Magazine - Issue 38 - August / September 2011

McNab Sports on Royal Warrant, Health & Safety, recruitment, training and tendering
14 Nov 2011 - Industry - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
McNab Sports was established in 1985 by Duncan and Maggie McNab. The company is proud that it is one of the few companies within the industry that has been awarded a Royal Warrant by Her Majesty the Queen, for the maintenance work on the golf course at Balmoral Castle.

Greenwich cross country course ready for the Olympics
12 Nov 2011 - Equestrian - Jane Carley - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
One of the most ambitious developments for the 2012 Olympics has been the preparation of an equestrian cross country course in Greenwich Park. Jane Carley caught up with the team responsible in the run-up to the test event this summer

Stratford upon Avon Golf Club taking the short cut route for their greens
9 Nov 2011 - Golf - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
From allotments to the Ryder Cup, Stratford upon Avon Golf Club has an interesting history as our editor discovers when he meets Head Greenkeeper, Howard Middlebrook

The challenges of growing grass in Azerbaijan
7 Nov 2011 - Football - Phil Sharples - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011 - 1 comment
When Phil Sharples was asked to manage a contract to build grass football pitches in Azerbaijan, little did he know of the challenges that lay ahead. Now appointed as Stadium & Surfaces Director at Gabala FC, he talks about life in the former Eastern Bloc country

Village cricket is a funny old game!
5 Nov 2011 - Cricket - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011 - 5 comments
The local cricket club is often the hub of village life. But, how do these clubs survive with just a few willing volunteers, minimal financial input and equipment that would be better suited to the British Lawnmower Museum? Or is the situation not that bleak? Our editor visits two local rivals to find out how they survive.

Premier service at Macdonald Portal Hotel, Golf and Spa
3 Nov 2011 - Golf - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
Justin Lee has been head greenkeeper at the eighteen hole Premier course ever since it was built back in 1989. In fact, he was part of the construction crew that shaped and set out the course under the guidance off the course designer, Tim Rouse.

Coping with financial cutbacks
1 Nov 2011 - General Sports - Steven McInroy - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
Poorly kept public spaces can be linked to increased anti-social behaviour, crime and fear of crime, and that lack of access to green spaces results in poorer public health and well-being. So, is a partnering approach to groundcare services the way forward? Steven McInroy of SGM Contracts believes so.

Shrewsbury Town FC combat the Greenhous Effect
30 Oct 2011 - Football - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
The groundstaff at Greenhous Meadow, home of Shrewsbury Town Football Club, have been overseeing the recovery of the pitch following the staging of the club’s first ever concert, an evening with Elton John

Fiddlers Ferry Golf Club's powerful neighbour
29 Oct 2011 - Golf - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
Laurence Gale MSc heads to Merseyside to look at an interesting project in the shadow of the imposing Fiddlers Ferry Power Station

Working in a picturesque setting at the Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club
26 Oct 2011 - Golf - Jane Carley - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
Mike Powell, Head Greenkeeper at the The Rolls of Monmouth Golf Club, works with the elements to manage the turf in a natural way, befitting its picturesque setting. Jane Carley reports from one of the most picturesque clubs in Wales

Rockliffe Hall's greenkeeper is working with nature
24 Oct 2011 - Golf - Rob Stewart - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
Davy Cuthbertson, Golf and Estates Manager at Rockliffe Hall, predicts a famous future for the stunning new course in County Durham. Rob Stewart caught up with him to find out why

Hastings United groundsman is fan-tastic!
23 Oct 2011 - Football - Neville Johnson - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011 - 1 comment
Neville Johnson visits the south coast to see a non-league pitch and its award winning groundsman who’s given a new meaning to whole hearted support

King William's School hosts ICC Tournament
20 Oct 2011 - Cricket - Mike Atherton - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011 - 1 comment
Mike Atherton, Head Groundsman at King William’s School on the Isle of Man, provides a diary of events during the recent ICC Division 2 Under 19’s Tournament

Are we being grassed up?
18 Oct 2011 - Synthetics - Editor - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
Six years after FIFA accepted artificial grass as being good enough for use in professional football, research about the safety of a field is still ongoing and, every so often, sheds new light on general assumptions

Parker on Parade
16 Oct 2011 - Schools - Colin Mumford - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011 - 1 comment
Captain’s log star date twenty eleven or something, Editor Gale has tasked me with a reconnaissance mission into deepest darkest Suffolk to reveal the hidden gems that adorn the east coast.

Brothers in arms
15 Oct 2011 - Rugby - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011 - 1 comment
Graeme Balmer has joined his brother, Stadium Manager Dave Balmer, at the Kingsholm Stadium, home of Gloucester RFC. Laurence Gale MSc catches up with the duo to find out how they are both coping

Polo in the Park
13 Oct 2011 - Equestrian - Laurence Gale MSc - Issue 38 - Aug / Sept 2011
Polo is getting the T20 treatment as the public’s thirst for fast and furious sport ekes into the equestrian world. Polo in the Park, now in its third year and already winner of London Sport Attraction of the Year, is attracting large crowds to the former home of the sport.