Magazine - Issue 25 - June / July 2009 (Page 2)

The Frost Report
5 Aug 2009 - Cricket - Editor - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Phil Frost is one of the longest serving cricket groundsmen on the County circuit. Here he talks about his time at Somerset CCC and the challenges he faces, including grumpy TV commentators, overloaded fixtures and a few other things that 'get his goat'!

Northop Hall - a hidden gem
3 Aug 2009 - Cricket - Simon Kars, Pitchcare Oceania - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009 - 5 comments
Pitchcare Oceania’s Simon Kars talks about his ‘year out’ at Northop Hall Cricket Club in North Wales, as a player and groundsman. He reckons the North Wales club is a hidden gem and has one of the best playing surfaces for 100 of miles!

Mission Possible
1 Aug 2009 - Golf - Henry Bechelet B Sc (Hons), MBPR, RIPTA - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
The STRI’s ‘Dynamic Duo’, Richard Windows and Henry Bechelet, are at it again! Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to achieve firm, smooth, true and perfectly paced putting surfaces

Red turf - whatever next?
30 Jul 2009 - Consultancy - Dr Kate Entwistle - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
During the late spring and autumn months, patches of red/purple discolouration can develop on close mown turf, and the cause is often automatically regarded as being fungal. Dr Kate Entwistle sees red, but is it a disease or a natural physiological problem?

The true cost of machinery ownership
30 Jul 2009 - Mechanics - Andrew Turnbull BSc (Hons) - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Andrew Turnbull says it is vital to grasp a working understanding of financial planning in order to influence the decision makers that can make it worthwhile for you to get up in the morning.

Level Playing Fields
26 Jul 2009 - Cricket - Carol Dutton - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Despite horrendous weather conditions during the cricket off season two test grounds, 200 miles apart, have been extensively upgraded as part of a major funding programme by the ECB.

Education, Education, Education
25 Jul 2009 - General Sports - Editor - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Pitchcare visits the site of a brand new school in the South-West of England where MJ Abbott, in partnership with Cowlin Construction, is using its sportsturf expertise to ensure that muddy school playing fields are a thing of the past

The King of Radley College
23 Jul 2009 - Schools - Editor - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Adam King, Grounds Manager at Radley College, has been trialing new seed cultivars with good results. Now, all he needs is the ‘miracle mixture’ that will cater for all sports surfaces!

The Perennial Problem
21 Jul 2009 - Consultancy - Paul Cawood - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Paul Cawood, Business Development Manager at LanGuard Ltd., gives an overview of perennial weeds and how best to treat them.

It's a cover up!
20 Jul 2009 - Cricket - Bob Stretton - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009 - 1 comment
Bob Stretton, former ECB Pitches Advisor for Warwickshire, and current Head Groundsman at the Massey Ferguson Sports Club, offers some advice on cricket covers suggesting that the art of cricket groundsmanship is the skill to balance soil moisture content with pitch playability

How to get what you want ....
19 Jul 2009 - Golf - Duncan McGilvray - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
How to get what you want without it costing the earth. Duncan McGilvray says that upgrading your automatic irrigation system should be a step-by-step approach to ensure the end product is exactly what you want, and at a cost suitable to your budget.

Health & Safety Part II
17 Jul 2009 - H & S - Tom James - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Is machinery and equipment as noise and vibration-free as some manufacturers and suppliers claim, and are clubs doing enough to reduce the risks? Tom James uncovers some worrying trends in part two of his special report on health and safety, which also looks at sun scares and pesticides application

The Mole Truth
14 Jul 2009 - Conservation - Andy Bedoes - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009 - 1 comment
The European Mole (Talpa europaea) holds a strange affection with many folk thanks, in the main, to children’s stories such as The Wind in the Willows. That is, until the pesky critters appear on manicured turf. The havoc they cause is simply a by-product of the lifestyle they lead.

One good finish - deserves another!
13 Jul 2009 - Football - Editor - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
Scunthorpe United have made their way back to the Championship, courtesy of a 3-2 win over Millwall at Wembley. To complement their new found status a new pitch has been laid by Fineturf

Pride of Derby
11 Jul 2009 - Football - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009
With Clough Junior now in control at Derby County and a new training ground facility up and running, Head Groundsman, Andy Crofts, is preparing pitches in readiness for a return to the Premiership

Making the transition
10 Jul 2009 - Synthetics - Colin Mumford - Issue 25 - Jun / Jul 2009 - 1 comment
Having worked the majority of his sports surface management life on natural turf, Dr Colin Mumford started the gradual transition from working with real grass to artificial grass last year in New Zealand, where he worked for the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute. Colin has now completed the transformation, and is working full time with artificial sports surfaces for Sweepfast Ltd. Here, Colin gives his initial impressions on the artificial side of life.