Sports & Recreation Clubs
GETTING Personal...
Niall Gibb - if you could just squat down and stroke the grass, that would be perfect!
Who are you? Niall Gibb, Head Groudsman at Fawley Parish Council.
Family status? Married to Elizabeth, with two children, Ross 10 and Holly 4.
Who’s your hero and why? Davie Cooper. When I started as a kid playing football I wanted to be a winger like him. Such a joy to watch.
What would you change about yourself? Be taller.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Wine.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Working for the team I support, Glasgow Rangers. Being part of the support teams at Loch Lomond Golf Club for World Invitational and Scottish Open. Being part of the support team at Wentworth Golf Club for the BMW PGA Championship, a course I always wanted to visit growing up and watching on television. Runner up in IOG Public Sector Sports Ground of the year.
What are your pet peeves? Photos in trade magazine where they squat down with their hand on the grass! [We’ve taken note, Ed,]
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? America.
What’s the best part of your job? Hand cutting golf greens.
… and the worst? Report writing.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To visit America.
Favourite record, and why? I’m a massive music fan and there are so many to choose from: The Jam, Down In The Tube Station At Midnight is one of my favourites; just a great story. Madness, The Prince, as this was the first concert I ever went to back in the 80s. The Stone Roses, I Wanna Be Adored. I could be here for weeks!
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My wife, hard to get a night together with work and kids.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Probably faint first.
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? Drum, as the wife says I keep banging on about things that are on my mind.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Paul Weller, The Modfather; Jack Black for music and a good laugh; and Dave Grohl, musical genius.
40 I PC JUNE/JULY 2015 QE2 cricket square getting a cut “The greens are a 70/30 sand/soil mix. We can be
restricted, during the winter months, to carrying out works to the greens as getting round the course with machinery is a problem. We aerate as much as we can and regularly brush and remove dew from the greens. We have a problem with moss on the greens through the winter months and, this year, I have sought the help of an agronomist. Together, we have put a programme in place to improve the soil biology to favour Agrostis over Poa Annua grass species.” The greens are cut at 5mm in the summer and 6mm in
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Dave Grohl. Play drums and guitar well.
Do you have any bad habits? Ileave magazines and newspapers in the toilet - annoys the wife. Forget to come home on time from a night out.
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? No, not worry, but sometimes think over what we will do.
What are you reading at the moment? Hard copy or online? Telling Stories by Tim Burgess of The Charlatans.
What's the best advice you have ever been given? The Green Cross Code. Kept me safe.
What’s your favourite smell? Freshly baked bread.
What do you do in your spare time? Play veterans football, golf, and learning guitar and spend quality time with family.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? Had a few, but one that sticks out was when a greens chairman asked if we could use salt on the greens to defrost them.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Verti-Drain or Ryetec scarifier/collector.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Honest, assertive, friendly.
What talent would you like to have? To be a great guitarist.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? A total ban of dogs on sports pitches. Nothing worse than children or groundstaff being covered in doggy doo!
the winter. Fairways and surrounds are kept at 15mm all year and the semi rough at 30-35mm. They are currently scarified twice per year, hollow cored in the autumn, verti- drained in spring and topdressed through late spring/summer, with a light dressing put on throughout the summer. This is being reviewed with a compost tea programme. The fairways are spiked in spring and autumn and
scarified and verti-drained in spring. “We have a programme of nutrition which we follow and this is set prior to spring. Pests and disease is monitored regularly and acted on as required. Wormcasts are the main issue on greens; we believe we have microscolex worms and are currently sending samples away to an expert, but disease has not been a major problem, apart from very slight fusarium in the autumn. The new programme we are implementing should further help here. This will include compost teas and I am looking forward to seeing the results.” “We are currently installing artificial tee mats at every hole on the golf course as the space is not available to construct large enough natural tees. We are also taking out some shrubs on the course, including wild rose and pyracantha. These are not ‘family friendly’ - a participation area we are actively trying to encourage - and are planting more native species and promoting wildflowers by managing our rough areas. This is all part of a five year programme I set in place when I started here.” “The football pitches are sandy loam, as are our new rugby pitches. On football pitches one and two, topsoil has been imported from where the new pitches are being constructed at Southampton Football Club’s Staplewood training facility, just a few miles up the road.” “Our QE2 pitches are clay loam which sits over old
gravel pits. These pitches are also used for cricket during the summer.” Niall explains that all the facilities are for community use but that, additionally, Blackfield & Langley Football Club, who play in the Wessex Premier League, have a pitch dedicated to them. Fawley Rugby Club currently play
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