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Milestone in sustainable golf development

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Milestone in sustainable golf development: Second edition of the international voluntary sustainability standard for golf developments demonstrates golf’s continuing proactive leadership and progress in the construction industry.

Developed through close collaboration, both within and outside the golf industry, the release of this latest edition of the Sustainable Golf Development Standard represents another major step forward in golf’s journey to becoming a leader in sustainable sport, land use and development.

Milestone in sustainable golf development

Milestone in sustainable golf development

Available to all new developments from September 2021, this simplified new edition raises the bar on sustainability expectations and focuses on the most relevant issues and challenges in the current climate. Renewed emphasis is placed on areas such as increased transparency, carbon impacts, flexible construction timelines, circular economy and the impacts of agronomic decision-making.

Facilitated by GEO Foundation (GEO), six months of open public consultation and dedicated work by the international expert working group for sustainable golf development has led to the release of the second edition of this credible, accessible and relevant voluntary standard for any golf development. The milestone document provides a tighter framework, which can guide the process of delivering any new golf developments and renovations, from site selection through to opening day – delivering positive social and environmental value throughout.

Sam Thomas, Director of Golf Development for GEO, the international organization dedicated to helping advance sustainability in and through golf said: “The process of working with public comments and the international expert group’s knowledge was a great insight into what we’ve seen change in the sustainability space over the past five years. There were invaluable inputs shared into the ways in which everyone felt that golf developments, done in the right way, can continue to make real positive contributions to their environment, climate and community. Going forward, we are excited to adopt this 2nd edition of the standard at all new golf development sites seeking to gain GEO Certified Development status and, over the next five years, see how we can all push on to deliver even greater positive impacts.”

The seven members of the International Expert Working Group, which helped shape this latest edition, included representatives from the Society of Australian Golf Course Architects; American Society of Golf Course Architects; The European Institutes of Golf Course Architects; Golf course builders – through Landscapes Unlimited; Australian National University, Former European Commission representatives and Wetlands International.

Richard Holland, Director, Operations and Network Development, Wetlands International commented: “Congratulations to all involved in this significant milestone for the golf development industry. The 2nd edition builds on the solid foundations of the original standard and raises the bar for new sustainable golf developments. These voluntary standards can also provide valuable guidance for policymakers and regulators in their responsibilities to deliver the best possible outcomes for the environment and local communities.”

The revision of the standard was carried out in line with ISEAL Alliance’s Code of Good Practice for Standard Setting. GEO has been part of the ISEAL Alliance since 2015 and the rigour and credibility of that code are central to the revision of the voluntary sustainability standard. These same codes of good practice are followed by other well-known sustainability bodies including Fairtrade, The Rainforest Alliance and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Tom Mackenzie, Director at Mackenzie & Ebert and Past President of European Institute of Golf Course Architects stated: “It is great to see the release of the 2nd edition of this standard. It now better represents the current sustainability issues we face as designers and I was very pleased to be able to represent the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) on the expert working group. Along with EIGCA’s Raising the Standard of Sustainable Golf Course Design educational programme, which was created with GEO, this renewed sustainability standard represents another meaningful point of connection with GEO for our members.”  

The document and further explanation can be viewed here along with information on the OnCourse Developments programme, which provides practical support to assist all types of golf developments and the GEO Certified Developments mark, which provides credible recognition to new projects.

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Change in approach to managing amenity spaces

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Change in approach to managing amenity spaces: Withdrawal from the European community, and the consequences of a pandemic, are already substantially impacting on all who manage amenity and sports spaces.

The pandemic has highlighted just how important these areas are to all and especially in the urban and sporting environment. BREXIT has heralded new requirements in trading, changes in resource sourcing and more. For those charged with maintaining areas, those involved operationally and indeed anyone with an interest in amenity, these are times when it can be difficult to keep up with policy announcements and new innovations and approaches.

Change in approach to managing amenity spaces

Change in approach to managing amenity spaces

All this means that the timing of the 2021 Amenity Forum conference, to be held on October 21st, could not be better and its title ‘Facing the Future’ very apt indeed. The conference will focus on policy change and its impact. The event will commence with keynote senior speakers from Defra, the Chemicals Regulation Department of HSE (CRD) and the Environment Agency. Defra will address change resulting from the recent review of the UK National Action Plan relating to weed, pest and disease management. The CRD speaker will address changes in pesticide regulation and enforcement approaches. The Environment Agency will look at the ever tightening of regulation relating to water and its quality. Each area is crucially important and reason in itself for conference attendance.

These will be followed by some eminent speakers involved operationally who will look at what more integrated approaches might mean including a specific contractor and a distributor view. There will then be a focus on the vitally important area of education and training. Policy change will bring more requirements for both training and CPD and increased innovation in how this can be delivered. The conference programme will conclude with some individual perspectives on the future for amenity and sports space management. This will include a focus on parks, on the environmental impact of various management approaches and what is involved in creating and maintaining surfaces at an international sporting venue.

To complement all of this will be an exhibition area where supporters will be on hand to showcase and describe what they do and new developments. There will be the announcement of the category winners for the Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year and John Moverley will provide a presentation of his thoughts looking forward.

A day not to be missed and, given the support from organisations, very competitively priced at £95 per delegate. For further information, please contact Kate at admin@amenityforum.net

Some comments from participants at last year’s event were:

‘’I would just like to say a huge thank you for putting on a great conference, along with some excellent speakers in their various fields of expertise from across the sector. The whole conference was well organised, fast moving and held my attention throughout’’

‘’Congratulations on such a successful and well run event.  As usual the standard of presenters and presentations was incredibly high, although we’ve come to expect that. .  It was an incredibly worthwhile day, very enjoyable and I learnt new things’’

‘’Just to let you know that I thought the conference yesterday was really excellent – the content and speakers were very good and their topics were very relevant.  Very well managed making great use of the time, an event not to be missed’’

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Change in leadership for Reesink UK

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Change in leadership for Reesink UK: David Cole is leaving the role of Reesink UK’s managing director in April 2022.

David has passionately and successfully overseen the company’s turfcare, agriculture, used machinery and electric vehicles business since 2014, and had previously worked for the former Lely business between 1990-1999. The reasons for his departure are personal; he says: “There are no business reasons attached to this, only personal. The unexpected loss of my wife last year was a huge blow. And after seeing the business through some strange and challenging times and identifying clearer waters ahead, my desire now is to spend more time with and focus on my grandchildren.”

Change in leadership for Reesink UK

Change in leadership for Reesink UK

Leading the recruitment process alongside David is Roon Hylkema, divisional director of Reesink UK’s parent company, Royal Reesink. Roon comments: “Reesink UK is one of the UK’s leading turfcare distributors and has 38 years working with The Toro Company, as such the role of managing director presents an exciting opportunity for the right candidate.

“The company has history on its side, stability and longevity, but also exciting growth opportunities as we look to continue David’s good work diversifying our offering, introducing new brands and new product lines that compliment our core activities.”

Work will start shortly to identify David’s successor and to enable a handover period before next April.

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TurfCare bolsters presence in the Southwest

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TurfCare bolsters presence in the Southwest: TurfCare announce Andy Matthews joins the company in a technical sales support role.

Andy Matthews. 40 years within the industry mostly within the independent school’s sector, starting in June 1981 at Bradfield College as an apprentice where he studied Greenkeeping and sports turf at Berkshire college of Agriculture. He left Bradfield as Deputy Head Groundsman in 1993 to take up a position as Head Groundsman at Birkbeck College in Greenford. In 1997 when he accepted a position as Grounds Manager at Taunton School in Somerset where he met his wife Tori. In 2001 they moved to Harrow School to be the Grounds Manager.  During his time at Harrow, he oversaw the £5million upgrade of the sporting facilities. In 2011 he accepted a position at Clifton College in Bristol. where he has hosted international soccer, a rugby world cup training camp and county cricket.

TurfCare bolsters presence in the Southwest

TurfCare bolsters presence in the Southwest

“We are incredibly pleased that Andy is joining the TurfCare team said TurfCare UK Sales Manager Daniel Jones. “His background and experience will allow our entire team to further grow and support our customers in the Southwest. TurfCare General Manager Jim Holden said that we are delighted to welcome Andy to the team. He has 40 years of industry experience which offers the company and our customers access to his vast amount of experience and knowledge. We look forward to working with Andy in the next chapter of his profession.

“I am excited to join the TurfCare team and support our customers in the Southwest Region helping turfgrass managers select the correct products to match their agronomic needs, TurfCare offer some of the best products in the industry with their world-wide brands “Matthews said.

Andy will start with TurfCare from the 2nd of August and can be contacted through the following details 07584 046834 amatthews@turfcare.eu  +44 1425 472102   www.turfcare.eu

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JCB invest in Ventrac

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JCB invest in Ventrac: JCB Golf & Country Club, the flagship sales and marketing tool of the JCB brand, situated in rolling parkland adjacent to the company’s World Headquarters in Staffordshire, has purchased a package of Ventrac equipment from local dealer, Sharrocks.

Included in the package is a Ventrac 4500 all-terrain compact tractor with dual-wheels, a Tough Cut rotary deck, a Power Broom and a Stump Grinder.

JCB invest in Ventrac

JCB invest in Ventrac

The 7,400-yard course, which opened in 2018, was designed by architect Robin Hiseman of European Golf Design, and is situated in 280 acres on the estate of the former Woodseat Hall and surrounding farmland. It can be played by JCB management, staff and their guests, together with private and corporate members including dealers, suppliers and major customers. Integral to the design brief is the expectation that it will become a regular venue for a professional tour golf.

Callum Wark is the Course Manager and is responsible for a team of 31 full-time staff including three apprentices, two irrigation technicians, two mechanics and four gardeners. He’s been at the course since its inception having been employed here since the start of the course build back in 2016.

“It’s the best decision I’ve made in my career, so far,” he said. “I previously worked at Loch Lomond and it was great grounding, but when I was offered the opportunity to work on a new build, something very rare these days, especially so in the UK, I jumped at the chance. I worked as Head Greenkeeper under Euan Grant and when he left, I applied for the job of Course Manager and was successful.

“We have large estate to manage here and the CEO demands that it is of the highest quality possible. Not just the golf course, but all the areas surrounding the clubhouse, our luxury lodges and the academy. JCB is renowned across the globe and our facilities here must reflect the esteem intrinsic in the brand. That’s our goal and, in a nutshell, that’s my job.

“Therefore, we need robust and reliable equipment, to ensure that we maintain the property to these exacting standards. And, that’s why we’ve purchased the Ventrac package. This course has been designed to accommodate championship golf and has been constructed with dramatic fescue mounds and banking for spectator viewing. We needed a machine that could tackle these slopes; we tried other machines, but none came close to what the Ventrac could do. The initial demonstration was excellent and we knew very quickly that it was the machine for us.

“We have 10 km of tarmac-ed cart paths and these need to be swept clean on a regular basis. We also have extensive carparking and other hard landscaped surfaces, so the inclusion of the Power Brush in the package was an obvious choice. We have numerous tees on each hole, but the championship tees are rarely used and this can lead to a moss issue. This can be controlled by setting the broom bristles to just touch the sward and removal is quick and simple. Being a woodland estate, the Tough Cut deck and Stump Grinder come into their own when we clear any woodland margins.

“Versatility is the key word when describing the Ventrac; one power unit for many accessories. I need to make a business case for the additional purchase of the Cart Path Edger. The cart paths are all edged with kerbs and a strip of fine fescue either side. I usually send four guys out to edge those areas, whereas one guy on a Ventrac could do that in just one day.”

Tim McCutcheon is the Head Mechanic and has been described as a greenkeeper with a passion for mechanics. He began his career at Lichfield Golf Club, before enrolling on the Ohio State Program, where he spent 18 months working at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, OK, recognised as one of the top 100 courses in the world and host to 15 Championships since 1945.

“What can I say about this machine apart from it’s brilliant,” he said. “From a greenkeeping perspective it’s so versatile, but from a mechanic’s point of view, it’s a dream. It’s robustly built, the belts are easily accessible and simple to change, as is the access to filters and grease points. The flip-up decks make cleaning and maintenance easy and the accessory mounting system is ingenious. One thing is outstanding, especially in my role, and that’s the quality of the manuals. They are extensive and in colour, which really helps when trying to identify parts. All-in-all, a great addition to our fleet.”

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