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MM seed ensures great start for Wycliffe

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MM seed ensures great start for Wycliffe: With a new season just around the corner, the green at Wycliffe Bowls Club has never been in such good condition, and greenkeeper Keith Freakley believes that is thanks to MM Sports Seed.

Formed in 1956 and located on the outskirts of Lutterworth in Leicestershire, Wycliffe Bowls Club is very much a friendly members club. It has something to offer players of all ages and abilities and the excellent club house often brings together the local community.

MM seed ensures great start for Wycliffe

MM seed ensures great start for Wycliffe

Wycliffe is managed and run solely by volunteer members, who deeply care about the club. One look at the green will underline the dedication of the members.

For an incredible 12 years, Keith Freakley has been looking after the greens in his spare time. He, along with two other members, carry out regular maintenance throughout the year but have relied on outside contractors for the end of season renovation. Last year Keith made a bold decision to put a stop to that.

“Rather than use a contractor we thought we would have a go ourselves,” he said. “It was expensive, and I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the work. Personally, I don’t think enough seed was used, or it was not of a great quality because it didn’t cover the green – there were lots of patches.”

While Keith began to put plans in place for the club’s first in-house renovation, he didn’t have to look far to find a solution to his seed dilemma. In association with Dennis and SISIS, Wycliffe Bowls Club hosted a bowling green maintenance seminar, and it was at this event that he met Matt Gresty, MM and Designer Sales and Brand Manager for DLF UK.

“We had a really good chat and discussed what the best seed to use would be,” said Keith.

“Matt had a close look at the green, identified what was growing naturally on the green and then matched a mix which he thought would be most suitable.”

The mix Matt recommended was MM10 grass seed – which is perfect for construction, overseeding, renovating and repairing high quality greens. Part of the renowned MM range of seed mixtures, MM10 produces a fine, dense sward, is tolerant to close mowing and as well as providing all year-round colour it is also disease resistant and hard wearing.

MM seed ensures great start for Wycliffe

MM seed ensures great start for Wycliffe

Keith incorporated the MM10 mixture into the renovation work in September last year and believes he has never seen the green in such good condition.

“It germinated very quickly, even in fairly dry weather,” said Keith. “The comments have been unbelievable. It has never been so green in colour, not just in places but all over. It gave us a very uniformed germination, and I think it will bowl incredibly well.

“It’s great to have Matt on board and we will continue to use the MM seed. We’re in a strong position and I’m looking forward to the season ahead.”

Commenting on the success of the seed, Matt said: “The green at Wycliffe has an excellent population of fescues and bents, and the amount of annual meadow-grass as a percentage is low. There is a very happy sward of desirable grasses – it is healthy, it is green, and it is growing well, which will ultimately provide a great surface for when the season starts.

“Keith and his team’s hard work and dedication is paying off.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s new website www.mm-seeds.co.uk. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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New irrigation manager for Panks

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New irrigation manager for Panks: Panks has appointed Cevan Edwards as Irrigation Manager to lead the company’s Irrigation department as it continues to grow and develop.

Cevan brings a wealth of technical and practical industry experience to the Irrigation Manager role, with a background in irrigation equipment manufacturing and service, with particular expertise in the sports and leisure sector.

New irrigation manager for Panks

New irrigation manager for Panks

Panks provides irrigation services for agriculture, commercial horticulture, nurseries and garden centres, equestrian facilities, many sports and leisure providers, landscapers and home owners.

Managing Director Chris Pank explains how Cevan’s appointment to this new role helps secure the company’s next steps in the market: “It’s been 12 years since Panks entered the irrigation market in a meaningful way, and we’ve seen a lot of success. With Cevan’s extensive engineering skills and experience in the irrigation industry, he is well placed to take our expansion to the next level in the sports industry, supported by Tom Selby in the commercial horticulture market and Mike Ward on installations.”

Cevan Edwards says: “Panks has a great reputation for providing high quality solutions with technical support that’s second to none. This is a really exciting time to join as we build on the success of the irrigation department. I’m looking forward to developing sports turf further as well as getting to grips with all other aspects of the irrigation market.”

Norwich-based Panks operates primarily across East Anglia. Its irrigation services are an important part of its wider operations as water engineers, covering all aspects of moving, pumping and using fluids, across many sectors, with a core focus on delivering efficiency savings.

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KAR UK gives peace of mind for Lincoln City

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KAR UK gives peace of mind for Lincoln City: A new Hunter Irrigation system, supplied by KAR UK, has given Lincoln City FC Head Groundsman Craig Housley a certain peace of mind.

Craig, who has been at Lincoln City since September 2020, revealed how his previous irrigation system caused many sleepless nights.

KAR UK gives peace of mind for Lincoln City

KAR UK gives peace of mind for Lincoln City

“Our old system had been in for about 20 years, and it was so difficult to work with,” he said. “The sprinklers were constantly breaking down; we just couldn’t trust the system to work overnight and there were parts of the pitch that were getting heavily watered and some parts that were not getting any water. Even on matchdays we would be back and forth manually changing the irrigation from the control point. It was a total nightmare.”

At the end of last season, a renovation and new pitch construction, proved the ideal opportunity to explore the possibility of installing a new irrigation system.

“It seemed like the perfect time and after being highly recommended, we got in touch with KAR UK. Mike McDonnell (UK Sales Manager) came to visit us at the training ground, and we had a great chat. He talked me through all the different Hunter products, the installation process, the various programmes and how we could control the system on a mobile phone. Based on that meeting we decided to go with KAR UK.”

KAR is the largest UK wholesaler of irrigation equipment and has long-term relationships with every irrigation product manufacturer of note. The company is also an integral distributor of Hunter Industries irrigation equipment, and this is the route that Craig decided to take.

After Craig’s meeting with Mike, KAR UK supplied a variety of Hunter I-80 and TTS-885 rotary sprinklers and the innovative ACC2 controller, with Centralus Software.

Engineered for sports turf, the I-80 is built with a robust, dirt-tolerant gear drive that offers the highest torque output of any rotor in the commercial sphere, and extends a radius range from 11.3 to 29.6 meters. The I-80 features a wide range of highly efficient, dual-trajectory, wind-fighting nozzles for highly efficient performance in a range of applications. It also provides total top serviceability (TTS) via its integrated, surface-mounted snap-ring for no-dig easy maintenance.

Craig had eight I-80 sprinklers installed through the centre of the pitch and sixteen TTS-885’s on the pitch surrounds.

KAR UK gives peace of mind for Lincoln City

KAR UK gives peace of mind for Lincoln City

The renovation, pitch construction and installation of the irrigation system was all undertaken by leading contractor Fineturf.

“There is not one blade of grass that doesn’t get watered now which is exactly what we were looking for,” he said. “We wanted the pitch watered evenly because the manager is trying to play quick, one-touch football. The Hunter sprinklers have enabled us to achieve this now. Not only are we covering a much bigger area, but we have definitely saved water because we can manage it a lot better.”

Craig also lavished praised on his new Hunter ACC2 controller. This allows users, through the Cloud Based Centralus Software, to change settings, view forecasts, and receive instant notifications of important system alarms — all without costly and time-consuming travel and site visits.

“It’s great for the pitch but perhaps not so good for my personal life,” joked Craig. “We have cameras set-up at the stadium so when I’m at home I’m aways keeping an eye on the weather. To have this kind of control over the irrigation no matter where I am is brilliant. At any time, I can see how much water is going on; I can look at the moisture settings and turn sprinklers on and off whenever needed.

“For me the biggest bonus is never having to worry about irrigation again – this new Hunter system has given me a peace of mind for sure.”

For more information, please visit www.karuk.com

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland

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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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GMA pushes for guidance change

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GMA pushes for guidance change: The Grounds Management Association (GMA) has written to the Government to request a change to the recently published Guidance on Changes to rebated fuels entitlement, which fails to be inclusive of all sports when citing exemptions to the new red diesel legislation.

In a letter to HMRC and HM Treasury, GMA Chief Executive, Geoff Webb reminds policymakers of the commitment made in the Reform of red diesel and other rebated fuels entitlement Policy paper published in November 2021, which made clear that there would not be a withdrawal of an entitlement to use red diesel in areas such as heating and sports.

GMA pushes for guidance change

GMA pushes for guidance change

“We are calling for wording within the guidance to be changed to replace the multiple references to “golf courses and driving ranges” with a more inclusive term that reflects the HMRC’s original intention to maintain the rebate entitlement across the wider sporting community, says Geoff Webb.

“It is not acceptable to exempt only one sport when there are many other sports facilities with turf surfaces that rely on red diesel to fuel essential machinery and specialist vehicles to maintain grounds to a safe, accessible, and satisfactory standard.

“Grassroots, community, and professional clubs, as well as educational establishments will be hit hard with increased costs if this guidance does not get amended.

“The GMA remains fully supportive of the Government’s net zero ambitions and understands the rationale behind pulling fiscal levers to deliver environmental goals. It is, however, crucial that policymakers are fair and avoid inadvertently imposing punitive taxes that will have an adverse effect on individuals, organisations, and communities.”

The GMA will continue to engage with the Government on this matter and encourages others to write to local MPs to reiterate the points made in the association’s letter.

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