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Ireland To Host 2026 Ryder Cup

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Ireland To Host 2026 Ryder Cup: The Ryder Cup will return to Ireland in 2026 when Adare Manor, in County Limerick, hosts the biennial contest between Europe and the United States for the first time.

Ryder Cup Europe – which comprises the Managing Partner the European Tour, the Founding Partner the PGA of Great Britain and Ireland, and the PGAs of Europe – today announced the five-star resort will follow in the footsteps of Whistling Straits in Wisconsin (2020), Marco Simone in Italy (2022) and Bethpage Black in New York (2024) as the venue for golf’s greatest team contest.

It means The Ryder Cup will be staged in Ireland for the second time, 20 years after The K Club hosted the 2006 contest when Team Europe – under the captaincy of Ian Woosnam and featuring three Irishmen who would go on to captain Europe over the next decade; Darren Clarke, Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley – memorably defeated the United States by a record margin of 18½ – 9½.

Guy Kinnings, European Ryder Cup Director, said: “We are delighted to announce The 2026 Ryder Cup will be staged in Ireland at Adare Manor which is a world class venue, both in terms of the golf course and the wider resort facilities.

“Today’s announcement would not have been possible without the support of An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Irish Government who are in receipt of our grateful and heartfelt thanks. Months of careful negotiation behind the scenes have seen us arrive at this point and we could not be happier to be able to take golf’s greatest team contest back to Ireland.

“Equally in receipt of our appreciation are Adare Manor owners JP and Noreen McManus and their entire team at the magnificent County Limerick venue. JP has shown unwavering support for golf and the European Tour over many years and we are delighted that Adare Manor will be the venue to showcase the next chapter in Ireland’s Ryder Cup story in seven years’ time.

“Aside from having provided three Captains over the past four editions, in addition to world-class talent such as Rory McIlroy, Irish players such as the late Christy O’Connor Jnr, Philip Walton, Eamonn Darcy, Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley are intrinsically linked with providing Europe’s winning moments over the years.

“Added to that the fact that Irish golf fans are rightly recognised as some of the most knowledgeable and passionate in the world, as was shown during Shane Lowry’s emotional Open Championship triumph at Royal Portrush on Sunday, there was no question in our minds that the time was right.”

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “This is a tremendously proud day for everyone at the European Tour and everyone associated with the island of Ireland and Irish golf. When we started the discussions with both the Irish Government and Adare Manor on this entire project they promised to deliver, and they have both done that today.

“Over the past few weeks we have seen truly wonderful golfing occasions at both Lahinch and Royal Portrush and I know such memorable scenes will be repeated in seven years’ time at Adare Manor. Ireland has golf in its DNA and especially in relation to The Ryder Cup.”

Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar T.D. welcomed the announcement stating: “I am delighted that Ireland will be the host of The Ryder Cup in 2026. It is great news for Ireland, and for County Limerick and the west of Ireland in particular.

“This news comes at the end of an historic week for golf on the island of Ireland, following the hugely successful hosting of the Open Championship by Royal Portrush Golf Club, and the historic victory by one of Ireland’s most popular sporting heroes, Shane Lowry.

“Shane’s victory is one of many great achievements by Irish golfers, not just in Major Championships but also in The Ryder Cup. Over the years, Irish captains and Irish players have played a huge role in the success of the European team.

“I am sure that when The Ryder Cup comes to Adare, we will see many more great sporting memories created, and great sporting friendships forged. It will be a fantastic occasion for everyone on the island of Ireland, and for the many visitors from both sides of the Atlantic who can look forward to another great Irish welcome.”

Commenting on the announcement, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross T.D. stated: “The passion of Irish people for golf across the island is well known and that was reinforced by the fantastic crowds at last Sunday’s Open Championship in Portrush and the joy at Shane’s great victory. Hosting The Ryder Cup here will be a great occasion for Irish golf and Irish tourism. The Ryder Cup in 2026 will be a must go event for golf fans when we expect thousands of overseas visitors to come to Ireland.”

The news was further welcomed by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, T.D. who stated: “It’s been a fantastic week for golf in Ireland following Shane Lowry’s heroic win in Portrush. The announcement of The Ryder Cup for Ireland in 2026 is further great news and is a wonderful honour for all of us in Ireland, North and South. It’s a special honour for the people of Munster, a province steeped in sporting culture, where this marvellous global event will be embraced by the people to make 2026 the greatest ever tournament in the history of The Ryder Cup.”

JP McManus, owner of Adare Manor, said: “I am delighted that the prestigious Ryder Cup will return to Ireland. We were very happy that Adare Manor was chosen as the venue for this world renowned tournament in 2026 and we look forward to welcoming our worldwide visitors.

“It is a wonderful tribute to the many great Irish golf ambassadors and success stories Ireland has had in golf over the years and a nice follow on from Shane’s momentous Open win on Sunday in Portrush. The nation was behind Shane, it was a great achievement and very well deserved.

“I am confident that the people of Ireland will get behind The Ryder Cup and take the opportunity to showcase Ireland on the world stage and ensure that The 2026 Ryder Cup will be an outstanding success.

“I hope the many tourist, golfing and business organisations will work together to identify all the opportunities for the benefit of The Ryder Cup, the Irish economy and across the south west community.”

Since Ireland last hosted The Ryder Cup in 2006, the biennial contest has extended its reach as one of the world’s leading sporting events.

Last year’s Ryder Cup at Le Golf National in France attracted more than 270,000 fans on course across the week – the largest attendance for a Ryder Cup held in Europe – with record social media engagement of more than 22 billion impressions globally.

The Ryder Cup also boosted economic activity in France by €235.7million – a significant increase compared to the £106 million of economic activity generated in Scotland in 2014 when Gleneagles hosted the contest.

Adare Manor, which was extensively renovated two years ago, hosted the Irish Open in 2007, a tournament won by Padraig Harrington two months before he went on to clinch the first of his two successive Open Championship titles at Carnoustie. The Irish Open was staged again at Adare Manor the following year in 2008 when Englishman Richard Finch triumphed.

The venue has also hosted the JP McManus Pro-Am in 2005 and 2010 and is scheduled to do so again next July, with confirmed participants already including Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose and Tiger Woods.

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Dan Walker To Host IOG Awards

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Dan Walker To Host IOG Awards: Tickets are now available for this year’s Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards, so book now to secure your place at the industry’s biggest celebratory event –  hosted by the BBC’s Dan Walker on Wednesday October 30 at The Vox, located in Resorts World at the Birmingham NEC, on the evening of the first day of the SALTEX exhibition.

The awards – now in their 11th year – have continually grown in status for acknowledging the achievements of volunteer and professional grounds teams, as well as community clubs and national stadia. They recognise the passion, dedication and challenges faced by grounds staff at clubs of every size and from all corners of the UK.

Dan Walker To Host IOG Awards

BBC sports presenter and BBC Breakfast anchor Dan Walker will bring a new dimension to this year’s event as the 20 award categories are presented.

He currently hosts BBC One’s Award-winning Football Focus and regularly presents Match of the Day. He has also covered Wimbledon, The Grand National, Royal Ascot, The Derby and the Six Nations, as well as continuing to work on domestic, European and international football. He has also co-hosted Open golf coverage for the last 10 years and was an integral part of the BBC’s Olympic broadcasting team for both London 2012 and Rio 2016.

To secure your seat – which cost £95 each for IOG members and £190 each for non-members – please contact the IOG by email (awards@iog.org) or call 01908 312 511 where you can also gain details of how to become an IOG member.

It’s not too late to nominate an individual or team for a 2019 Award. Visit: www.iog.org/awards and click the nominate button. This year’s categories include:

  • IOG Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student 
  • IOG Rigby Taylor/Top Green Young Grounds Person
  • IOG Volunteer Sports Grounds Team/Individual
  • IOG NGB Community/Grassroots Sports Club Grounds Team/Individual 
  • IOG AMS Robotics Public Sector Sports Grounds Team 
  • IOG Bowling Grounds Team/Individual
  • IOG SCH Supplies Best Managed Artificial Surface 
  • IOG Ransomes Environmental and Ecology Strategy 
  • IOG Headland Amenity Professional Cricket Grounds Team

  • IOG Cub Cadet Infinicut Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team
  • IOG John Deere Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team
  • IOG Professional Rugby Football League Grounds Team
  • IOG Compo Expert Professional Rugby Football Union Grounds Team
  • IOG Professional Football Grounds Team
    For English Leagues 1 & 2, National League, National League North/South, Scottish Championship & Leagues 1 & 2, Ireland & Wales Professional Leagues.
  • IOG SGL Professional Football Grounds Team 

For Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premier League.

  • IOG Redexim Charterhouse/Kubota University/College Grounds Team 
  • IOG Growth Products Independent School Grounds Team
  • IOG SISGrass International Award
  • IOG Grassmaster Outstanding Achievement Award.

There is one additional award for which nominations are not sought: the IOG Ransomes/DLF Alex R Millar Award – to the person chosen as the outstanding winner across all award categories.

The NGB Awards are sponsored by the AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis Club), ECB (the England and Wales Cricket Board), The FA (Football Association), the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), the Premier League,  the RFU (Rugby Football Union) and the RFL (Rugby Football League)

For information on how to sponsor an award, please contact Karen Maxwell on 07866 736 597 or email: kmaxwell@iog.org

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Campey Host Educational Tour

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Campey Host Educational Tour: Thirty-eight groundsmen from Denmark and Spain have spent three-days learning from some of the best turf professionals the United Kingdom has to offer on a Campey Turf Care Systems educational tour.

The trip was arranged by Thomas Jorgensen, chairman of the Groundsman Association of Denmark, Campey’s Danish dealer, Havdrup Maskinforretning and Spanish dealer Deltacinco. The emphasis of the tour was to learn from experienced groundsmen while looking at the technology they are using.

Campey Host Educational Tour

Typically, Danish groundsmen operate on lower budgets compared to their UK counterparts, and this was taken into consideration when picking venues with Salford City Reds and Newcastle Under Lyme Football Club both chosen to show that high-quality surfaces can be achieved with a smaller budget.

The 38 strong group also visited leading venues such as Arsenal’s London Colney training centre, Liverpool Football Club, Stoke City Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur’s Enfield Training Ground and the brand-new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where head of playing surfaces and estates, Darren Baldwin, gave up his time to give the group a tour of the stunning new facility and answer questions from the groundsmen. Thomas thinks everyone on the trip has benefitted from getting to interact with the groundsmen from each club while seeing the pitches they produce.

He said: “I thought the variety of venues we visited was excellent, we saw the top of it all in terms of stadium, but we also experienced some more down-to-earth facilities that we can better relate to, but it is important to experience both on such a trip.

Campey Host Educational Tour

“It is very important to be able to learn from others in the industry who have experiences that we don’t yet have ourselves. The English football pitches are on a different level to Denmark, so the experience is important. However, we must remember that the money is also different in England.

“For me, the experience was absolutely great. We visited Steve Braddock at Arsenal. He is simply fantastic and has tremendous knowledge, he gained great respect throughout our group.”

As well as talks from leading figures in the industry, the group also saw a grassroots renovation in action at Newcastle Under Lyme FC and had the chance to view machines at Campey HQ and have an evening barbecue.

Campey Host Educational Tour

Campey has always focused on providing education to further the knowledge of those in the industry and is delighted to continue their support of groundsmen abroad.

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Engcon Host Big Dig Day

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Engcon Host Big Dig Day: Engcon, the world’s leading supplier of tiltrotators, welcomed excavator operators from across the UK to its first Big Dig Day of 2019.

The event, which took place at Northamptonshire’s Wicksteed Park on the 26th and 27th of April and attracted nearly 100 visitors and their families, gave owner operators the chance to get hands-on experience with Engcon’s market-leading range of tiltrotators and hydraulic attachments.

Engcon Host Big Dig Day

The full-suite of Engcon’s products were available to test throughout the day, fitted to some of the world’s leading excavator brands, ranging in size from under 2 to over 20 tonnes. What’s more, Engcon’s team of technical experts were on hand across both days to answer any questions attendees may have had regarding the innovative product range.

One such attendee was Tom Law, operating contracts manager for Lynch Plant Hire. Speaking of the weekend, he said: “It was great to be able to attend this year’s Big Dig Day. Being able to use a machine and get a feel for the tiltrotators was really useful in seeing how versatile the products are.”

Robert Hunt, Engcon UK’s managing director, added: “It was fantastic to welcome so many excavator owners and operators, and their families, to Wicksteed Park over the weekend. While the British tiltrotator market may still be in its relative infancy, it’s clear there is a real appetite from across the UK sector to learn more about this innovative way of digging.

“We know from our experience that you need to drive a tiltrotator to fully understand the versatility and efficiency they bring to everyday digging. Watching one at a show or on YouTube is no substitute for sitting in the seat for half an hour and trying it for yourself. Being able to do this in an unpressurised environment where there is plenty of expertise on hand to answer questions – whether it’s Engcon sales or technical staff or one of our many users who were present with their machines is invaluable.”

Engcon’s full product range including tilties for diggers from 1 to 33 tonnes, hitches, hydraulic connectivity in the form of the company’s retrofittable EC-Oil system and a massive range of buckets, attachments and hydraulic tools will be on show at the forthcoming Plantworx exhibition in mid-June. There will be a significant number of new products and services on offer, with new cassette-mounted tools and show-stopping installations on active display throughout the show.

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BLEC Host Press Update Event

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BLEC Host Press Update Event: Three years on since the announcement was made that BLEC was to become a division of the Redexim Group, the press were recently invited to an update event at BLEC dealer Acorn Tractors in Derby. Hosted by Division Manager Curtis Allen, they heard in more detail how the new and enhanced range of specialist landscaping and turfcare equipment is creating quite a stir.

A busy few years under the guidance of the Redexim Group has seen the streamlining of product ranges and manufacture, along with the appointment of a network of dedicated dealers nationwide. Amongst the machines shown on the day were the Blecavator, Laser Grader and Multi-Seeder where key developments were discussed. Of particular note was the number of mechanical adjustments made to the renowned Laser Grader range including new twin Danfoss proportional valves and heavy-duty finger tines, that both now come as standard. The all-new Power Box Rake 1800 was another highlight as the first Redexim designed and engineered addition to the BLEC offering. Whilst following the ethics of the previous versions of the PBR, this machine has been built from scratch to be the perfect tool for cultivating, earth-moving, grading and raking.

BLEC Host Press Update Event

During the presentation and subsequent working demonstrations, it was evident how machines from across the BLEC range can be used in conjunction with one another, in the process of converting bare earth into a surface ready for seeding. With a comprehensive selection of pedestrian and tractor-mounted units, each available in a variety of working widths, they’re suited to applications from landscape gardeners, golf course construction, sports pitch preparations to large-scale groundworks.

The press were also treated to a talk from Sean Goodwin, Director of Talbot Farm Landscapes and Talbot Sports Turf, and long-standing user of BLEC machinery. Sean has a vast selection of BLEC units on his machinery fleet. He adds, “The BLEC range demonstrates an understanding of what we, the commercial landscaper/sports turf contractor, really need. The build quality is one thing that has always impressed me but the new Multi-Seeder I have purchased through Redexim is even better – well engineered and attention paid to every detail. With the resources available to Redexim, the manufacturing prowess and the ability to stock a wider range of parts through their dealer network, they have the potential to take BLEC to the next level.”

BLEC Host Press Update Event

Curtis summarised, “Despite its best efforts, the rain didn’t dampen spirits on what was a fantastic opportunity to update the media on all of the improvements we have worked hard to deliver across the portfolio. We have come a long way with the range already and with further innovations in the pipeline we’re entering a very exciting period in the BLEC story. A big thank you must also go to Julian Simpson at Acorn Tractors for providing the host venue and coordinating such a positive day.”

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