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Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen

July 9, 2025/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen: Machinery and management is working in tandem to elevate one of the world’s top 70 courses. After more than two decades steadily climbing the ranks at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, Richard Johnstone took on a fresh challenge in 2024—one that placed him at the helm of one […]

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston

July 9, 2025/in News, Press Release/by Admin

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston: Hybrid pitches have emerged as a key ally in the fight to maintain top-level performance in cricket. But there’s a lot more this technology can offer the sport. It’s no secret the cricket calendar is a lot busier than it used to be. So busy, in […]

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen

July 9, 2025/in News, Press Release/by Admin

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston

July 9, 2025/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen

July 9, 2025/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen: Machinery and management is working in tandem to elevate one of the world’s top 70 courses.

After more than two decades steadily climbing the ranks at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, Richard Johnstone took on a fresh challenge in 2024—one that placed him at the helm of one of the most historic and revered links courses in the world.

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen

As course manager at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, he is leading an ambitious programme of enhancement and innovation that is both respectful of tradition and responsive to the evolving demands of modern golf.

The move was a natural progression for Richard, who brought with him not only a wealth of greenkeeping experience but also a clear, strategic vision.

During the job application process, he impressed with a detailed redevelopment plan that analysed every aspect of the course, from greens and fairways to tees and approaches – and the machinery used to action this – demonstrating a deep understanding of what it would take to push an already world-class venue to the next level.

Since his arrival, Richard has been implementing that plan with a keen focus on long-term sustainability and high-level presentation.

One of the first major projects was addressing a fleet of ageing machinery that was beginning to show its limitations. After extensive testing and staff consultation, the club committed to a five-year lease on a full suite of John Deere machinery—a decision that has already paid dividends.

The new fleet, which includes walk-behind greens mowers, fairway units, compact tractors, utility vehicles, and a GPS-guided sprayer, represents a significant upgrade in both capability and efficiency. While the kit is relatively new to the team, its reliability and ease of use have already helped instill a renewed sense of pride and professionalism among the greenkeeping staff.

Technology now plays a central role in daily operations. Through the John Deere Operations Center, Richard and his team can monitor performance, track machine usage, and plan maintenance schedules with far greater accuracy than before.

The club’s in-house mechanic oversees this data, ensuring that the equipment is not only used optimally but maintained to the highest standards.

Richard is also a firm believer in empowering his team with knowledge. He places strong emphasis on training and communication, helping staff make the most of modern tools such as soil sensors, moisture meters, and weather apps—resources that are increasingly essential in fine-tuning course conditions.

Part of his passion was fuelled by what he experienced at TPC Sawgrass in 2017 when he was selected to be part of the BIGGA volunteer programme, sponsored by John Deere.

With just 10 full-time greenkeepers responsible for both Royal Aberdeen and the adjacent Aberdeen Ladies Course, staffing has historically been a challenge. But under Richard’s guidance, the team is beginning to grow, with plans to add additional staff each year to meet rising expectations and visitor numbers.

“There’s no off-season here,” says Richard. “From early spring, we welcome golfers from around the world—many of whom have travelled great distances and invested heavily in their visit. The course must reflect that level of commitment.”

Looking ahead, Royal Aberdeen is working with world-renowned golf architects on a five-year improvement plan that will address not only course enhancements but also the ongoing threat of coastal erosion. This environmental challenge is a key consideration in the club’s future strategy, and one that Richard is tackling head-on—with sustainability a core part of the solution.

The new machinery plays a vital role in that commitment. The GPS sprayer helps reduce chemical use through precision targeting, while features like electric reel motors on the greens mowers cut fuel consumption.

Combined with solar power and the club’s existing GEO certification, it’s all part of a broader push to ensure that Royal Aberdeen remains not only a premier golf destination, but a responsible steward of the environment.

Major tournaments are also on the horizon, with the Scottish Amateur Championship set for 2026 and discussions underway for a major event to mark the club’s 250th anniversary in 2030.

For Richard, these milestones are markers on a longer journey—a mission to continually raise standards, invest in people, and evolve a historic course for the demands of tomorrow’s game.

“It’s about elevating everything—our team, our practices, and the course itself,” he says. “With the right tools, and the right mindset, there’s no reason we can’t set a new benchmark for links golf.”

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How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston

July 9, 2025/in News, Press Release/by Admin

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston: Hybrid pitches have emerged as a key ally in the fight to maintain top-level performance in cricket. But there’s a lot more this technology can offer the sport.

It’s no secret the cricket calendar is a lot busier than it used to be.

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston

So busy, in fact, that we now have a term for the challenge it lays down for those playing the game and maintaining the wickets throughout the year: fixture congestion.

It’s all good for the game, though not without its challenges. Cricket is reaching more people than ever – and the diversity of formats has secured a future with new audiences across the world. But, in the UK at least, all this growth is happening within the same stadiums, many of which have existed for decades.

For groundspeople, there is now simply too much traffic to maintain a consistent and even bounce across all competitions, especially when relying solely on all-natural turf. It was this realisation that led the team at Edgbaston to consider a new surface technology – one that has unlocked a previously unattainable level of durability and consistency.

The move has created room for more double-headers and plenty of drama for the fans – a real boon for the ‘people’s home of cricket’. It has also accommodated the growing success of the women’s game, with the Bears now boasting both men’s and women’s squads.

However, as Gary Barwell, Edgbaston’s Head of Sports Turf explains, reaching this point has been several years in the making. We caught up with Gary to get the full innings.

Left-field inspiration

Edgbaston is now one of a growing number of major cricket grounds with a SIS Grass Hybrid pitch installed on its main playing area. This work has been a huge success, allowing the stadium to better manage cricket’s increasingly busy schedule without compromising performance. It’s also provided parity, allowing the women’s teams to practice and compete on the same pitches as the men.

The stadium’s experiments with a hybrid pitch can be traced back to 2017 – and, oddly enough, because of an entirely different sport. While the technology has been around since the late ‘80s and used for elite-level cricket competition since 2019, it was the hybrid’s success in football that got the ball rolling in Birmingham: “It all started after the Champions Trophy,” says Barwell. “As one of three grounds used for the tournament, we began to see the square suffer and good playing conditions became much harder to maintain. Once it concluded, we began looking at our options. The hybrid concept emerged as a frontrunner after a visit to St. George’s Park, the FA’s national football centre.”

An interest in replicating hybrid’s successes for cricket led Barwell to SIS Pitches – and more specifically SIS Grass Hybrid. Unlike other hybrid systems that are more complicated to install, SIS Grass Hybrid uses the patented Universal machine, injecting a small percentage of polymer fibre into a stadium’s natural turf. This composition is more resilient to stresses created during play, helping to prolong the life of a playing surface, guarantee an even bounce and ease pressure on busy groundspeople. Completed installations are predominantly natural grass, with around 5% of polymer fibre used. This ensures the characteristics of an all-natural pitch are maintained.

It was this mix of convenience, resilience and playability that appealed to Barwell, with Edgbaston subsequently trialling the technology in late 2017, ahead of another major milestone for innovation in cricket. “Our first trial began with the UK’s first day-night test between England and West Indies. The bowlers had full use of it throughout, sending plenty of deliveries, and initial impressions were very positive. The players said it had a better carry and more consistent bounce, along with much less wear and tear. This was a key moment for us because player feedback really carries in this sport.”

Getting on the scoreboard

Edgbaston’s move into hybrids coincided with a growing interest in new surfaces among cricket’s elite. In 2017, the England Cricket Board signed off on two hybrid wickets at its National Performance Centre in Loughborough, another SIS Pitches installation. Much like Barwell, the ECB opted for the trial having noticed the success of hybrid surfaces in the Premier League.

In 2019, following positive feedback from county clubs, the ECB then sanctioned hybrids for use in the Royal London One Day Cup, Vitality Blast and all formats of Second XI cricket. This decision set the stage for major stadiums, like Edgbaston, to begin integrating the surface within elite-level competition. “We continued to use the technology in the intervening years,” adds Barwell. “This period allowed us to fully understand how the fibres interacted under different moisture conditions, as well as the system’s impact on natural grass growth.”

With the ECB sanction and a pause to tournament play due to the pandemic, Edgbaston found itself with a window to install its first two pitches within the main square. This work, which took place in late 2020, proved particularly effective for the shorter, more intense T20 format hosted once lockdowns eased and sport recommenced across the country. “Our main square install got off to a flying start, which was reflected in the high scoring we were seeing. If I remember correctly, the first match was 150/1 off 10 overs. That’s the type of action you want to see when fans come down for an evening,” says Barwell.

Hitting for six

For Edgbaston, the impact of SIS Grass Hybrid is best seen through the success of several major competitions, chiefly among them the Commonwealth Games held in 2022. During the games, the stadium hosted 16 international women’s matches played over a two-week period. With an all-natural pitch, this intense window of competition would typically require a high number of maintenance intervals to keep wickets up to standard. With SIS Grass Hybrid, however, the window was expanded, allowing top-level performance without major interventions so often from the grounds team.

“On traditional pitches, you see really good performance on day one, but there’s typically a steep decline once you get into days three or four,” Barwell notes. “We noticed with hybrids you could play on them over 10-12 days and not see a drop off. You only have to prepare one pitch, as opposed to two or three for the same amount of game time. This was massive for us during the games, with 60,000 people in the stadium and many more watching around the world.”

It’s often said that stats only tell part of the story in sport, but for SIS Grass Hybrid at Edgbaston the numbers really do speak for themselves. In 2024, the ground was able to facilitate 55 matches across all formats – the most of any ground in the country. To put that in context, it’s more than double the number of matches hosted at Edgbaston when Barwell first joined as Head of Sports Turf in 2012.

With hybrids now approved by the ECB for some red-ball competition, there is seemingly more to come at Edgbaston. “We’ll continue to invest in our hybrid surface because it’s proven effective at the highest level,” says Barwell. “For us, it’s about lowering the maintenance requirement while also delivering the best possible performance – for both players and fans. SIS Grass Hybrid has given us that option. Sporting theatre at its best.”

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)

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen

Machinery further raises the standard at Royal Aberdeen: Machinery and management is working in tandem to elevate one of the world’s top 70 courses.

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston

How Hybrids have unlocked a new era at Edgbaston: Hybrid pitches have emerged as a key ally in the fight to maintain top-level performance in cricket. But there’s a lot more this technology can offer the sport.

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