Magazine - Issue 26 - August / September 2009

Where can you add biodiversity?
7 Nov 2009 - Golf - Will Bowden - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Will Bowden, Programme Manager for Greenkeeping and Sportsturf, Bridgwater College (Cannington Centre) says that incorporating biodiversity into golf course design and layout will significantly improve the perception of golf’s sustainability

Keeping your job
5 Nov 2009 - Consultancy - Frank Newberry - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009 - 1 comment
It has never been easier to lose your job and, surely, there is nothing you can do to dodge the redundancy bullet if it has your name on it? Frank Newberry offers some timely advice to those faced with losing their job.

Pitchcare sponsors Racecourse Groundstaff Awards
31 Oct 2009 - Racing - Editor - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
In keeping with its commitment to supporting and promoting groundstaff at all levels, Pitchcare is delighted to announce an agreement with the Racecourse Association Ltd to sponsor the much coveted Neil Wyatt Racecourse Groundstaff Awards,

A brush with reality
27 Oct 2009 - Synthetics - Editor - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Technical Surfaces have commissioned the world’s first study to assess the effects of brushing on the wear of synthetic sport carpet systems. The research was led by Dr Paul Fleming of Loughborough University at the Sports Technology Institute.

Alias Smith and Golfers!
25 Oct 2009 - Golf - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009 - 1 comment
Peter Smith, Head Greenkeeper at the Cavendish Golf Club, is on a mission to bring the Alister MacKenzie designed course back to its former glories. Laurence Gale MSc catches up with him during a course walk

Battersea - power to the council
24 Oct 2009 - Best of the Rest - Justin Grew - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Once a Victorian playground and site of the Festival of Britain, Battersea Park suffered neglect under the ‘management’ of the Greater London Council but now, with Wandsworth Borough Council in control, it has been restored to its former glory

Phoenix from the ashes ...
22 Oct 2009 - Cricket - Editor - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Michael Phoenix is Head Groundsman at Great Melton Cricket Club in Norfolk. Typical of many volunteer groundsmen in cricket, he has to juggle full time employment and family commitments with the requirements of one of the biggest clubs in East Anglia

Hagley Hall you need is love
21 Oct 2009 - Cricket - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
There’s no other word to describe the cricket ground at Hagley Hall, in Worcestershire, other than ‘beautiful’. The history of the Hall, the cricket club and its friendly, yet competitive nature, was enough for Sky Sports to include it as one of three clubs in their ‘Club Life’ series during this summer’s Ashes contest.

A walk in the park
20 Oct 2009 - Best of the Rest - Justin Grew - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Public parks are familiar to most people today either because we make use of them in our daily lives or because we played in them as children. Every town of any size has its public parks, gardens and recreation grounds.

Compost tea on test
17 Oct 2009 - Golf - Editor - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Head Greenkeepers Glen Miles of Strawberry Hill Golf Club and Lauchlan Millar of Hayling Island Golf Club have been trialling compost tea with considerable success. Here, they talk about their findings

The Driving Force
16 Oct 2009 - Golf - Tom James - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Driving is second nature for members at the Royal Automobile Club’s Woodcote Park estate, where golf and memories of the freedom of the open road rub shoulders. Tom James meets Course Manager Bob Wiles and finds that he has been the driving force.

Vipers strike back
13 Oct 2009 - Rugby - Editor - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009 - 1 comment
There may not be any research to prove that teams play better on a well maintained surface, but some say it affects their will to play well. Can this be why the Leicester Vipers Rugby Club had a cracking 2008/9 season?

Divoted to his job!
12 Oct 2009 - Equestrian - Editor - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
How can you keep the playing surfaces for polo, a dramatic, no-holes-barred sport, in pristine condition? Jim Wellbeloved finds that, Julian Russell-Hayes, Grounds Manager at Cowdray Park, is 'divoted' to his job!

Fergie's View
11 Oct 2009 - Football - Bob Hall - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Sir Alex Ferguson is the most successful manager in football history. His team’s silky skills require a superb playing surface but, what is his relationship with the groundstaff and where do they fit into the scheme of things at the Theatre of Dreams? Bob Hall finds out ...

The Next Generation
10 Oct 2009 - Training - Will Bowden - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009 - 2 comments
Will Bowden, Programme Manager and Lecturer in Greenkeeping and Sports Turf at Cannington Centre (Bridgwater College) has come into education from an industry background. Here he ponders the issues regarding the next generation greenkeepers and groundsmen

Tea time!
8 Oct 2009 - General Sports - Martin Ward - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
The last 20 years have seen rapid developments in the use of compost teas in all areas of commercial and amenity plant production. These developments have been driven by substantial research, aided by electron microscopy and other investigative techniques, plus the urgent need for solutions to the increasing problems of soil depletion and pest and disease pressure caused by continued chemical inputs to the soil

Under attack ...
7 Oct 2009 - General Sports - Dr Colin Fleming - Issue 26 - Aug / Sep 2009
Nematode-induced root damage can cause a range of problems in affected sportsturf. Experience has shown that the severity of many of the common turf symptoms can be alleviated by applying biostimulants.