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Shropshire Club can’t get enough of the Quadraplay

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Shropshire Club can’t get enough of the Quadraplay: The football pitches at Prees Cricket and Recreation Club in Shropshire have significantly benefitted from a SISIS Quadraplay, according to Head Groundsman Duncan Austin.

With a multitude of football teams ranging from under 8’s up to seniors, both men and ladies, it is safe to say that the three football pitches are heavily used.

Shropshire Club can’t get enough of the Quadraplay

Shropshire Club can’t get enough of the Quadraplay

Aside from the three football pitches, Duncan also maintains two artificial football pitches, a cricket square and two bowling greens, so anything that makes his life easier is a huge benefit.

It is for this reason that Duncan and the Club decided to explore the possibility of obtaining an equipment grant through the Football Foundation.

“The Football Foundation is helping to improve football pitches at grassroots level and there are several grants available,” said Duncan. “We conducted a big pitch assessment, took photos, root depth measurements and provided the Football Foundation with lots of other information. We were over the moon when we found out we had been accepted for the grant.

One of the machines they recommended was the SISIS Quadraplay.”

The multi-functional SISIS Quadraplay single pass maintenance system is perfect for busy groundspersons like Duncan as it incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, spikers, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect. Compact, robust, versatile and with the ability to carry out up to four operations simultaneously – the Quadraplay makes life a lot easier for many groundspersons.

Duncan was familiar with the SISIS Quadraplay after previously seeing it in action at a demonstration evening at a nearby football club. He admits to being impressed when he first saw the Quadraplay but didn’t realise just how beneficial it could be, until now.

“I use it all the time and whenever I do, I know that the Quadraplay is improving the ground in some form,” he said. “It is great to use after games because it can help bring the surface back to life and it puts all the divots back in place.

“The grass gets trodden down after a game and that doesn’t do the leaf any good so the Quadraplay can stand the plant up to help it dry out and you have the spike at the front which gets rid of any surface moisture. Therefore, the surface dries out quicker and is healthier for the plant. Then when you come to cut, because the plant is stood up, you get a nicer clean cut. You can also use the brush which is excellent for presentation.

“Another good way of using it is to lift the three back implements up and use the spiker/slitter. This has all the weight on in and you can get really deep with it. It’s important to do this because with so much usage I need to get as much air into the ground as possible.

“It is just so versatile. You just can’t overuse something like the SISIS Quadraplay in my opinion.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

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Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future: Morpeth Golf Club has a new approach to running its 117-year-old business; utilising every asset to broaden its appeal and be much more than just a great course. 

With new leadership and investment across the site, Morpeth is focused on drawing in customers to the clubhouse, restaurant, pro shop, simulator, events space and personal training facilities, as well as its flourishing 18-hole golf course.

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

Morpeth Golf Club looks to the future

A more positive and profitable future is being spearheaded by general manager Chris Liddell and course manager John Scurfield whose new strategy has included a significant investment in new course machinery from John Deere.

“If everything around the course is doing well, we have the budget to ensure our greenkeeping team gets all the tools it needs to keep the place looking great,” Chris said.

He joined the club in January to support its development through the bar and catering aspect of the business. As a former regional director for branded hospitality groups such as Pizza Express and TGI Friday’s, Chris has also been a member at Morpeth for 20 years.

“Where I feel I’ve been able to add a bit of value to the club is bringing in the big company principles such as implementing budgetary processes and more structure in how the club is run,” says Chris. “What will be pivotal in growing the club in the future is not only appealing to our current membership, but also broadening our appeal to the wider community. A part of what we have to do here is appeal to every demographic.”

Morpeth has 650 playing members, with over 20 more joining since the New Year. Chris projects the club could have about 750 members by the end of the year.

One aspect he wants to rejuvenate is the junior golf initiatives by developing an academy membership for young golfers to progress.

“In recent years I’ve seen that golf clubs have taken a hit in the number of junior memberships and that is something that I want to change,” says Chris. “I want to start getting more juniors into golf because I remember having such great days here when I was a junior member myself.”

To maintain the club’s growth, the stunning parkland course must be maintained to the highest standard, which is helped by Morpeth’s long-standing relationship with John Deere dealer Thomas Sheriff & Co.

Course manager John has been working at the club since he left school and has always used John Deere machinery. It’s a course he knows better than most ¬– holding the record with a six-under-par 65.

“We’ve had this partnership with John Deere for about 30 years, and the investment in the machinery has been necessary,” says John. “As the number of golf clubs in the area increases it dilutes the market, so we have to provide the best possible standard of our course to keep our current members and attract future ones.”

Morpeth’s latest investment includes an 8000A E-Cut Hybrid Fairway Mower, a HPX 815E Work Utility Gator, a 2550 E-Cut Riding Greens Mower, a HD 200 Precision Sprayer, and a 2030A Gator. All the machines are on a five-year finance lease with John Deere.

With only a five-person greenkeeping team, a busy playing membership and the course driven to staying open all year round, there are challenges. But John has taken to visiting other clubs to see how other teams manage.

“On volunteering at various clubs including Royal Cinque Ports and Royal Liverpool Golf Club, I went to see what I could bring back to Morpeth, even though we’re worlds apart from those bigger clubs,” says John. “One thing I brought back was that staff morale is so important. Despite these guys starting at 4am and working all day, they never stop laughing and joking around with each other and they keep a real team spirit.

“When handpicking new people to work with us, I’ve learned to base them more on their character than their skillset because team morale is so important.”

John’s team are all now experienced in using the John Deere machinery, and are proud to do so, being particularly impressed by the reliability and efficiency of the mowers that they use.

“Before they came here to Morpeth these guys hadn’t really had much experience with John Deere machines at the previous clubs they worked at,” John says. “So when they came here and started using the John Deere mowers, they straight away said that it’s top notch. It’s always a good sign when your team are proud of what they’re working with.”

In developing and maintaining the course for the future, John is interested in looking into John Deere’s GPS technology for future investments, looking at how implementing it could further increase efficiency in maintaining the grounds and also help in keeping costs down.

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Banish the dread of Red Thread

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Banish the dread of Red Thread: Summer is on its way, and with it can appear the scourge of groundskeepers everywhere – the fungal infection Red Thread.

This common disease causes reddish-brown patches of turf, especially during warm wet weather and heavy dews, spelling disaster for those attempting to maintain pristine grass. Fortunately though, there is a way to protect managed amenity turf and improve immunity and growth – by using BASF’S Insignia®.

Banish the dread of Red Thread

Banish the dread of Red Thread

Insignia® is a long-lasting fungicide with a broad disease-control spectrum and high performance, treating turf diseases such as the afore-mentioned Red Thread, as well as unsightly infections such as Dollar Spot and Microdochium Patch. But Insignia® is so much more than just a fungicide. As part of the Intrinsic™ fungicide family, it also increases growth efficiency and enhances stress tolerance – both essential for those looking to maintain and improve turf conditions for years to come.

When used on the desired area, Insignia® forms deposits on the leaf surface which act as as a reservoir, releasing the active ingredient to protect the leaf’s surface and deeper tissues over a number of weeks.

Insignia® has numerous benefits alongside its fungicide performance and is the first fungicide with plant health effects. Greenkeepers will find that through the use of Insignia, turf will have an ehanced response to heat and drought as well as mechanical and biotic stresses, resulting in a healthy root system and improved plant health.

To find out more about Insignia® go to

https://www.agricentre.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Product-Search/Fungicides/Insignia.html

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Uncovering the Potential

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Uncovering the Potential: Sports research laboratories, consultants and other sports specialists look at data to improve the surface, environment or player performance. Let’s look at how GrasPro can help with it.

Experience with GrasPro users shows that targeted data collection and processing make it possible to assess and improve pitch quality, better manage conditions, increase utilisation and reduce investment, operating costs and environmental impact. Using the system provides a clear overview of the pitches’ care, quality and characteristics.

Uncovering the Potential

Uncovering the Potential

Based on the data, a variety of studies and analyses can be carried out to influence the above factors and build an understanding of the pitch.

To take an example of data use:

  • Do factors such as a low grass mowing height influence the pitch resistance?
  • The interaction between weather, water use and fertiliser sources. That is, how much the fertiliser application must be changed to offset precipitation and irrigation. An aspect that can be an environmental problem.
  • How different maintenance measures affect the outcome of measuring the grass condition.
  • How can data support environmentally friendly pitch maintenance?
  • The impact of accidents on players.

Player Injuries and the Pitch Condition

For information on the importance of this data collection, many studies have been conducted on the correlation between player accidents and pitch conditions. Some of these studies have shown a connection between these two factors. For example, the grip and compression of the surface can influence the accident rate.

There is clear evidence of inadequate stability and definitions of quantitative deficiencies. This GA review (1) [Lauren A. Petrass et. AL, 2013] is also presented in a scientific study by David Rennie and others published in 2015 (2) [David J. Rennie et. al, 2016]. The performance and capability of players are primarily determined by the type of surface they play on. Simple tests show whether if a surface is wet, hard, uneven, etc., can matter. These factors can affect ball flow, speed of play, player injuries and the game itself, among other things. With improved data collection and data reliability, it is possible to investigate, for example, whether a fast surface is better suited for quick players to perform to their full potential.

 

It is of great interest to top-tier competition teams to pay close attention to on-pitch situations where large sums of money can be directly related to the performance of individual players in competing teams. Modern competition depends on whether a key player is injured or cannot play at full capacity due to pitch conditions. This can have far-reaching effects on a team’s earning potential and its long-term performance.

Achieving Sustainability Goals for Stadium Construction and Maintenance

In FIFA Stadium Guidelines 2022 (3) FIFA stress that sustainable maintenance and operation of the stadiums are essential for the future. According to the UN, the energy intensity of buildings must be reduced 30% by 2030 compared to 2015 levels to meet the Paris Agreement. In addition to it, significant climate change mitigation measures include reducing CO2 emissions from materials used in stadium construction, maintenance and using clean energy to power stadiums.  

The reduction of waste generated during stadium construction, operation and maintenance is another point to consider. For example, excavated soil generated on the construction site should be used for buildings where possible so that only material that cannot be reused is removed. This helps reduce the volume of waste generated during development, reducing the carbon footprint, air pollution and lorry traffic.

Simple measures like composting grass clippings and re-using materials produced during pitch renovations and maintenance can also contribute. In fact, measuring your grass clipping yield can help manage nitrogen and PGR inputs more precisely, improving pitch consistency and performance whilst reducing waste. Keeping a simple record of grass clippings volume can be important information.

Keeping a comprehensive record of moisture levels in the pitch using probes or underground sensors can also make a substantial difference. The desired station can be set by benchmarking moisture levels against pitch performance, and only the exact amount of water needed is used to achieve it.

The same method can be used for fertilisers and grass seeds. With optimum time for use pinpointed, it avoids product waste, budget waste and unnecessary deliveries.

Data collection with GrasPro creates opportunities for gathering knowledge from data and research. The processing and use of this data and expertise will likely lead to significant improvements in the quality and operation, as well as improved player safety and performance.

Sources:

  1. Lauren A. Petrass and Dara M. Twomey (2013), The relationship between ground conditions and injury: What level of evidence do we have? Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 16 (2),. Doi: 0.1016/j.jsams.2012.07.005
  2. David J Rennie,Jos Vanrenterghem, Martin Littlewood, Barry Drust (2016), Can the natural turf pitch be viewed as a risk factor for injury within Association Football?? Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 19 (7), 547-552. Doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2015.07.009
  3. FIFA Football Stadiums Guidelines 2022. Available here: https://publications.fifa.com/en/football-stadiums-guidelines/

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