkeeping Scholars. Callum demonstrated his passion and commitment to the sportsturf industry admirably and I am delighted that he is our first Greenkeeping Scholar from CAFRE and indeed Northern Ireland.

“We hope to further develop our links with CAFRE moving forward and hopefully we will see more scholars being appointed.”

The R&A organises The Open, golf’s oldest major championship.

Paul Mooney, head of Horticulture at Greenmount, said: “With just months before The Open returns to Royal Portrush in July there has never been a better time to consider a career in greenkeeping.”

For more information about the scholarship programme see the Greenkeeping support section on: https://www.randa.org

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Groundsman Creates ‘Starburst’ Outfield

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Groundsman Creates ‘Starburst’ Outfield: TV viewers watching the latest test match at the Darren Sammy stadium in Gros Islet may have been struck by the unusual way the outfield has been cut, mown into the shape of a “starburst” fanning out from the pitch to the boundary. This sort of topiary appears to be unique to international cricket but then the man behind it is a one-off too.

Kent Crafton has been groundsman since the stadium was completed in 2002 and for the last six years he has acted as head curator for the whole Caribbean region. He is widely credited with having transformed pitches from “roads” on which batsmen filled their boots to the livelier surfaces that have revived local pace bowling and, in this series, left England’s batsmen hopping.

That is only Crafton’s day job. Manicuring the grass at his home ground is his real passion. During the women’s World Twenty20 in November, he went to extraordinary lengths by creating a Hibiscus shape with his mower.

During this match, a member of Crafton’s groundstaff can be seen walking across the outfield each evening with a paintbrush and tin, dabbing whitewash marks along the edges of each section to help Crafton be precise with his daily cut. Under ICC regulations, the outfield is given a light cut on each day of a Test match.

The outfield for this game has been unusually slow. This is because of the thick type of conch grass on the island but it may also have something to do with Crafton needing thicker-than-normal grass to create his patterns.

Anyone who gets between him and his artwork does so at their peril. A few years ago, in the build-up to a Test match, he severed through a 200-metre TV cable that happened to be lying across part of the outfield. He was not noticeably apologetic. “He has his own kingdom,” said one source.

There is, moreover, another problem taking up any matter with him: Crafton has an identical twin called Alton, who works as a development coach at Gros Islet. It has not been uncommon for people to think they are speaking to one of them, when in fact it is the other.

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Toro Irrigation At Leicester City

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Toro Irrigation At Leicester City: Leicester City Football Club has selected a Toro Lynx central control system, 10 Infinity sprinklers on the pitch’s perimeter, eight T7 sprinklers in the centre and the Turf Guard wireless soil monitoring system on each corner to ensure problem-free irrigation at the King Power Stadium.

Simon Gibson, head groundsman, says he switched to Toro because he wanted more precise control: “We conducted a side-by-side trial with Toro at the stadium and straight away the even distribution the Infinitys produced was evident. You could see the consistent moisture curtain from the beginning to the very end.”

Toro Irrigation At Leicester City

Simon decided on 10 Infinity sprinklers but instead of placing them into the pitch, he put them into the 4G tracking run-off areas in stacked up irrigation boxes covered with blue astroturf. He says: “The sprinklers can’t be seen when they’re not in use and it means the pitch is 100 percent grass. The boxes aren’t filled, we simply lift the lid to access the whole unit.”

Another major advantage Simon and the team are finding is the control for spot watering. He says: “We like to keep the goal area drier than the rest of the pitch. With the Toro sprinklers and the slip clutch feature you can manually position the sprinkler where you want it without damaging the pop-up. Now on match day when we set the irrigation on, we send a member of the team round to spin the sprinkler out of the direction of the goal area. It’s great to be able to do that and have that level of control.”

Simon has had Turf Guard placed onto all four corners of the pitch and linked it to the Lynx control system. He says: “By having Turf Guard in all corners means we have a more accurate picture of what the moisture content is through the profile. It allows us to detect the dry areas before they impact on the turf’s health and prevent overwatering. It’s taken away so much of the guesswork.”

Simon has been more than impressed with the Lynx system, like so many, for its ease of use and accuracy. There is only thing he’s now waiting on and that’s a radio licence to enable direct access with the system on match days: “When there are 35,000 people on the Wifi and 4G, the service gets overloaded. We have applied for a radio licence and that will let us bypass the issue.”

With the irrigation of the pitch safely in Toro’s hands we wondered what’s next on the cards at the King Power Stadium for Simon, who has been with the club now for 20 seasons. “I always relate my time at the club by seasons,” he laughs. “Plans for the next couple of years are to reconstruct the irrigation system pipework to enable us to put TS90 sprinklers in the middle of the pitch. The configuration of the existing pipes meant we couldn’t go for this option this time and while the T7 sprinklers are brilliant once the pipe configuration has been updated it will allow us to install Toro’s ultimate infield sprinkler, the TS90. We’ll have turf cups of course and will grow the grass in a pot at the beginning of the season and then drop it into the cup so it will be a seamless playing surface.”

There seems to be a great deal of pressure on all grounds team come the start of each season, and Simon says that’s a situation that never changes: “Expectations for sports surfaces are always high and the pressure for the best surface possible only ever increases. Toro irrigation delivers on everything you ask for. You’ve got to get the best results and you do with Toro.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Vandals Set Fire To Football Pitch

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Vandals Set Fire To Football Pitch: A football pitch in Drimnagh has been damaged in a suspected arson attack.

The pitch on Benmadigan Road is used by local club St John Bosco.

It is believed plastic fencing that was left at the pitch was set on fire.

Pictures shared on social media by Cllr Daithi Doolan show a part of the pitch scorched this morning.

Cllr Doolan condemned those who caused the damage.

He said: “This vandalism damages the whole community. If you are involved please. Stop and think. If you see it. Report it.”

Cllr Doolan has reported the damage to Dublin City Council, who have assured him they will be cleaning it up as soon as possible.

St John Bosco have been established in the local community for over 60 years.

The successful club operates teams for boys and girls at all underage levels.

Gardai confirmed investigations into the incident are ongoing.

A garda spokesperson said: “Gardai were called to an incident of a report of a fire at Brickfield Park, Drimnagh on 9 February, 2019 – there was damage to a green area with fire burnt out.”

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Ashridge GC Reaps Toro Benefits

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Ashridge GC Reaps Toro Benefits: With one of the hottest summers on record last year, Ashridge Golf Club in Hertfordshire has reaped the benefits of a new Toro irrigation system, installed in the nick of time.

Consisting of a Toro Lynx control system and a combination of Toro FLEX 34, 35 and T5 RapidSet series sprinklers, the dry summer was no match for Toro’s top of the line technology.

Ashridge GC Reaps Toro Benefits

Course manager, James Camfield, explains: “The system was installed in the winter of 2017 and in 2018 we had an incredibly dry summer. It was a real test considering we were still getting used to the system, but the training provided by Toro was excellent, so we got through it with relative ease. We’re really fortunate we had the installation when we did, without it, I’m sure the course would have really suffered.”

With the new irrigation system having done wonders on the greens, tees, surrounds and approaches despite the extreme weather, James and the team have been blown away by the results.

“It’s been transformational,” he says. “We’re applying water consistently and uniformly to the greens and irrigating the surrounds automatically for the first time ever. Members and visitors have all seen the difference and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”

Looking at the club’s previous system, it’s hard to imagine what the course would be like now without the new Toro system. “The old system was originally installed in the 1970s with bits and pieces added over the years, so it just wasn’t able to keep up with the modern demands of the course,” explains James. “With leaking pipework, varying water pressure and a temperamental control system, the course would have been in far worse condition if we hadn’t updated the system when we did.”

Prior to the instalment, James visited several clubs to see different irrigation systems at work. Despite originally considering another brand, after watching the Toro Lynx control system in action James decided there was no question it was the superior option. “It became evident very quickly that Toro was the way to go, with extra features like the weather station, Turf Guard wireless soil moisture sensors and the fact you can control it from anywhere gives you complete peace of mind.”

In recent years, the 350-acre course, which originally opened in 1932, has undergone much development including rebuilding bunkers, levelling tees and managing woodland areas to name a few. As such a progressive club determined to stay at the top of its game and listed within the top 100 golf courses in England, Toro irrigation was the next step in that process.

Now, with Toro irrigation in place, the club is a proud ‘Total Solutions’ customer, and James is already making plans for the future.

“We’re looking to invest more in Toro machinery over the next few years. The club is considering a second phase of the irrigation project. Twelve of the fairways weren’t covered by the first phase and you can tell that they’ve really suffered compared to the rest of the course. Updating the fairways, starting in the worst affected areas, will help protect more of the course in the future.”

He concludes: “With our Toro irrigation system able to battle through one of the toughest summers yet, we’re confident it’s ready for any challenge that comes its way!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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