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On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…: When we launched Turf Matters back at the beginning of 2014, we had high, but realistic, hopes. We hoped that our readership would appreciate what we had to offer and that, perhaps, we might grow over the years to be a well-respected title.

With this, our 50th issue, we can look back with pride at having achieved that goal. We are definitely a respected title. We have won awards for our writing and our design and we are thrilled that more and more companies within the industry are deciding to share some of their marketing and advertising budgets with us. That is not something we ever take for granted, particularly in these tough times.

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

We are also pleased that so many have opened their doors to enable us to produce interesting features and over the last eight years these open doors have allowed us to showcase extraordinary work at virtually every major sporting venue in the country – not to mention the odd overseas assignment, which included a preview to the Ryder Cup matches at Golf National, in Paris.

We have also seen our digital presence grow and we now have over 22,000 on-line followers.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make Turf Matters what it is today and the promise that I make to you is that we will continue to work hard to produce the magazine you want to read and the digital platforms you want to visit.

Scott MacCallum, Editor/Publisher

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland

New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland: ICL and Syngenta have launched Turf Rewards for 2022 which now features separate schemes for the UK and Ireland.

Turf Rewards provides the opportunity for customers to earn points from purchases that can then be exchanged against a fantastic selection of agronomic or turf related items and learning opportunities.

New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland

New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland

New for 2022, Turf Rewards products will have lower thresholds to earn points. Here’s an example:

In 2021, Turf Rewards customers would need to purchase 25 bags of SierraformGT or ProTurf to get 5 points. However, this year customers would only need to purchase 12 bags of either to earn 3 points.

With an extensive range of items already on offer, new rewards for 2022 have also been announced.

New UK Turf Rewards

  • An SGL TurfPod with 1 year’s subscription.
  • Join or renew your British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) membership.

These great new rewards join popular rewards such as Machine Mart vouchers and agronomy tools including the TDR150 moisture meter and the Davis Vantage Pro2 Weather Station.

New Turf Rewards in Ireland

  • Join or renew your Association of Turfgrass Professionals Ireland (ATPI) membership.

This new reward has been added to popular rewards for the Irish market such as Caulfield Industrial vouchers and the TDR350 moisture meter.

If you would like to find out more about Turf Rewards in the UK visit www.turfrewards.com or for Ireland www.Turfrewards.ie.

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

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BIGGA and Campey announce award winners

BIGGA and Campey announce award winners: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association and Campey Turf Care Systems have revealed the winners of the BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards.

Whether using digital and social media, community outreach or by producing an article for the monthly journal of BIGGA, Greenkeeper International, the awards recognise those greenkeepers who have embraced communication as a vital tool available to the modern turf professional, helping to improve understanding and appreciation of the greenkeeping industry among the public or sharing ideas and best practice for the turf management community.

BIGGA and Campey announce award winners

BIGGA and Campey announce award winners

Three awards categories were up for grabs and the winners will receive their prizes at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration on the opening night of BTME 2022, which is taking place at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 22 to 24 March.

The Innovation and Thought Leadership Award is given to the BIGGA member who has written the most thought-provoking article for Greenkeeper International in the previous calendar year. The judges selected as the winner a feature written by Prestonfield Golf Club’s course manager Shaun Cunningham. Included within the February 2021 edition of the magazine, Shaun discussed the topic of out-of-play areas and whether a golfer’s enjoyment of a golf course depended as much upon the wider environment and landscape as it did the playing surfaces.

The New Media Award is given to a BIGGA member who has embraced the possibilities of digital media to raise understanding of what goes on behind-the-scenes at a golf course. This year’s New Media Award winner is John Rowbottom, greenkeeper at Woolley Park Golf Club in Barnsley. John began using social media as a bit of fun but quickly gained a large following with his entertaining look at life at this West Yorkshire golf club, often joined out on the course by his ‘turf dogs’. One video of the greens team preparing a bunker was viewed over 23 million times.

The Outreach Award seeks to recognise those BIGGA members who have taken their message beyond the normal work boundaries. This can be to the local community, schools or environmental groups. The winner of this year’s award is John Milne, head greenkeeper at Garmouth & Kingston Golf Club. John has presented in schools and at careers events to raise awareness of life at the golf club. He also invites students to the golf course to show how golf facilities can be beneficial for the natural environment. Activities have included primary school pupils planting trees and taking part in an on course wildlife safari, the establishment of an ecology group and encouraging wildlife photographers to visit the site.

Karl Hansell, head of marketing and communications at BIGGA, said: “At BIGGA we work tirelessly to raise awareness among the public about just what it takes to maintain a modern golf course. Greenkeepers too must do their bit if the message is to reach a wide audience and so I’m pleased that we are able to highlight the incredible work of these three BIGGA members, who go far beyond the requirements of their daily working lives to try and improve the lot of greenkeepers everywhere. The wide range of activities they have undertaken shows not only what a wonderful profession greenkeeping is, but how golf clubs can play a positive role in the health and wellbeing of the wider community.”

“Our thanks also go to Campey Turf Care Systems for enabling us to reward these three BIGGA members with such fantastic prizes. To see BIGGA, our members and the turf industry working together in such a great way gives confidence that there is a bright future ahead for the greenkeeping industry.”

BTME is taking place this week at the Harrogate Convention Centre, having been postponed from January 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Registration is free and more details can be found at www.btme.org.uk

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BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME

BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME: The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has teamed up with GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf to host a place for sports turf managers to meet and exchange ideas during March’s BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME).

GEO Foundation is an international not-for-profit, dedicated to helping inspire, support and reward credible sustainability and climate action across golf.

BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME

BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME

BTME takes place at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 22 to 24 March 2022 and during the event the GEO Foundation will be joined by a number of other partners to host the ‘Sustainability Lounge’, which will provide a dedicated space for attendees to find out more, get involved and join discussions about key sustainability issues with experts in their field.

In addition to its strategic support through partnerships with associations including BIGGA, the GEO Foundation assures the OnCourse programmes for grassroots golf facilities, new developments and tournaments, each of which can lead to the widely endorsed and externally recognised GEO Certified label.

During BTME, the Sustainability Lounge will be a gathering and meeting place and in addition to the team from GEO Foundation, experts from around the UK will often be on hand, including BIGGA’s very own sustainability champion, James Hutchinson.

James, who is Membership Services Manager for Ecology and Sustainability for BIGGA, said: “Of all the key topics up for discussion at BTME, among the most important will be the need for golf courses all over the world to adopt increasingly sustainable practices. With the changing availability of resources and rising costs, alongside an increasing awareness of the important role we can all play to protect the natural environment, golf has a massive part to play and I am excited that our colleagues at the GEO Foundation, and partners from other golfing bodies, will be joining us at BTME for what stands to be a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and discover new sustainable practices.”

The GEO Foundation will also be recognising Sustainable Golf Champions and will celebrate GEO Certified venues, with representatives invited to showcase what initiatives they have implemented at their golf facilities. There will also be prize draws for those who stop by to vote for a sustainability or climate action project shared by a fellow greenkeeper.

Kelli Jerome, Executive Director at GEO Foundation, added: “BTME is an important event in the golf industry calendar and the advocacy, education and engagement opportunities provided are important to golf’s sustainability progress. We are really excited about the space BIGGA has made available for the Sustainability Lounge and we’re looking forward to working closely with BIGGA and other UK golf associations to support and engage attendees – meeting, hearing views, answering questions and sharing inspiring stories from as many people as possible during the week.”

BTME is free to attend and registration and more information can be found on the BTME website, www.btme.org.uk

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North and south for Corvus 4×4

North and south for Corvus 4×4: The dealer network for Corvus Terrain 4×4 utility vehicles has expanded further with the appointment of B&B Tractors and Kirkland UK. BOSS off-road vehicles, the sole UK distributor for Corvus, made the announcement saying the two dealerships are a natural fit in their drive to establish a seamless network of specialist dealers throughout the UK.

B& B Tractors is a family owned and managed business with four depots covering Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire. The business has rapidly expanded since being established in 1991 when Massey Ferguson approached Bowring Transport owners Chris and David Boring about taking on the franchise, originally to cover the Nottingham area and parts of North Derbyshire. Since then, they have grown to represent a wide range of industry leading names, with rapid expansion into the territories they cover today. The Head Office at the Warsop site alone has grown to 30 acres with 150 employees.

North and south for Corvus 4x4

North and south for Corvus 4×4

“We wanted to work with B&B Tractors because of their delivery of the highest levels of customer care to their agricultural, municipal and industrial customers,” says Phil Everett, BOSS ORV’s Managing Director. “Not only can they represent the Corvus Terrain range to those sectors, they can also provide the highest levels of service and support that go hand in hand with being Corvus dealers, as they have shown with the other brands offered by the business.”

The story for Kirkland UK began in the late 1800s when partner Scott Worsley’s great, great, great grandfather set up Worsley Carriage Builders in Kent, building carriages for farming, fruit growing and vineyards. The Kirkland brand began in 2005 as a range of specialist machinery, becoming a company in its own right and growing to become one of the country’s leading suppliers of specialist equipment for vineyard and fruit orchard management. With the appointment as Corvus dealers, Scott is excited to bring the brand to the South-East.

“We found CORVUS UTV’s to be the perfect addition to our range of machinery solutions for our customers. These popular UTV’s are ideal 4×4 vehicles thanks to their powerful, robust design with generous storage and load capacity making them high performers in any weather condition, which is exactly what the South-East needs!”

Phil Everett says, “we had been looking for a partner for Corvus in the South East of England and after talking to Scott for five minutes, it was obvious that Kirkland UK would be a natural fit with us. We share the same passion for success and rapid growth and an impatience to achieve. They are an extremely customer focused organisation and hungry to grow the business and explore diverse opportunities to achieve this. Together with their already very well established customer base in the region it was a very easy decision to partner with them for this area.”

For more information about the Corvus Terrain range, you can call 01597 810188, E-mail: sales@bossorv.co.uk or visit www.bossorv.co.uk

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

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