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Pitch Perfect At Swindon Town

February 15, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Pitch Perfect At Swindon Town: Long summer hours, ensuring a pre-planned fertiliser programme is on target and achieving the right aeration balance – you could consider all of the above to be traits required by one of Wiltshire’s many farmers. But it also applies to Swindon Town’s chief groundsman Marcus Cassidy, who is midway through his […]

Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park

February 14, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park: For the past 15 years, Otterbine’s Sunburst aerating fountain has created a stunning centrepiece to the heart of Ladbrook Park Golf Club in the midlands. Three impressive interconnecting lakes make up the centre of Ladbrook Park and with 12,000m² of water in total, it’s paramount a high-quality aerating system is in […]

Pitch Perfect At Swindon Town

February 15, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park

February 14, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

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Pitch Perfect At Swindon Town

February 15, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

But it also applies to Swindon Town’s chief groundsman Marcus Cassidy, who is midway through his 18th season at the club.

It’s a job that started for the Stonehouse-born groundsman by chance after he landed the role through a friend before completing various courses to expand his qualifications.

He now works alongside apprentice Conor Collins – who spends his Saturday’s working on Southampton’s pitch – while using an army of 10 volunteers to ensure the pitch is prepared to perfection ahead of matchday.

A fortnight ago on Saturday proved a rare occurrence for Cassidy as Town’s home game against Forest Green Rovers was postponed due to heavy snowfall.

But it was only dangerous conditions around the perimeter of the Energy Check County Ground that forced the game off – with the club deeming the pitch as fit to play on.

“Snow is a great insulator,” explained Cassidy. “So if the ground isn’t frozen, the snow will keep the frost out – and vice-versa.

“Our pitch is a very old pitch, it’s essentially a sand and soil pitch. Premier League, Championship and even some pitches in League Two are hybrid – they are three to five per cent plastic.”

assidy has every right to claim the County Ground as one of the truest pitches in League Two, and he pinned that down to the investment provided by chairman Lee Power and chief executive Steve Anderson.

While he accepts he is a way off having the tools Premier League staff have to their disposal, Cassidy revealed the club is more than half way there to being home to world-class equipment used by top teams including Manchester City, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

He added: “The club has invested in the machinery that I can use in the last three years.

“That makes things a lot easier. When you’re waiting on contractors, they might not be able to get there or might be on another job.

“With the tools I’ve got, I can go out and do what I want, when I want.

“That’s why the pitch is holding up well, because the club has invested.

“I’m always asking for more equipment. In the Premiership, they get what tools they want.

“We try and improve a little bit each year. I’m under no illusions, when you get relegated into League Two budgets will be cut.

“But Steve Anderson and Lee Power do try and keep the pitch to the standard it is. They expect a good pitch, and they want a good pitch.

“It’s a slow process – I’ll always ask for more than I can get. They can only say no.”

Watching the game often comes second on Cassidy’s list, who has his eyes on the ball more than anything else come 3pm on Saturday.

And you can rest assured he and his hard-working team of staff will be putting the hours in ahead of Town’s next home game against Grimsby Town on February 23.

“You try and watch the game, but I’m watching the ball more than anything,” said Cassidy.

“I want to see the ball rolling well. When I watch the highlights, I’ll watch them twice – I study the pitch first and then the goals.

“It’s pretty sad, but that’s my job.

“We do less hours in the winter – sometimes you just leave it alone. You can do more damage by overworking a pitch.

“Less is more in the winter.”

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Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park

February 14, 2019/in News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park: For the past 15 years, Otterbine’s Sunburst aerating fountain has created a stunning centrepiece to the heart of Ladbrook Park Golf Club in the midlands.

Three impressive interconnecting lakes make up the centre of Ladbrook Park and with 12,000m² of water in total, it’s paramount a high-quality aerating system is in place to keep the water clear and healthy. And for 15 years, Otterbine’s Sunburst aerating fountain has been more than up to the task, says course manager, Kevin Fellows:

“The lakes are central to the course and provide the backdrop to many of our 18-holes, so having a reliable aerating fountain that keeps the water clean and clear, while also creating a striking centrepiece is of the utmost importance.

“For 15 years, the Sunburst has given us everything we needed. When we first excavated the lakes in conjunction with a local contractor, there was a transition period when we had a lot of weed and algae build up which was causing problems and fixing that as soon as possible was a real priority.”

To combat this, the club worked with a water management company who recommended the Otterbine Sunburst fountain. Everyone was confident the Sunburst was up to the task of keeping such a large body of water in good condition, and that confidence was well founded!

“Once we had the fountain installed it solved all of our problems within a couple of weeks,” says Kevin. “You could see the improvement pretty much immediately, which definitely gave us peace of mind we’d made the right choice.”

The club excavated the lakes itself, not just to create beautiful surroundings for golfers, but to give themselves a source of water for irrigation purposes. With the Otterbine aerating fountain, the water is a good enough quality to use for irrigation across the course and without having to rely on the mains water supply, the club has saved money and gained peace of mind from its ability to be self-reliant, which “has been a real bonus” says Kevin.

During its time at the club, the fountain has performed brilliantly, and Kevin doesn’t expect that to change. “The fountain hasn’t let us down yet, and it’s over a decade old! We have routine inspections anyway and knowing we have the back-up from Otterbine and its distributor Reesink Turfcare should we need it is enough to guarantee peace of mind.”

He concludes: “The Otterbine fountain has not only been one of the best investments we’ve made, it’s part of the scenery here at Ladbrook Park. It’s cost effective to run and has proven itself to be a really reliable product which is quite literally at the heart of the course.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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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)

Pitch Perfect At Swindon Town

Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park

Pitch Perfect At Swindon Town

Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Pitch Perfect At Swindon Town

Otterbine Fountain At Ladbrook Park

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