Celtic Manor Resort hosts prestigious awards

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Celtic Manor Resort hosts prestigious awards: A greenkeeper from Rudding Park Golf Club was celebrating for the second Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year competition in a row as Matthew Milligan secured the prestigious award at grand finals hosted at the Celtic Manor Resort.

Myerscough College student Matthew, 26, is First Assistant at Rudding Park, the same venue that Jason Norwood was employed at when he won the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award in 2019.

Celtic Manor Resort hosts prestigious awards

Celtic Manor Resort hosts prestigious awards

Joining Matthew in celebrating at the event was Rhian Barton, 22, of The Wisley Golf Club, who became the first woman to win the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Award since its inception in 2016.

This year the finals were hosted for the first time in the championship surroundings of the Celtic Manor Resort, host of the 2010 Ryder Cup. Director of Golf Courses and Estate Management Jim McKenzie MBE welcomed the finalists to the venue with a walk around the Twenty Ten course. Jim then spoke to the finalists about that experience and offered sage advice on how to develop their careers.

With the awards split into two separate categories once again, candidates for the Toro Young Student of the Year Award, who must be aged 21 and under when nominated, undertook an exam and then a hole walk with the awards judges, intended to test the finalists’ knowledge in a real world setting. The finalists in the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year main category also completed an exam but in addition were judged via a grass and seed identification challenge, by answering an essay question and by delivering an individual presentation about their careers so far.

The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards were introduced in 1989, with an additional ‘Young’ category introduced in 2016. The awards did not take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the reintroduction in 2021 enabled David Cole to participate one final time ahead of his retirement as managing director of Reesink Turfcare in spring 2022.

David said: “We knew this year’s award was going to be special. Being back after last year’s lockdown absence with a fantastic calibre of finalists in the grand setting of Celtic Manor Resort, plus a course walk around the Twenty Ten Ryder Cup course and after-dinner speech, both by Jim McKenzie MBE, made it one to remember before we’d even conducted the finals.

“All the finalists showed how much promise there is and how much there is to celebrate in the next generation of greenkeepers. So, it is a huge achievement for the winners, Matt for the main award and Rhian for the young award, to have triumphed. I know both will make sure they maximise the opportunities presented by their educational, international prizes.

“However, the event was bittersweet for me as it is my last. I am leaving Reesink this spring, but to see two such worthwhile winners and especially to see Rhian, our first ever female young finalist let alone winner, makes it the perfect one to finish on.”

BIGGA Head of Learning and Development Sami Strutt said: “I’m delighted to be able to present these awards to Matthew and Rhian at the culmination of this year’s Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards. The competition began in March with a record-breaking number of nominations and concluded over the past two days with 12 outstanding finalists who all deserve to be applauded for their knowledge, passion and dedication to the greenkeeping profession.

“The Celtic Manor Resort provided a breathtaking venue for this year’s finals and we continue to be incredibly grateful to Toro and Reesink Turfcare for providing this career-defining opportunity for our most ambitious and talented student members.”

Winners of the main award receive a Toro Scholarship that includes a turf management study course at the University of Massachusetts, a trip to the Golf Industry Show and a visit to the Toro factory. Should coronavirus restrictions prevent this, an alternative prize of equal standing will be organised.

The Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year winner receives a two-week work placement at Vidauban Golf Club in France, plus a trip to Continue to Learn at BTME.

Prizes are also given to the winners’ endorsers and the runners-up in each category, with Craig Woodman of Broadstone Golf Club and Will Pallister of Cleckheaton & District Golf Club coming second in their respective categories. For Craig it was the second time he had finished as runner-up at the awards, having also done so in the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year category in 2017.

The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards will return for 2022, with nominations opening in March next year.

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A pitch fit for the Premiership

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A pitch fit for the Premiership: Formartine United Football Club boasts a pitch to match its ambitions thanks to an experienced groundsman and two Dennis mowers. 

The club from Pitmedden, Aberdeenshire is currently playing in the Highland Football League but has its sights set higher.

A pitch fit for the Premiership

A pitch fit for the Premiership

“It is a success story so far, but we’re not finished yet,” said Head Groundsman Paul Fiske.

“We were in the amateurs, then progressed through to juniors and are now in the Highland League. The ambition is to reach the Scottish Professional Football Leagues and I don’t think we are far off.”

It is safe to say that Paul already knows how to prepare a pitch worthy of the professional leagues after spending 22 years as the Head Groundsman at Aberdeen FC. His work at Formartine has already been widely recognised and most recently by another Scottish Premiership team.

“We played Motherwell FC in the Scottish Cup and they were really impressed with how good the surface was – the manager and a lot of the players were saying that the pitch was as good as anything they have played on in the Premier League.”

Aside from his groundsmanship skills, Paul also believes the success of the pitch is down to Atholl Cadger, the chairman and Sandy Sinclair vice-chairman, who he says are “key to the club’s ambition” and “backs me to the hilt” when it comes to pitch maintenance.

This certainly rings true when you consider that the club has recently invested in a new Dennis PRO 34R. This innovative rotary mower is ideal for sports pitches and lawns producing the enviable ‘Dennis Stripes’ whilst a powerful vacuum flow collects debris quickly and efficiently.

Paul claims that the PRO 34R has been an absolute “gamechanger” and has saved him an incredible amount of time.

“I previously had a 26-inch rotary mower and to clean-up after a game it would take me six hours,” he said. “When I found out Dennis had brought out a 34-inch rotary I just knew that it would be ideal, plus it has the brush on the front of it as well which is brilliant.

“I would say that the PRO 34R has cut those six hours in half – and therefore it allows me more time to get on with other jobs.”

To accompany his new PRO 34R, Paul also relies on his trusty Dennis G860 cylinder mower – which he was pleased to see was already in the shed when he first arrived.

“I’d used the G860 a lot at Aberdeen FC, so I was over the moon to see that machine already here,” he said. “It is so light yet powerful and, in my opinion, is the best cylinder mower out there.”

As Paul says, the G860 is lightweight at just 166kg and it is also easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to operate. The handlebar console houses the controls for the throttle, parking brake, roller drive and cutting cylinder drive.

The mower features a large diameter front roller with an adjustable scraper which has been designed for a precise height of cut control, giving an excellent finish on every occasion. The Dennis G860 also features an interchangeable cassette system to assist with a wide range of tasks such as including scarifying, verticutting, brushing, spiking, and slitting.

“We have pretty much all the cassettes which help with a wide range of tasks,” said Paul. “The Sorrel Roller cassette is fantastic to use in the winter as it helps to get some much-needed air into the surface.

“We cut to a height of somewhere between 26-28mm in the height of the summer, and then taking that up to maybe 30-32mm in winter. I’ll cut everyday with the G860 including a double cut on a Friday and then a final cut on the morning of a matchday.

“The 8-bladed cylinder provides the perfect finish,” he continued. “It is a great machine and ticks every box for the club.

“I would not hesitate to recommend both the G860 and the PRO 34R to anyone.”

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

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter and Instagram @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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Redexim proves the perfect partner

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Redexim proves the perfect partner: A vast and varied fleet of equipment from Redexim has been fundamental to the team at Sheringham Golf Club, as they continue to undertake a number of large-scale construction and renovation projects around the Norfolk clifftop course.

After taking over as Course Manager 12 months ago, Rick Goodman has overseen the majority of the works, including a species exchange on some of the courses high-footfall areas – for which he has praised their Overseeder 3D 1275.

Redexim proves the perfect partner

Redexim proves the perfect partner

Rick and his team of nine utilised some of the breaks in play caused by COVID to carry out some major renovations to the bunkers and introduce some more tolerant species into both the fairways and greens. “Our Overseeder has been ideal for the work on the fairways, on which we’ve been drilling in fescue and ultra-fine ryes which work well together and provide us with improved wear tolerance” Rick explains. “Conversely, on our greens we were finding the fescues were being outcompeted here, so we hired a Redexim SpeedSeed dimple seeder to incorporate more bent which is native in some areas around the course. This has been showing excellent results.”

“We’ve also been introducing more finer fescues and bents into our roughs, as we move towards the establishment of ‘eco-roughs’ to frame the holes.” For this, the team have been utilising the Redexim Turf Tidy 3000. Offering versatile cut and collect in a productive 1.8m wide unit, the Turf Tidy has been used twice a year to thin out Sheringham’s native coarse grasses to create a more favourable environment for finer species. “The Turf Tidy is a fantastic piece of kit. Because it does both jobs in one pass, it’s made the task simple and straightforward and has been fundamental to the improvements we’ve seen in these areas.”

The Overseeder and Turf Tidy sit in the shed, alongside a number of other Redexim units including two widths of Verti-Drain, a Rink DS800 topdresser and a Speed-Brush. The newest addition to Rick’s fleet is the 6m wide Top-Brush, installed by local dealers Ben Burgess in April 2020. “This was purchased purely on the back of problems we’d experienced with worm casts, however as soon as we used it, the quality of presentation and finish amazed myself and the team. When the growth slows down we can cover all of the fairways with the Top-Brush in less than two hours, and achieve a two-tone finish that looks like we’ve cut the grass. It’s a real winner in our books!”

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Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report

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Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report: The Amenity Forum is the UK Voluntary Initiative promoting best practice in all aspects of the management of amenity spaces and sports surfaces.

It seeks to bring together all who work in this diverse and essential sector providing support and guidance and acting as an independent link between the sector and policy makers. The Annual Report for 2021 covers the year up to the end of July this year. Whilst a report on activities, it also provides information on how the sector has progressed in meeting UK targets and identifies key issues facing all involved in, what without any doubt, are extremely challenging times.

Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report

Amenity Forum publishes its Annual Report

Writing in the Report, the Forum’s independent chairman, Professor John Moverley OBE says ‘’Even without the implications of the Pandemic, this has certainly been another year full of change, challenge and opportunity for the Forum. There is much going on at policy level with the UK Government finalising its review of the National Action Plan and a further review of pesticide policy ongoing. The Forum is fully contributing to the process where requested and appropriate with UK and national governments and indeed all involved in policy making and implementation.

The report shows that the Forum continues to respond to a wide range of consultations and has been fully engaged with partners and all stakeholders dealing with the implications of the pandemic. The role of amenity managers during this time has been essential maintaining our transport networks, parks and more. It has not been easy working conditions and they deserve all our thanks.

It is important to ensure the debate is not an either or but based on an integrated approach making use of all the tools available in the most effective way. The year has also seen the debate widened to take account of the environmental costs of different approaches particularly in determining carbon sums from the various methods employed. Out of change inevitably comes challenge – but the professional amenity sector is robust and ready. There is much to be proud of in the professionalism of our sector’’.

The report identifies that some  key priorities in the year have been in assisting everyone engaged to further develop integrated management  approaches, promoting the sector wide Amenity Standard and to significantly increasing communications both to the public and within the sector. The full report is available on the Amenity Forum website in the resources section https://amenityforum.co.uk/resources/amenity-forum-2021-annual-report/

The report identifies that there is much change ahead and in this regard the timing of the 2021 Amenity Forum conference, to be held on October 21st, could not be better and its title ‘Facing the Future’ very apt indeed including some eminent speakers and good opportunity to network and catch up on developments in the exhibition area. A day not to be missed and, given the support from organisations, very competitively priced at £95 per delegate. For further information, contact Kate at admin@amenityforum.net

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Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential

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Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential: Agrovista Amenity has further underlined its commitment to export by becoming a corporate member of the Institute of Export & International Trade.

Since Agrovista Amenity was launched many UK customers have benefited from a wider breadth of innovative products and specialist technical expertise. UK sport is a global spectacle and sets the standard for first class agronomy intelligence and natural playing surfaces.

Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential

Agrovista Amenity boosts export potential

There is, however, increasing pressure on grounds managers to produce the best playing surfaces and this in turn sees more demand for companies like Agrovista Amenity to provide new and innovative technologies.

With an experienced and motivated management team, the plan was always to explore new opportunities, and export was high on the agenda for Agrovista Amenity.

Although a vast range of the company’s products have already made an impression in various global markets, Export Manager Tom Challinor has revealed that the plan is to go even further.

“We want to grow export and the potential is absolutely there,” he said. “In the UK we are already one of the biggest amenity providers and now is the time to push on globally. I am fully focused on gradually building the export side of the business.”

With the company’s focus on sustainability, products such as those in Agrovista Amenity’s WhiptecBio range are becoming more sought after – especially due to the global initiative to reduce plastic waste. WhiptecBio tree and hedge guards are perfect for European nurseries and landscapers.

Agrovista Amenity’s diverse product range gives international customers a ‘one stop shop’ supplying everything from fertilisers, bio stimulants and micronutrients through to line marking paint, professional tools and equipment.

With excellent international logistics partners Agrovista can send products into Europe and Worldwide competitively and in good time.

The Institute of Export & International Trade is renowned for enhancing the export performance of the United Kingdom by setting and maintaining professional standards in international trade management and export practice. This is principally achieved by the provision of education, training and practical business support services.

“Having the corporate membership status gives us credibility, certainly when we are dealing with overseas customers. It shows that we are trusted exporters, which is essential especially in these current times.”

Tom admitted that the membership has come at a welcome time due to challenging and often complex trading conditions in international markets. He claims that the role of the Institute of Export & International Trade has never been more vital.

“With Brexit and the pandemic, export has become more complex,” he said. “The workload has increased, and everything is checked a lot more stringently now. Being up to date on changing legislation and customs formalities is crucial in successfully servicing our overseas customers and making sure our goods leave the UK and on to the destination country efficiently. This is where the support of the Institute will be beneficial with specific departments where we can access a host of information, such as legislation and customs advice.

“Overall, this membership is a very positive step forward and I believe it will continue to help us export our products into Europe and worldwide.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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