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Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

September 13, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course: Four young greenkeepers from around Europe are coming to the end of a unique six-month work experience placement at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, the host of this year’s Ryder Cup. And their stay will culminate in golf’s biggest spectacle, the Cup itself, being […]

No sleepless nights with MM50

September 12, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

No sleepless nights with MM50: Jamie Foyster, owner of Sportsturf Management, has revealed that he has been sleeping that little bit easier since using MM50 grass seed. Jamie began maintaining cricket pitches at the age of fifteen and has done so his whole life. In the early years it started as a hobby but in […]

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

September 13, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

No sleepless nights with MM50

September 12, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

September 13, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course: Four young greenkeepers from around Europe are coming to the end of a unique six-month work experience placement at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, the host of this year’s Ryder Cup. And their stay will culminate in golf’s biggest spectacle, the Cup itself, being held in the last week of September.

The placement scheme was organised by FEGGA, the Federation of European Golf Greenkeeping Associations, and sponsored by CapillaryFlow, the leader in water, carbon dioxide and oxygen management techniques for golf courses and other sports fields, and equipment giant Toro. It is the second time Capillary and FEGGA have combined to give greenkeepers work experience at a Ryder Cup site, but this scheme is very different to the one run at Le Golf National in Paris in 2018.

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

“In Paris, ten greenkeepers came from Europe and ten from the USA, but they were just there for tournament week,” says FEGGA executive officer Dean Cleaver. “Unlike all the other volunteers, who had to pay their own way to Paris, we took care of all our delegations costs for getting there and back. It worked really well, bringing greenkeepers from across the world together. But this programme is on a completely different level.”

The four scholars, Oscar Gummesson from Sweden, Ciaran Killeen from Ireland, Michele Lazzeri from Italy, and Mathis Reboullot from France, have been part of the greenkeeping team at Marco Simone since April, including for the Italian Open in May, and will remain there until the end of the Ryder Cup. “We’ve taken care of their accommodation, gave some help with flying in and out, and there has been regular education throughout the programme,” says Cleaver. “Toro has been and delivered a course on irrigation, Kneale Diamond from CapillaryFlow is going to do one on bunkers, and Alejandro Reyes, who is serving as director of agronomy for Marco Simone, has been educating them on the grass choices that were made for the golf course. It has been a really great experience for them, and I’m confident that what the four of them have learned during the placement will help them go on to become leaders of the greenkeeping community in their countries.”

CapillaryFlow chief executive Martin Sternberg, himself a qualified course superintendent, says: “We were really happy to be involved with the programme in Paris, and are even more so this year. As a company, our mission is to help improve the standard and economics of golf course – and other sports field – presentation, and improving the education of the greenkeepers who take care of those courses is a really important part of that. It’s been a fantastic programme, and I hope our scholars will go home afterwards and remember it as one of the highlights of their careers.”

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No sleepless nights with MM50

September 12, 2023/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

No sleepless nights with MM50: Jamie Foyster, owner of Sportsturf Management, has revealed that he has been sleeping that little bit easier since using MM50 grass seed.

Jamie began maintaining cricket pitches at the age of fifteen and has done so his whole life. In the early years it started as a hobby but in 2012 he acquired Sportsturf Management and has worked full-time on cricket pitches ever since.

No sleepless nights with MM50

Sportsturf Management currently provides all year-round pitch management for four clubs as well as carrying out end of season renovations for approximately twelve more. When Jamie is not providing first class management, installation, and repair of cricket pitches, he somehow finds time to be the Chairman of the Essex County Groundsman Association.

Jamie first turned to MM50 ten years ago after trialling various brands of seed. It was the seed which impressed him the most and he has used it ever since.

MM50 possesses exceptional shoot density along with tolerance to close mowing making it particularly suitable for cricket squares. This superior mix contains the perennial ryegrass cultivars, Singapore, Venice, Alison and Malibu, which are renowned for providing a great sward for cricket use. Singapore is a fantastic cultivar for cricket partly due to its ability to recover from play and wear very quickly meaning that wickets can be back in play quicker after use.

“We use MM50 across all of the grounds we look after,” said Jamie. “For the end of season work we will generally overseed every square – and then during the season, there might be a few ends which need topping up a little bit just to thicken them out. We might also use it later in the season to get the grass back in the foot holes to repair them and level them off.

“In terms of the grass plant the MM50 produces, you get very good root depth and density, which gives it its brilliant wear tolerance. I have one pitch where they had six days of cricket and between the five-foot markers, the important bit in the middle of the pitch, it was still good grass coverage. This shows you how strong the plant is and that’s what you want, because sometimes the weather dictates that you must use a pitch more than you want to.”

MM50 is also treated with HEADSTART® GOLD – a unique seaweed-based seed treatment which helps to ensure rapid and even germination. This tried and tested grass seed treatment helps the seed get off to the best possible start – making it ideal to use in the less than favourable conditions that can sometimes be found on cricket pitches during renovations.

“When there is rain, I can get MM seed up to about an inch within a week and that is without a germination sheet or a pre-seed fertiliser,” continued Jamie. “MM50 germinates really quickly, and you don’t have any sleepless nights.

“We also get great customer service which helps, and Matt Gresty (MM Sales and Brand Manager) is so down to earth. I’m a small customer that doesn’t compare with some of the massive sites that use MM seed, but Matt often calls me to find out how everything is going and is always quick to offer his advice.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s website www.mm-seeds.co.uk.

You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed.

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 and Instagram 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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

No sleepless nights with MM50

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

No sleepless nights with MM50

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Six months work experience on Ryder Cup course

No sleepless nights with MM50

No sleepless nights with MM50: Jamie Foyster, owner of Sportsturf Management, has revealed that he has been sleeping that little bit easier since using MM50 grass seed.

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