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One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

July 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Karl Hansell

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has issued the results of a major industry survey, with some of the findings representing a stark warning to the golfing industry. More than 1,300 members of BIGGA, representing golf clubs across the United Kingdom, responded to the survey, […]

It’s more than products with ICL

July 11, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

It’s more than products with ICL: Warren Scott, Grounds Manager at Liverpool Football Club, has revealed why he chooses to work so closely with ICL. Warren has been working for Liverpool FC for an incredible twenty-three years. He joined as an apprentice, worked his way up and now oversees the twenty-five members of grounds staff […]

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

July 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Karl Hansell

It’s more than products with ICL

July 11, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

July 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Karl Hansell

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has issued the results of a major industry survey, with some of the findings representing a stark warning to the golfing industry.

More than 1,300 members of BIGGA, representing golf clubs across the United Kingdom, responded to the survey, which asked them to provide details of working conditions at their facilities, in addition to commenting on their job satisfaction.

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

With talk of difficulties regarding the recruitment and retention of staff common, BIGGA undertook the survey to gain solid evidence of the challenges at UK golf clubs, and the results have raised a number of concerns.

Although 56% of respondents said they were happy working within the greenkeeping profession, 35% admitted they were currently looking for opportunities outside the industry.

With regard to issues of recruitment, 53% are running with teams at less than full strength, while 83.5% said they struggle to recruit new staff.

The boom in golf that followed the coronavirus lockdowns in the past two years has translated to a general increase in staffing numbers, with golf clubs having on average one extra full time greenkeeper compared to the previous poll in 2019.

However, investment in staff welfare facilities hasn’t materialised, with, for example, only one in five facilities offering single sex changing facilities and toilets for female team members. Despite increased reliance on technology, nearly half of clubs don’t provide internet connectivity within the greenkeeping facility.

Further details and a results breakdown is available on the BIGGA website at: https://www.bigga.org.uk/news-listing/greenkeepers-bigga-workforce-survey.html

BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton said: “I’m pleased to be able to present robust data to the wider golfing industry that lays bare some fairly frightening statistics on the challenges that exist within our profession.

“We know anecdotally that there are major challenges regarding the recruitment and retention of staff and also that pay, conditions and welfare are major contributors, but to see in black and white that nearly 35% of greenkeepers are looking for work outside the industry is truly a concern.

“Equally, finding out that only one in five facilities are equipped for female staff members shows that the sport’s laudable ambitions to improve equality and diversity are not translating into our side of the game.

“But the key question is what does the game of golf does with this information? It is widely known that there is currently a general challenge in recruiting and retaining staff across society. In order to continue functioning, many sectors have responded with significant pay increases and improvement in working conditions. Golf requires an integrated approach by the entire sport to overcome the challenges laid out by this survey. This approach will need to clearly lay out the challenges, create targets and devise plans to achieve our ambitions.”

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It’s more than products with ICL

July 11, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

It’s more than products with ICL: Warren Scott, Grounds Manager at Liverpool Football Club, has revealed why he chooses to work so closely with ICL.

Warren has been working for Liverpool FC for an incredible twenty-three years. He joined as an apprentice, worked his way up and now oversees the twenty-five members of grounds staff across four of the club’s sites including the legendary Anfield Stadium.

It’s more than products with ICL

Warren admits to avoiding the limelight but his whole philosophy to grounds management is somewhat pioneering. His innovative methods could well be the blueprint for years to come according to Phil Collinson, North West Key Accounts Manager for ICL.

“I like coming in here because I always learn something new,” said Phil. “What Warren is trying to do is absolutely ground-breaking and in years’ to come his work should be influencing the whole industry.”

It goes without saying that Warren selects his turf maintenance products very carefully.

“I decided to test a range of ICL fertilisers against others we have previously used,” he said. “We collected data from our soil probes, took leaf tissue and soil samples and we found that a lot of the ICL products stood out in terms of longevity, performance, and also price.”

After Warren’s trials, he began speaking to Phil, and it became evident to him that ICL offers a whole lot more than just products.

“Phil started to go through how I work as a groundsman, how I look at growing grass, how I like to maintain the football pitches here – he wanted to learn about what I do and what I want, rather than just sell me products.

“I also wanted to work with a company that could help me to prove certain things I believe in,” he continued. “Personally, I think that as an industry we overuse fertilisers and so I was therefore surprised that a fertiliser company was willing to share their research and work with me on this – especially as I want to use less. For the past year that is what we have been doing together.”

Phil commented on this approach: “It is great to work closely with Warren on this. At ICL we only ever recommend applying exactly what is needed – we are very efficient with what we do. Fortunately, I work for a company that allows this technical approach, rather than being solely sales led. It is essential to have knowledge of what the customer is trying to do, otherwise you can’t have that relationship or help provide the correct solutions.”

Warren uses a wide range of ICL and Syngenta products across all the club’s sites and he offered a snapshot into how two of the products have performed.

“I think if you can keep the rootzone moisture even throughout the profile, then you will get a more uniformed growth pattern – and this is why we use Qualibra wetting agent.

We generally apply this product every three weeks and have had very good results.

“I also like the mix of Qualibra used with Vitalnova Links (a biostimulant formulation). This mix really impressed me last year and we saw better germination on the pitches where this was applied.”

Aside from the products, Warren was also quick to praise ICL’s commitment to education.

“A big factor in choosing to work with ICL is that you can get great education along with the products that we use,” he said. “I would never put a product down without knowing exactly what the product is, but many skilled grounds persons, not always by choice, don’t know this. Quite often they don’t get the chance or the time to do this kind of research. In this respect ICL frequently hold seminars and education days – they give people the opportunity to learn why they are applying certain products.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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)

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

It’s more than products with ICL

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

It’s more than products with ICL

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf

One-in-three greenkeepers looking for work outside of golf: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has issued the results of a major industry survey, with some of the findings representing a stark warning to the golfing industry.

It’s more than products with ICL

It’s more than products with ICL: Warren Scott, Grounds Manager at Liverpool Football Club, has revealed why he chooses to work so closely with ICL.

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