Tag Archive for: doors

The Toro prize that opens global doors

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The Toro prize that opens global doors: The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award is one of the turfcare industry’s most coveted prizes for young professionals. And for the 2024 winner Jack Vowell it’s been more than just a career milestone, it’s opened global doors and unlocked exciting new opportunities. 

Jack completed his 10-week place at the University of Massachusetts’ Winter School for Turf Managers, an internationally recognised turf management course, in March 2025. The fully funded prize, which is sponsored by Reesink Turfcare and Toro, covers a variety of turf sports, not just golf, giving its students a holistic view of the turfcare industry.

The Toro prize that opens global doors

The Toro prize that opens global doors

Students study a carefully curated curriculum of modules, covering everything from the fundamentals of turf management and soil science to turf pathology and weed management.

“It was really interesting learning about different turf conditions around the world,” says Jack. “Since Massachusetts is a cool-season grass area in the US, there was a lot that I learned which I can now use in my current role as Deputy Course Manager at Farrington Park Golf Club.“I particularly enjoyed the turf pathology lessons; they were eye-opening and taught us all about the causes and contributing factors of different diseases. It was great to learn from guest lecturers about how those at the top of their game manage their teams to get the best results.”

The course gave Jack exposure to other up-and-coming greenkeepers as well as top professionals within the field, he says: “Alongside the learning, it was an opportunity to be in the same room and talk with people from all over the world, about their goals and greenkeeping careers. One of the guest lecturers was the Head Superintendent at Oakmont Country Club in America. I never would have had the opportunity to listen to him, learn from his expertise, and ask him questions about greenkeeping.”

Despite being a remote course, UMass encourages a strong sense of community with the students. “The university was really keen to make you feel like the class of ‘25,” explains Jack. “They put a lot of emphasis on us sharing information with our classmates and making sure we were connected.

“I became friendly with a greenkeeper at Fenway Park in the US, which is home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team. He’s left the door open for me to experience the ground there and learn about how they look after their turf. Opening international doors like this is just invaluable.”

For those considering applying to The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award for 2025, Jack highly recommends it: “The opportunities are endless once your name’s out there. Off the back of the award, I’ve joined the BIGGA regional board as vice chair and have attended national board meetings, which is a huge step forward for my career.”

Entries for the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards for 2025 are now open. For more details and how to apply, head to reesinkturfcare.co.uk/students-awards. Entries are open from 1 March to 11 April 2025.

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New doors open for Pitch and Track

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New doors open for Pitch and Track: The picturesque island of Jersey is known for many things, but perhaps lesser publicised is the fact that its climate provides the perfect growing conditions for moss!

In the battle to ensure moss and weeds doesn’t detract from many of the island’s popular public and sporting attractions are contractors Pitch and Track, who can now take on the challenge chemical-free thanks to their purchase of a Foamstream L12 system from Weedingtech.

New doors open for Pitch and Track

New doors open for Pitch and Track

Owned and operated by father and son pairing Nigel and Harrison McLinton, Pitch and Track conduct maintenance and repairs for natural and artificial playing surfaces, alongside effective weed and moss control, for a number of tennis courts, football facilities and private and public schools throughout Jersey. “Like a lot of contractors, we were previously using various chemicals to treat unwanted vegetation which meant ensuring we had the correct licenses and PPE to spray it, and also restricted us as to when and where we could treat areas – particularly in schools and areas around children, animals and waterways” explains Harrison.

“We stumbled across a demonstration video of Foamstream and were immediately intrigued by what this could offer.” Following a phone call, Weedingtech’s Tom Hamilton organised for a demonstration unit to be shipped to the pair for trial, who were seriously impressed from the off! “We had the L12 for a couple of weeks, used it on a few of our regular tennis court sites to see how easy it was to use, how we could manoeuvre it and ultimately how effective it was. The machine and the process delivered on every front which cemented our decision to purchase a unit for delivery in spring 2024.”

Foamstream provides control comparable to that of glyphosate on a broad range of weed species, together with the effective treatment of moss and algae. The plant-based foam solution insulates the hot water, to retain the temperature and quickly kill the weeds, the roots and surrounding spores – offering both immediate and longer-lasting control. Weedingtech’s L12 delivery unit is a portable, compact machine offering a ‘plug and play’ solution for use in all environments.

“Where previously we relied on the right weather and temperature to spray, we can now effectively treat surfaces anytime with Foamstream. We’ve done close to forty tennis courts to date, and are continually impressed with the speed of results and the more effective clean we get by following Foamstream with a pass of our deep clean machine. We’re also in discussions with authorities regarding treatments on some of the island’s slipways and outdoor pools.”

”We were also delighted to be approached by Jersey Zoo to treat areas in and around the aviary and some of the enclosures.” Harrison adds, “Foamstream has definitely opened new doors for us already and we’re both excited about other opportunities and the future of our business with this machine.”

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