Magazine - Issue 36 - April / May 2011

Green and healthy from root to tip
6 Jul 2011 - General Sports - David Robinson - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
David Robinson, General Manager from Bathgate Group discusses the importance of achieving the perfect turf for any sports surface, and advises on the key considerations for specifying both rootzone and topdressing

Helping Hands at Woodford...
4 Jul 2011 - Bowls - Tom Rigby - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011 - 5 comments
In a leafy Northants village, Pitchcare members rally round to help a floundering bowls green get back to its former glory. Club Chairman, Tom Rigby, takes up the story.

The Bryce is right!
3 Jul 2011 - Cricket - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011 - 1 comment
Richard Bryce and his contracts team look after Northants CCC’s outground, the beautiful Campbell Park in Milton Keynes. It is a task he has performed, in one guise or another, for the past twenty years, as our editor reports

What we did on our holidays ...
2 Jul 2011 - Cricket - Andy Johnson - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011 - 9 comments
Or, more accurately, what we did during the school summer holidays. Andy Johnson, Head Groundsman at The Blue Coat School in Edgbaston, guides us through the work carried out on his cricket square

The Person-al Approach ...
30 Jun 2011 - Schools - Tom James - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
With forty years service, Graham Person, Head Groundsman at Summer Fields School in Oxford, still has a twinkle in his eyes

Topdressing - down to a science?
28 Jun 2011 - Industry - Steve James - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Topdressers have evolved with the latest industry trends and now offer a host of environmental and user friendly options, according to Steve James, Sales Manager with Broadwood International

It's one good turn ...
26 Jun 2011 - Cricket - Frank Fielding - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
In the third and final part of our series, Frank Fielding catches up with Old Trafford’s Head Groundsman, Matthew Merchant, to see how he’s progressing with the key task of turning the square through ninety degrees

Three men went to mow ...
25 Jun 2011 - Golf - Peter Britton - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Tim Facer, Head Greenkeeper at Hamptworth Golf Club in the New Forest, has seen his team dwindle to just three, yet he continues to improve the course and its facilities. Peter Britton meets up with him to find out how and why.

Getting to the root of the problem!
23 Jun 2011 - Consultancy - Andrew Turnbull BSc (Hons) - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Andy Turnbull, Managing Director of the Great Turf Company, discusses the benefits of undertaking a rootzone survey

Rasen to be cheerful ...
21 Jun 2011 - Racing - Jane Carley - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Sulekha Varma is one of a growing number of young women taking prominent roles in horse racing. As Clerk of the Course at Market Rasen, she and her team of four groundstaff have won ‘Best National Hunt Track’ in the annual Neil Wyatt Awards

Magpies - two for sorrow!
20 Jun 2011 - Football - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
During last winter, Greg Smith, Stadium Manager at Notts County Football Club, had to contend with a huge dump of snow and a prolonged spell of sub-zero temperatures. Nothing unusual there, except that he also had to cope with a new ground sharing scheme with Nottingham RUFC.

For FOCs Sake!
19 Jun 2011 - Consultancy - Richard Comely - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Richard Comely, Director of Product Management at Ransomes Jacobsen, looks at Frequency of Cut (FOC) and its importance to the quality of cut on fine turf

No but yeah but no but ...
18 Jun 2011 - Cricket - David Goodjohn - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011 - 1 comment
Events in the supply chain for loams in 2010 have forced cricket groundsmen to consider their options for their square maintenance going forward. These issues have been addressed, but it’s only fair that clubs include the option of changing loams with the sense of uncertainty that has existed to date

Shaken ... but not stirred!
17 Jun 2011 - Golf - Neville Johnson - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Neville Johnson sees that the ravages of winter hadn’t shaken preparations for golf's oldest ‘major’, but had stirred the desire for perfection

Bee Healthy, but Bee Wise...
16 Jun 2011 - Consultancy - Dr Julian Little - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011 - 1 comment
Dr Julian Little, Communications & Government Affairs Manager for Bayer CropScience Limited, discusses the reasons behind the decline in honey bees, rather than the speculative assumptions of the popular press

Viewpoint with Jonathan Gaunt
14 Jun 2011 - Golf - Jonathan Gaunt - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Golf Course Architect, Jonathan Gaunt, suggests that, whilst all appears to be doom and gloom in the golf sector, the Olympics may be a glimmer of hope for a beleaguered industry

Fair wind or foul for bowls?
12 Jun 2011 - Bowls - Tom James - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Bowling clubs are on a knife-edge of survival, with tales of closures and mergers all too frequent over the last decade. So, is the sport tailor-made for the Coalition’s ‘Big Society’ vision?

In parks we trust
11 Jun 2011 - Local Authority - Editor - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
David Foster, Chief Executive of the Parks Trust in Milton Keynes, explains the workings of the Trust and how the model might work for other cash strapped local authorities as the Coalition Government’s ‘Big Society’ kicks in

Talking Point - Parks
10 Jun 2011 - Local Authority - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
“I worry that many of the cuts seem to be centred around getting rid of front line staff, the ones that actually deliver services and have hands on knowledge and skills, whilst the fat cat middle management get reprieved”

Are you breaking the law?
8 Jun 2011 - Industry - David Mears - Issue 36 - Apr / May 2011
Most operators in the turf maintenance sector are concerned about compliance with legislation applicable to them, and do not wish to run foul of the law. Many believe they are aware of their duties and responsibilities and have taken appropriate action. It is evident, however, that some confusion still exists.