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Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

February 3, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club: Where once stood a croquet lawn and tennis courts, the Broadway Bowling Club opened its doors in 1919. It sits in an idyllic location in beautifully maintained grounds with scenic views towards the Cotswold escarpment and the Broadway tower; a ‘Saxon Tower’ folly that was the brainchild of […]

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

February 2, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity: Agrovista UK has announced the appointment of Doug McLaren as a new Amenity Specialist who will be operating throughout Berkshire across to Essex and up to Northampton. Doug started his career in greenkeeping after enjoying a summer job at a small nine-hole golf course in the Scottish Highlands. For the […]

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

February 3, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

February 2, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

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Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

February 3, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Tony Hawkins

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club: Where once stood a croquet lawn and tennis courts, the Broadway Bowling Club opened its doors in 1919. It sits in an idyllic location in beautifully maintained grounds with scenic views towards the Cotswold escarpment and the Broadway tower; a ‘Saxon Tower’ folly that was the brainchild of 18^th Century landscape designer ‘Capability Brown’.

The gently sloping banks of herbaceous flower borders and hedging change through the seasons and come days when the weather halts play, the club’s pavilion offers a pool table and an indoor skittle alley for members to enjoy.

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

It was during 2021 the weather brought matters to a head for Dennis Hall, Broadway’s Greenkeeper of ten years. Increasingly, the green was suffering from standing water after heavy rain, with one area getting progressively worse. Even in dry periods, it was noted the ground was frequently mushy when the mower went through the area. Avonmore Associates, the highly respected South Warwickshire sports grounds construction and maintenance company, regularly maintain the green with a regime of spiking and aeration. They suspected a deeper problem. As happens with many older bowling greens, the sheer volume of play over the years, combined with the substrate of the original construction, leads to compaction at a depth not reached by normal aeration. In Broadway’s case, there are mixed areas of stone and clay with insufficient release of standing water built up over time.

Avonmore suggested using Terrain Aeration, with whom they have worked on a number of projects, to bring in their Terralift machine to provide one metre deep aeration. At this depth, the ground is usually so compacted it requires fracturing to open up fissures and allow drainage. Terrain Aeration’s Terralift system works on the principle of hammering a hollow probe through the soil using a JCB road breaker gun, and compressed air is released up to 20Bar (280psi). At the end of the air blast, they inject dried seaweed, which sticks to the fissure walls. This expands and contracts with the moisture in the soil to keep the area breathing. Working to a grid with approximately two metre spacings allows the Terralift to create interlinked cracks and fissures deep underground to carry away the water. The 1.5-inch probe holes on the green are backfilled with Lytag aggregate and covered with topsoil, making it playable almost immediately. The work at the Broadway Bowling Club was carried out in November 2021 and Dennis Hall reports that they have had several periods of heavy downpour and the deep aeration has done the trick with no standing water to halt play.

Terrain Aeration 01449 673783 www.terrainaeration.co.uk

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New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

February 2, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity: Agrovista UK has announced the appointment of Doug McLaren as a new Amenity Specialist who will be operating throughout Berkshire across to Essex and up to Northampton.

Doug started his career in greenkeeping after enjoying a summer job at a small nine-hole golf course in the Scottish Highlands. For the next thirty years he proceeded to work at many prestigious courses such as The Wisley Golf Club in Surrey, St Andrews in Scotland, a De Vere club in Lancashire, the Golf de Joyenval in Paris, The Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire, and Batchworth Park Golf Club in Rickmansworth. Along the way he worked hard to gain qualifications including an NVQ in Greenkeeping and both a HND and a HNC in Golf Course Management.

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

Prior to joining Agrovista Amenity, Doug was taking some time out after recovering from a brain haemorrhage.

“I was very lucky, and it made me take a step back to reassess,” he said. “I felt that it was time to move away from greenkeeping and then I was made aware of an opportunity at Agrovista Amenity. It is a company that I have worked with a lot over the years, so I know the products very well. I felt it would be a good fit.”

With a wide variety of clients in different sectors, Doug admits it has been a whirlwind start, but claims he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’m a bit of a sponge at the moment,” he said. “I’m really enjoying going around all the different businesses, taking in as much information as I can, as well as passing on my knowledge.

“It’s an exciting time to be at Agrovista Amenity and I’m astonished at just how many products we have,” he continued. “There is absolutely nothing we can’t do as a company – the possibilities are endless and that is the message we are trying to get out there.”

With a strong portfolio at his disposal, Doug is ready to address any emerging trends and he is already seeing a strong desire within the industry to shift towards more eco-friendly products and packaging.

Turf and amenity managers are publicly showing that they are keener than ever to address sustainability with their practices. Working with the current supplier base Doug sees huge potential within the portfolio to provide solutions to these challenges and other yet to come.

Doug claims that he has identified several growth areas and he will be working hard to achieve his goals. He admits that it won’t be without its challenges and conceded that the pandemic continues to have an impact. However, while most sports and businesses came to a standstill, some are now seeing an encouraging resurgence.

“Covid has without doubt had an impact on sporting venues, but some are returning with a bang – golf in particular. Prior to the pandemic, golf membership was declining throughout the country but now looking to get back to if not beyond the previous levels. I’ve noticed that lots of clubs are benefiting and are now looking to invest in their courses and facilities.

“I know first-hand that it is getting harder and harder for these people to produce the best surfaces they can and I’m looking forward to helping them.”

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

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)

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity

New appointment at Agrovista Amenity: Agrovista UK has announced the appointment of Doug McLaren as a new Amenity Specialist who will be operating throughout Berkshire across to Essex and up to Northampton.

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