Magazine - Issue 34 - December / January 2010 / 2011

Getting to the ‘Grass Roots’ of the problem
3 Mar 2011 - Consultancy - Dr Colin Fleming - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
Weak rooting, chlorotic surfaces and turfgrass that responds poorly to nutrient application have become an increasingly common problem on pitches ranging from the local club or council field to the elite sports stadium.

Doing it Howard’s Way ...
1 Mar 2011 - Industry - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011 - 3 comments
In recessionary times, what often sets one company apart from another is not a knee jerk reaction to a failing bank balance, but a strong foundation built on sound business strategy.

Turf War
27 Feb 2011 - Consultancy - Dr Colin Fleming - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011 - 2 comments
Throughout the turf based leisure industry, a new war is breaking out - and the enemy is the invasive and destructive parasitic root-nematode, which threatens our love of grass based sports. Dr Colin Fleming. Principal Scientific Officer, Applied Plant Science Division, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Belfast, tries to get to the root of the problem!

Jones the greenkeeper
23 Feb 2011 - Golf - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
In an area of not outstanding natural beauty, Mark Jones, Head Greenkeeper at the Manchester Golf Club, offers members and visitors a wildlife haven within an urban conurbation.

Great Danes ... and Pepsi!
21 Feb 2011 - Schools - Tom James - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
Danes Hill School are adding twelve acres of new sports facilities to their site, a project that Head Groundsman, Tony Steadman, says shows the ongoing commitment to sports provision and the work of his team.

Not so rough times at Pyecombe
20 Feb 2011 - Golf - Editor - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
Set in the shadows of the famous Jack and Jill windmills on the South Downs, Pyecombe Golf Club’s Head Greenkeeper, Simon Wells, has turned the course into a haven for wildflowers by managing the rough areas

On Ilkley Moor baht inputs
18 Feb 2011 - Golf - Carol Dutton - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
As custodian of one of the most beautiful golf courses in Britain, boasting Colin Montgomerie and Mark James as lifelong honorary members, Duncan Campbell knows his own mind and refuses to be dictated to by anybody. Anybody, that is, except Mother Nature herself.

Top tips for interviewers - Part 1: Suitability Screening
16 Feb 2011 - Training - Frank Newberry - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
In Part 1, Interviewer, Trainer and Conference Speaker, Frank Newberry, offers some tips on how to test suitability before holding an interview so that you can separate the ‘well qualified wannabes’ from the better suited ‘sure things’ you are after.

Cottage Industry
14 Feb 2011 - Football - James Westwood STRI - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
From access route to healthy grass root, James Westwood, STRI Design & Drainage Consultant, details the work undertaken at Fulham Football Club to install a a new fibrelastic pitch with modern undersoil heating

The Rotary Club
13 Feb 2011 - Mechanics - Jane Carley - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011 - 2 comments
The professional pedestrian rotary mower is an essential machine in a groundsman’s or greenkeeper’s arsenal of machinery. Pitchcare puts them through their paces at Loughborough University.

Squaring up in the Blue Square ...
11 Feb 2011 - Football - Neville Johnson - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011 - 1 comment
At a time of cuts, cuts and more cuts, looking after the pitch for non-league clubs is getting to be more cost sensitive than ever. Neville Johnson visited an unusual club in football’s lower reaches, with an unusual income stream and a very unusual groundsman!

The perfect balance ...
9 Feb 2011 - Schools - Editor - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011 - 2 comments
Running a thriving independent school, set amidst some 880 acres of protected National Trust parkland, brings a unique set of challenges; but it is possible to find the perfect balance between conserving the past and building for the future. Stowe School’s state-of-the-art sporting facilities are testament to how that balance can be achieved, as highlighted by the recent installation of a modern athletics track

The gateway to Scottish golf
7 Feb 2011 - Golf - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
Craig Pollock looks after the fifth best inland course in Scotland, The Roxburghe. Situated in the heart of the Borders region, it is part of the 50,000 acre estate owned and managed by the Duke and Duchess of Roxburghe.

Turned out nice!
5 Feb 2011 - Cricket - Frank Fielding - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
Part two of Frank Fielding’s report on the turning of the square at Old Trafford. Here, Head Groundsman, Matt Merchant, explains the choice of contractor, and the urgency to complete certain tasks ahead of impending bad weather

White Lines - do do it!
4 Feb 2011 - General Sports - Colin Mumford - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
Dr Colin Mumford explains how a chance phone call led to a mad dash to paint the white lines on the games deck of Cunard’s new cruise liner, The Queen Elizabeth, once she had docked in Southampton on Friday, ahead of The Queen naming the vessel the following Monday!

Pink and Sky Blues
2 Feb 2011 - Football - John Ledwidge - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
"After my first day as a naive thirteen year old, coming to help the Head Groundsman at the time, I knew that this was going to be what I wanted to do." John Ledwidge recalls the day he became Head Groundsman at ‘his’ club, Coventry City

Murrayfield of Dreams
31 Jan 2011 - Rugby - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011 - 3 comments
From Head Greenkeeper to College Lecturer to Head Groundsman and, finally, Facilities Manager, John Litster talks about developments at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh

Arising from the flood
30 Jan 2011 - Racing - Jane Carley - Issue 34 - Dec / Jan 2011
Focusing the racing programme on the summer months, and a concerted effort by the grounds team to provide consistently good going, has been rewarded by racehorse trainers voting with their feet and sending the highest number of runners in summer jumping to Worcester Racecourse. Jane Carley talks to Clerk of the Course, Fergus Cameron and Estates Manager, Tim Radford