Tag Archive for: Success

Fibresand success at Colliers Park

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Fibresand success at Colliers Park: Colliers Park National Football Development Centre, located in Wrexham, is a premier facility dedicated to the development and training of football talents. One key figure contributing to the success of Colliers Park is James Mathewson, the Head Groundsperson, who has brought his extensive experience to improve the quality of the pitches.

James’ journey in the world of grounds management began at the Honourable Artillery Company in London, where he gained valuable experience. His passion and skills led him to work at renowned football clubs such as West Ham United FC and Arsenal FC, spending four years at Arsenal’s training ground in London Colney. Following the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, James took on the role of Deputy Head Groundsperson at Northampton Saints before the opportunity to work at Colliers Park arose, and he has been contributing to the Centre’s success for the past 18 months.

Fibresand success at Colliers Park

Fibresand success at Colliers Park

Mansfield Sand is a reputable company known for providing high-quality products and solutions for turf management. With a history of delivering market leading sand products, Mansfield Sand has become a trusted partner for groundspersons and turf professionals.

At Colliers Park, James implements Mansfield Sand’s Fibresand for the renovation of the pitches. The Fibresand pitch, now four years old, has proven to be a game-changer in terms of performance and durability. James stated, “I used them for my first renovation I did here, and the rest is history. We topped up 150 tonnes of Fibresand, and it has been regularly topped up since it first came in.”

James highlights several advantages of Fibresand over traditional soil-based pitches. “The Fibresand pitch offers superior drainage, holds together better, and minimises the risk of chunks being kicked out during play. Additionally, the ease of damage repair and quick recovery contributes to a healthier pitch, ultimately allowing for increased usage.”

Gary Cunningham, Sport & Landscape Sales Manager for Mansfield Sand, plays a crucial role in maintaining the performance of the Fibresand pitch. James explains, “Gary comes in every year to core sample the pitch for a fibre content reading, reports back if a top up is required or not and then we go from there.” This collaborative effort ensures that the pitch remains in optimal condition, with regular assessments and top-ups as needed.

James’ expertise and the use of Mansfield Sand’s Fibresand products have significantly contributed to the success at Colliers Park National Football Development Centre. The Fibresand pitch not only provides a superior playing surface but also offers long-term advantages in terms of durability and maintenance.

For more information visit www.mansfield-sand.co.uk

You can also follow the company on Twitter – @MansfieldSand and Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MansfieldSandSportSurfaces/

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Foley Success at Open Championship Venues

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Foley Success at Open Championship Venues: There are few greater events in golf that match The Open. For many greenkeepers, it is the pinnacle of their careers, but to make it a success, tireless work goes on behind the scenes to have mowers ready for cutting each day. 

When the 151st Open begins in the third week of July, every Toro and John Deere mower used at Royal Liverpool will be ground by a Foley under the expert eye of ProSport UK’s Ian Robson. More than ever, speed and accuracy are crucial during a tournament, and it’s then the 633 ACCU-Pro with ACCU-Touch 3 comes into its own.

Foley Success at Open Championship Venues

Foley Success at Open Championship Venues

The machines come with an automated computer system that provides a step-by-step tutorial for new technicians and a quicker setup and spin grind feature for the more experienced operators. You input the details of the unit you’re working on, and it automatically spin or relief grinds to completion. Pre-programmed spin speeds, relief torque, and in-feeds are only a few of the features found in the ACCU-Touch 3 system that ensures efficiency and guarantees a quality grind with every use.

With Foley grinders at four Open Championship venues, Ian knows the importance of tournament support and the difference it makes. “An Open Championship is a unique event that calls for a team effort to make it a success,” Ian explains. “In my experience, it’s an intricately planned but high-pressure environment, and we’re there to make sure everything runs smoothly.

“We want to ensure every unit that goes on the course is at its best because the quality of cut is so important to turf health and the presentation. Using the ACCU-Pro 633 means we can turn around the units quickly and efficiently while always guaranteeing the best quality, and that is the key thing. Course conditions are the biggest variable during a tournament, and we can very easily adjust our grinding to suit what the course team needs.

“Royal Liverpool has had to wait because of the Open rota being put back a year and the redevelopment of the 17th hole, but the work they’ve put into hosting this Championship will be worth it, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”

Being England’s second oldest seaside links comes with a lot of history. Royal Liverpool was the second English course to host the Open Championship in 1897 and hosted the prestigious competition a further nine times before a 39-year gap between 1967 and 2006 when Tiger Woods won the tournament before Rory McIlroy won his first eight years later in 2014.

The club has far from stood still since then, with their new 17th hole aiming to make a name for itself among golfs standout par-3s. Using the Dee Estuary as a backdrop, the well-guarded elevated green could well be a decision maker on who lifts the Claret Jug along with the redesigned over 600-yard par-5 18th.

Open Quality

Royal Liverpool is the second successive Open host to use Foley, following St Andrews, who used the American-made machines during the 150th Open.

Customer support ranks highly at the home of golf, with the personal touch ranking as highly as the ability to provide solutions for Head of Maintenance Lani Togi.

“When it comes to buying machines, it’s not always about the cost of the item; it’s the personal side of things as well,” he said. “You buy from people, and we’ve worked with Ian for many years, and we know we can rely on his backup service.

“One of the biggest things that’s helped us get the results is the Borazon stone we have for the 673 bottom blade grinder. The new Toro E-Reels use a tungsten mixture that makes them very hard, and that stone really cuts it in well. That saves us a lot of problems because previously we would have had to sharpen them again, but now we get it done the first time around.”

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The Scots Turf Show a success

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The Scots Turf Show a success: The 1st of March 2023 was the date everything changed for Turf Professionals in Scotland. The first Scottish turf event for almost 15 years, opened its doors at Hamilton Park Racecourse, and the visitors began to pour in an hour before official registration had even opened.

Connecting the industry

The trial show was devised by 17 of the industry’s most influential companies, to give something back to the Scottish turf community and to connect with the Industry, by providing a local turf event, accessible to a vast swathe of groundsmen and greenkeepers from all areas of sport, that had never had the opportunity to attend a local industry event.

The Scots Turf Show a success

The Scots Turf Show a success

David Roxburgh – Head Groundsman – Rangers Football Club

“Something needed to happen here in Scotland, I think it’s been great. The fantastic turnout here hasn’t surprised me because I think Scotland has been desperate for something like this. It needs a big show, and I think this could possibly be the forerunner of something great.”

The number of registered visitors had risen above the target of200with 287 attending on the day.

The itinerary of early morning bacon rolls, and coffee was a welcome diversion while the visitors signed in and was followed by an introduction to the idea behind the show by Alan Thomson of AllGrass and Richard Heywood of Campey Turf Care Systems. The guests were immediately engaged with two 20 minute speakers, Gary Smith senior agronomist from the STRI, quickly followed by Joe Shaw from SIS Pitches, before heading out into the spring sunshine for the outdoor exhibition area.

After a couple of hours of interaction with the exhibitors, the group enjoyed a lunch in the hospitality suite overlooking the magnificent race track at Hamilton Park. Then it was back to the marquee for two more short seminars, one from Kelly Marie Clarke agronomist from Origin and finally an introduction to Hamilton Park itself by Ashley Moon, Managing Director of Hamilton Racecourse who said, “We are delighted to welcome the Scots Turf Show to Hamilton Racecourse and work alongside such excellent partners”.

It is important to the companies behind this event to gauge the response of the visitors going forward, with a view to expanding the event significantly next year.

Barry McCulloch – Course Manager Caldwell Golf Club commented “It’s something that I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time and hoping that it did happen. It’s been good to come along and support the event. The venue they have picked is probably one of the best areas in Scotland because it’s very easily accessible, you can come from all over the country. You just have to look at the numbers that showed up today to see why it’s a great venue. 50% of my workforce has never been to a turf show, so that is another reason we came along today. It’s good for the younger guys to come and see some of the machinery and get a different perspective of things.”

Jim Dawson – Head Groundsman – BT Murrayfield

We would usually have to travel to events down South to see machinery or even have a chat with other groundsmen. So, today has been good for networking. I’ve met a lot of people here, from football to rugby, golf and horse racing.

I think this could take off. We are all very positive about the event, and I’m very happy for them to be talking about expanding it. I like having the option to attend the seminars, then getting to see some of the machinery in action and meeting the reps as well.”

Alan Thomson from AllGrass is absolutely delighted with the response on the day. As one of the main drivers he explains “From a concept back in 2019 over a McDonald’s Coffee to seeing the reality of such a fantastic event. Don’t get me wrong we are not reinventing the wheel here but simply putting it on a different path and a path that can continue to build excitement for the Scottish and beyond markets. ‘Connecting the Industry’ this is something that Richard and I believe we can do and hopefully with the many ideas for the future we can achieve this.”

So, The Scots Turf Show appears to have been an overwhelming success and looks like it may be here to stay.

Save the date – 6th March 2024

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Well-Being and Recruitment Day a success

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Well-Being and Recruitment Day a success: On Tuesday 28th February 2023, Carnoustie Golf Links and The Rookery played host to its very first Recruitment Open Day, in parallel with a Health and Well-Being Open Day – another first of its kind at the Links.

Between 11am and 3pm residents from the local area were welcomed to Links House to explore the recruitment opportunities available at the Links, including roles in Guest Relations, Merchandise, Golf Operations and Restaurant Waiting Staff. The informal day was designed to give everyone a chance to meet some of the senior management team, explore the facilities and learn more about the roles.

Well-Being and Recruitment Day a success

Well-Being and Recruitment Day a success

Furthermore, over 32 local mental health and well-being services and charities were on site in The Rookery to share a wealth of information with everyone in attendance.

The day was deemed highly successful with over 130 guests in attendance. This event is one of the many outreach initiatives that Carnoustie Golf Links run. The most notable being its Community Benefits Programme which has donated over £250k+ to local good causes to date.

Services & Charities that attended on the day:

Alzheimer Scotland;
Andy’s Man Club;
Angus Health and Social Care Partnership;
Angus Independent Advocacy;
Angus Voice;
ANGUSalive;
Carnoustie Medical Group Patient Representative Group (provisional);
Change Mental Health;
Citizens Advice Bureau;
Communities Team (Carnoustie, Monifieth & Sidlaw) Angus Council;
Community Action Team Angus; Scottish Fire and Rescue Service;
Cruse Scotland Bereavement Support;
Department for Work and Pensions;
Dundee & Angus College;
Flourishing Well;
Golf Memories/Cycle Without Age;
Hear Me;
Macmillan (ANGUSalive);
Manna Project, Carnoustie Baptist Church;
Mental Health & Wellbeing and Substance Use, Public Health Directorate NHA Tayside;
Nature Prescribing;
New Solutions;
Penumbra;
Police Scotland;
REACH Across;
Re-Engage;
Royal British Legion Scotland;
Skills Team, Angus Council;
Skilz;
Suicide Prevention / MH &WB;
Tayside Council on Alcohol;
Voluntary Action Angus;

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Big Success for the Micro-Spray

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Big Success for the Micro-Spray: The demands from an amenity sprayer extend far beyond reliability. Strength, durability, and flexibility are naturally important, but a key requirement is low impact on the surfaces where the sprayer will be used.

For sports turf professionals, the Martin Lishman Micro-Spray is the number one choice of pedestrian sprayer. Combining control and power with responsive easy handling in a compact form, the fully electric Micro-Spray delivers a precise application with minimal turf impact, making it ideal for use on sports turf and golf courses.

Big Success for the Micro-Spray

Big Success for the Micro-Spray

Amenity specification with agricultural strength and durability has been the key design element of all Martin Lishman compact sprayers, and the Micro-Spray is no different. Its unique design and versatile functionality have captured the attention of the industry.

With satisfied users worldwide, Martin Lishman have reported a very successful year for the Micro-Spray. This is thanks to an exclusive partnership with Campey Turf Care Systems, who brought their expertise and delivery network into the mix to put Micro-Spray units in every corner of the globe, from Europe to Australia.

Designed and manufactured in England at the Martin Lishman site in Bourne, Lincolnshire, the combination of accurate control and spraying power in a lightweight package to prevent compaction and turf damage is at the forefront of the Micro-Spray’s design. A strong powder coated steel chassis, driven by an advanced rear wheel drive system and two large deep cycle batteries help maintain a low centre of gravity and weight balance.

The UV-safe 120 litre tank feeds the 23 litre/min pump which can accommodate a 2.5 to 3.5m folding boom and a wide range of application rates. Easy-to-reach controls enable the operator to quickly adjust sprayer settings including drive direction, speed, pump pressure and optional bout marker controls.

“It’s been great to watch the Micro-Spray gain traction and carve its way into the amenity industry”, explains Joel Capper, Managing Director of Martin Lishman Ltd. “We have worked with some very talented and influential people to make the sprayer what it is today. Now with the sales and distribution support from Campey Turf Care, we look forward to the next chapter in the Micro-Spray success story”.

The Micro-Spray forms part of the Martin Lishman compact sprayer range, including trailed, ATV mounted and demountable models. Tank sizes range from 70 to 600 litres and boom widths from 1 metre to 8 metres. Specialist or bespoke requests can also be catered for which allows considerable variation of models to meet the specialist needs of customers.

The Micro-Spray along with a selection of other Martin Lishman sprayers will be on display at the BTME event, Harrogate (stand 248) in January 2023.

For more information on the Martin Lishman Micro-Spray and compact sprayers, visit their website at www.martinlishman.com.

“For more information or a demonstration of the Micro-Spray, contact Campey Turf Care or visit www.campeyturfcare.com

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