Tag Archive for: head

New Lords Head Groundsman

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New Lords Head Groundsman: MCC has confirmed that Karl McDermott has been appointed as the new Head Groundsman at Lord’s.

McDermott, who will join MCC from Hampshire County Cricket Club, will replace Mick Hunt, who is retiring from the role after 49 seasons.

After beginning his career as Assistant Groundsman at Clontarf Cricket Club in Dublin, McDermott took on the Head Groundsman role in 1997, ahead of the venue hosting an ICC World Cup Fixture in 1999.

He spent seventeen years at Clontarf, working on numerous international and domestic fixtures and winning the European ICC Groundsman of the Year award in 2007, before moving to Worcestershire as Assistant Groundsman.

He then took up post at the Ageas Bowl where he was initially appointed Deputy Head Groundsman in 2009, ahead of the ground’s inaugural Test Match in 2011 between England and Sri Lanka.

McDermott became Head Groundsman in 2016 and most recently presided over England’s victory over India, the third Test Match to be held at Hampshire’s headquarters.

John Stephenson, MCC Assistant Secretary (Cricket) said: “After a rigorous recruitment process, we are delighted that Karl has accepted the role of Head Groundsman at Lord’s. He is very well respected throughout the game, having spent the past nine years producing top quality pitches at the Ageas Bowl.

“Karl emerged from a competitive field as someone who will be able to maintain the reputation of Lord’s as the ultimate ground at which cricketers of all levels wish to play.

“His first season will be a challenging one, with five World Cup matches including the Final, Ireland’s inaugural Test match at Lord’s as well as the prospect of England facing Australia in an Ashes Series but we have no doubt that he will prove himself up to the task.

“We’re very much looking forward to Karl beginning his role and working alongside Mick Hunt for a short time before Mick begins his well-earned retirement.”

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Head Greenkeeper Talks Flower Meadows

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Head Greenkeeper Talks Flower Meadows: In a special column, Rob Peers, head greenkeeper at Hever Castle Golf Club talks about an exciting first year in the job:

I took up my post as head greenkeeper at Hever Castle Golf Club just over a year ago – and what a year it’s been.

One of the greatest challenges has been a tropical heatwave that seems to have lasted all summer!

For the team at the Golf Club, watering this summer took on a new and interesting dimension with the addition of nine new flower meadows.

The meadows are situated in Hever Castle’s gardens and Hever Golf Course: they cover an area of 4,500 square metres on Lake Walk (in the Castle grounds) and the golf course itself.

Each of the nine selected areas had different considerations and their own micro climate, environment and purpose. It was really important to us to select sites that would improve bio-diversity and functionality in areas which had previously been dominated by aggressive species such as bramble and nettle.

My team nicknamed the first area they developed ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’, and it was the first point of contact as we passed through the fence from the golf course into the grounds of the castle. We felt when we entered this part of the castle’s beautiful grounds that we’d escaped!

When we began prepping the ground back in March we could hardly dare dream of the kaleidoscope of rainbow colours that would burst forth beside the Lake.

The fourteen species including Calendula officinalis (Marigold), Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower), Cosmos bipinnatus, Linum grandiflorum (Flax) and Papaver rheas (Common Poppy) have delighted visitors and the team alike.

We sowed the rainbow mix beside the lake in May and the flowers should bloom until November. This is my preferred mix and includes marigold, cosmos, flax and poppy – it looks great and is a very good pollinator.

A real highlight for me this year was the rediscovery of the Anne of Cleves Bower House folly.

I’d been walking in the woodland area with our CEO Duncan Leslie who was explaining the work that was ongoing on the Loggia in the castle grounds. The water in the lake had been lowered and as we walked beside, what I believe was the original path of the River Eden, I spotted a step in the water. I broke off suddenly from our conversation and rushed to take a closer look.

The steps were part of the folly, which had previously been hidden among the under-growth.

We believe the folly dates from the time of the Astors but it looks like they used medieval brick to create it, and there are two heraldic shields for Anne of Cleves.

It was thrilling to uncover it for the first time in years and bring it back to life with a more subtle and feminine flower mix for Anne.

We planted species such as Anethum graveolens (Dill), Borago officinalis (Borage), Callistephus Chinensis (China Aster) and Lupinus nanus (Lupin) here.

The meadow areas on the golf course itself have a more sympathetic visual appearance with more native and naturalised species from a mix called ‘Flora Britannica’ which includes Achillea millefolium (Yarrow), Aquilegia vulgaris (Common columbine), Borago officinalis (Borage) and Campanula carpatica (Tussock bellflower).

It not only looks great, but it fits in beautifully with the landscape and has also proved to be another fantastic pollinator.

The creation of the meadows has been a real boost for the team – when the flowers began appearing, it’s no exaggeration to say that we’d go down and giggle like school children as we marvelled at the changing floral landscape.

Even though the meadows are still in full bloom, my thoughts are turning to next year and to possible new meadow areas.

If you like meadows, then why not have a go – if you get the right seed mix and you prepare the ground well, then the results are spectacular.

I don’t know whether the flowers in the meadows would have been higher if we’d had more rainfall, and we can only speculate at the moment why some areas have dominant yellows and others have more pinks – we will continue to monitor their progress and note down the different habitats – the amount of light in one, and the subtle differences of soil in others, and see what happens next year.

Watch this space!

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Lord’s Head Groundsman Honoured

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Lord’s Head Groundsman Honoured: After 48 years of service, Lord’s head groundsman Mick Hunt has been recognised by the ECB and MCC for his work, with the MCC also awarding Mick with an honorary lifetime membership.

England recently became the first ever team to complete the milestone of playing 1000 Tests. They celebrated it with a 30-run win over India at Edgbaston in the first Test of the series. Youngster Sam Curran was the top crusader for the English side as they won a humdinger of a contest. As the hosts headed to Lord’s for the second Test, there was another milestone by an Englishman.

For a change, it wasn’t a cricketer but a groundsman. Mick Hunt who has been the Head Groundsman was felicitated for his tremendous 48 years of service. The England skipper Joe Root presented him with an autographed bat at the Home of Cricket. The event took place just moments before play began on Day 3. The Lord’s Cricket Ground handle on Twitter posted a picture of the same.

It was indeed a busy morning for the groundsman. Not because he had a lot of ground related work but that the rewards didn’t stop coming his way. In what was a wonderful gesture by the England Cricket Board, Mick was also awarded the MCC honorary lifetime membership.

The first day at Lord’s was completely washed out. The second day saw just 212 balls being bowled. However, it was enough for the England pacers to bundle the Indian batsmen in overcast conditions. The ball swung like a snake out of James Anderson’s hands and all the bowlers took full advantage of the same. England don’t have a great record at Lord’s recently and they will be looking forward to changing that. They haven’t beaten an Asian team at the ground in their last five instances.

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Wales’ First Female Head Greenkeeper

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Wales’ First Female Head Greenkeeper: Lucy Sellick has been appointed head greenkeeper at Wenvoe Castle Golf Club – the first time ever a Welsh golf club has a female head greenkeeper.

According to Wales Golf, Lucy is now one of only two female head greenkeepers in the whole of the UK.

Lucy began her career at Virginia Park Golf Club in Wales in 1991 – as it was built by her next door neighbour. She then moved to Celtic Manor in 2000, and had been the deputy course manager at Saltford Golf Club in Bristol since 2008.

“I’d like to thank all the clubs that invested in me to get me to the level I am now,” she said.

“I started on an apprenticeship scheme which is still available now, and then earned greenkeeping qualifications.

“I still love the job now, 27 years after I started, and come to work with a smile on my face every day. I think every greenkeeper leaves their job on a Friday and looks over their shoulder and thinks ‘I did that and it looks good’.”

Speaking of her future work at Wenvoe Castle, Lucy said: “Hopefully the course will speak for itself once this hot spell is over! I’m a golfer and will produce something I want to play on, and fingers crossed the members will be happy with it too.”

On being one of very few women working in greenkeeping, Lucy added: “I have slightly thicker skin than most people and you do have to prove yourself to people – get in that bunker next to the guy and out-shovel him!

“I’d encourage other women to pursue a career in greenkeeping. It’s too good an industry to miss out on because of people’s opinions of what we can do. Up to two years ago I never knew another female in the industry – we’re proving we can do it. Just give it a go!”

“She went from her local course in Caerphilly, to Celtic Manor ahead of the Ryder Cup, then England before returning to Wales to take the top greenkeeping role at Wenvoe Castle.

“As she looks round at her ‘office’, the rolling, tree-lined course which she is responsible, she encourages other women to get involved in the special industry of greenkeeping.”

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STIHL Timbersports World Championship heads To UK

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STIHL Timbersports World Championship heads to UK for first time as Liverpool is announced as host city for 2018: The very best logger sports athletes from all over the world will be competing in what is set to be a totally unique, edge-of-your seat, spectator experience.

The 2017 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championships, which took place in Lillehammer on 3 & 4 November, concluded with the exciting announcement that next year‘s Championship will take place at the Echo Arena Liverpool on 19th and 20th October 2018. Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Lord Mayor of Liverpool, was presented with a wooden plaque by Wolfgang Zahn, Head of Research and Development on the STIHL Advisory Board, in the official handover at the finale of this year’s championships.

STIHL Timbersports World Championship heads To UK

The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship sees the best athletes from across the globe compete in a series of woodchopping challenges utilizing axes and saws. The sport was founded in 1985, and includes six different disciplines – the Underhand Chop, the Stock Saw, the Standing Block Chop, the Single Buck, the Springboard and the Hot Saw. Over 5,500 spectators attended this year’s event in Norway, with millions worldwide tuning in to the action on TV. STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® is in fact recognized as one of the longest running shows on ESPN.

Athletes from over 20 nations will be battling it out in Liverpool next year for the Individual and Team titles. In the team event on Friday 19th October, the national teams will compete against each other in a knockout system, where the disciplines of Stock Saw, Underhand Chop, Single Buck and Standing Block Chop are completed by four athletes in a relay. The world’s top twelve athletes will then compete against one another in all six disciplines as part of the individual competition on Saturday 20th October. In each discipline the competitor is awarded points according to their achieved time, with the athlete achieving the highest number of points declared the Individual World Champion.

2018 will be the first time that the World Championship will be hosted in the UK, with ‘Team GB’ looking to make the most of the home advantage, whilst the 2017 individual winner Jason Wynyard and team competition winners New Zealand will be hoping to retain their titles.

Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Lord Mayor of Liverpool said; “We are delighted to be hosting next year’s Championships at the Echo Arena Liverpool and it is a privilege to showcase a sport that is watched by millions of people worldwide. I have been in Lillehammer all weekend and the atmosphere at both the team and individual events was electric. It is like nothing I have seen before, and is a fantastic sporting spectacle.”

Simon Hewitt, Head of Marketing from STIHL added: “The popularity of the sport in the UK is growing exponentially, therefore the UK is an obvious choice to host the next World Championship event.  We are thrilled that Liverpool will be hosting as they are incredibly passionate about their sport and we know the city will give a warm welcome to the athletes travelling from all over the world to compete. A STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® live event really is a fantastic experience and we look forward to introducing the Original Extreme Sport and these world class athletes to a whole new audience.”

For more information go to http://blog.stihl.co.uk/category/timbersports/

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