Tag Archive for: Courts

Danny Negus Courts Success with MM50

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Danny Negus Courts Success with MM50: Danny Negus has been spearheading the grounds maintenance efforts at Devonshire Park in Eastbourne since 2016.

His journey to becoming Grounds Manager reflects a dedication to his craft that spans three decades, starting as a Greenkeeper in 1994 and transitioning into Groundsmanship in 2006 and steadily climbing the ranks.

Danny Negus Courts Success with MM50

Danny Negus Courts Success with MM50

“Every year is filled with challenges,” Danny reflects. ” Eastbourne Borough Council owns and operates Devonshire Park, so as a local authority, financial constraints are a reality. But with this monumental year ahead, it’s an exciting challenge—a chance to showcase our capabilities.”

Devonshire Park, a historic venue marking its 150th anniversary alongside the 50th year of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Rothesay International Eastbourne tournament, holds a special place in the world of tennis.

For Danny, one of the first significant changes upon assuming his role in 2016 was switching his grass seed to MM50.

“One of the first things I did when I took my role here in 2016 was that I gave MM50 one year of trial,” Danny explains. “Because of the success we had with it, we have used the seed ever since. Even when we had a golf course that came under my remit, we used MM and that is because I believe in the MM products.”

MM is one of the most respected brands in the UK amenity industry, with over 40 years of experience and knowledge. The extensive product portfolio is second to none with performance proven mixtures that are used at many leading venues in the UK and Europe.

MM50, in particular, is one of the UK’s biggest selling grass mixtures. The hard-wearing ryegrass mix is very fine leaved, has high shoot density, is tolerant to close mowing down to 4-5mm and produces a great colour all year round. It also has quick recovery from damage and play.

At Devonshire Park, where nearly all maintenance operations are liquid-based, the compatibility of MM50 with their approach is evident. “We are about 95% liquid only and rely on granulars solely during our renovation period,” Danny elaborates. “I find that the MM50 responds fantastically to what we do, just real good synergy between the plant and the nutrition delivery—it works.”

Danny emphasises the importance of creating a surface that not only meets the demands of the sport but also aligns with the venue’s aesthetic standards. “One of the biggest challenges you always have is to create a surface that is fit for the sport that is being played,” he notes.

“The main characteristic of MM50 is that it actually does both. It creates an exceptional performance surface while responding in such a way that, for the sake of the venue and the event, it looks as it should. There is no reason whatsoever to change from MM50.”

Reflecting on his partnership with MM, Danny highlights the invaluable support provided by Matt Gresty, MM and Designer Sales and Brand Manager for DLF UK. “Matt is brilliant,” Danny praises. “We have way too many nerd-offs together! He has the right outlook and a great understanding of the pressures of delivering a global event and the environmental pressures. He is an exceptional part of why you would choose MM Seed—he is Mr. MM in my view.”

With MM50 as his trusted ally, Danny continues to elevate the grounds at Devonshire Park, ensuring world-class tennis courts, especially as the venue embarks on its monumental year ahead. The proven performance and reliability of MM50 will undoubtedly play a crucial role in meeting the heightened expectations during this significant milestone, reaffirming Danny’s commitment to excellence in sports turf management.

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s website www.mm-seeds.co.uk.

You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed.

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S&C partner with PRO Padel Courts

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S&C partner with PRO Padel Courts: Renowned sports construction specialist S&C Slatter is partnering with PRO Padel Courts to serve up first-class facilities for the fast-growing sport in England and Wales

The unique partnership combines the sports construction expertise of S&C Slatter with the innovation and craftsmanship of PRO Padel Courts, providing schools, universities, and clubs with a high-quality padel solution designed and manufactured specifically for Britain’s climate.

S&C partner with PRO Padel Courts

S&C partner with PRO Padel Courts

Leading experts in sports facility planning, design, construction and maintenance, S&C Slatter work at all levels of the education, sports, and leisure sectors, with clients including Charterhouse School, the AELTC and Royal Holloway University.

Jason Douglass, S&C Slatter Group Director, commented:

“With a commitment to work with the very best manufacturing partners in our industry, we are delighted to be partnering with PRO Padel Courts for padel court construction in England and Wales. We strive for constant innovation in both traditional and emerging sports, such as padel. We’re thrilled to be able to offer clients a one-stop solution for their padel needs, from initial design to planning, finance, construction and maintenance.”

PRO Padel Courts are the UK’s premier padel court producer, working with clients such as The Roehampton Club and The Bourne Club. Offering the only courts on the market designed and manufactured in the UK, for use in the UK, PRO Padel courts are specifically built to withstand British weather, utilising specialist weather-proofing and British steel and glass for superior performance, durability, and safety.

Paul Regan, Founder, PRO Padel Courts, commented:

“We are excited to be partnering with S&C Slatter, who have a first-class reputation built around the quality of their work over many years. We have many shared values and both parties pride themselves on delivering the best quality products and services to their clients. It is also imperative that our high quality padel court structures are placed on expertly constructed groundworks – and we know we can guarantee this with S&C Slatter.”

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PM36 serves up competition-ready courts

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PM36 serves up competition-ready courts: As a sole Groundsman, Robin Wilcox has his work cut out looking after the 19 courts and 5 croquet lawns that make up East Dorset Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (EDLTCC).

On the sites nine grass courts, DLF’s ProMaster 36, and its tolerance of low cutting heights, has given Robin the advantage – freeing up time for the other tasks which keep the courts and lawns competition ready.

PM36 serves up competition-ready courts

PM36 serves up competition-ready courts

One of Robin’s key goals when he joined EDLTCC two years ago was to bring the grass courts up to standard required to be selected, once again, as a host for the qualifying stages of The County Cup. “Over the years the courts had accumulated layers of thatch, so we could have gone down the road of scarifying and adding additional loam, but we decided to go for a full renovation.” During his first year at the club, Robin skimmed off the top layer, cultivated, levelled and seeded with Masterline PM36 perennial ryegrass mix.

“A great combination of warmth and rain in the late summer/early autumn of 2018 meant the courts were green in under three weeks and I carried out the first cut at six weeks – everybody at the club was amazed at the germination. Our artificial and clay courts took the strain while the grass courts were under renovation but when they re-opened for play in 2019, there was a new wave of members wanting to play on the grass and they coped, and recovered, from the high levels of wear very well.”

The decision to go for a pure-rye mix gives Robin the playing and resistance characteristics he requires, even under close mown conditions. “Because of my workload, I have to split my time between the artificial courts, grass courts and lawns so this means I am limited to mowing just twice a week. With the PM36 mix, it is hardy enough to cope with going as low as 5mm without any detrimental impact on turf quality.”

While a final decision by the LTA is expected at the end of May, at the time of writing the County Cup remains in the tournament calendar and the improvements Robin has achieved sees EDLTCC chosen as a host venue, after a few years absence. “It’s fantastic news for the club.” Robin concludes, “Everybody is delighted with the results of the renovations – the PM36 has delivered great quality courts fit for top level play once again.”

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Cromer Courts Among The Best

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Cromer Courts Among The Best: Cromer’s tennis players have always boasted that their 10 grass courts are amongst the best in the country – and now it is official.

Following a visit and inspection by an official from the LTA, the sport’s governing body, and an inspector from the Sports Turf Research Institute they have produced their official report which concludes that: “The grass courts at Cromer are some of the best grass courts in the UK. They are well managed, dominated by perennial ryegrass and are open for play for six months of the year. The courts and surrounds are always beautifully presented and are a credit to the grounds team.”

The LTA consider grass court venues such as Cromer to be very important for British tennis and believe it to be vital that events are played on grass throughout the summer and that all players, but especially juniors, have the opportunity to play on grass.

The objective of the Cromer site visit was to assess the quality of the playing surfaces and suitability for holding grass court tennis competitions. The inspectors conducted agronomic assessments of the playing surfaces as well as evaluating the maintenance regimes, staff levels and available machinery and equipment. They carried out a botanical analysis, a soil analysis, which involved soil samples being analysed in the Institute’s soils laboratory, and measured both the surface hardness and the soil moisture.

Amongst the many positive comments were that “live grass cover on courts at Cromer was excellent” and they were very complimentary on the work that is done out of season by way of scarifying, over seeding and top dressing.

The association’s treasurer Martin Braybrook said: “This was a very thorough inspection and the results reflect great credit on our groundsman, Matthew Jordan and his assistant, Peter Cooper. Over the years we have had a succession of excellent groundsmen and we are delighted for Matthew to have received such a positive report.”

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