Sports Clubs Delivering high standards 44
On a bend in the River Thames, as it winds its way into central London, sit the pitches of Kew and Ham Sports Association. Groundsman Louis Maguire is responsible for delivery of the best surfaces possible on a tight budget.
Winter Sports Boxing for the Boks...
Equestrian Racing ahead with groundcare 96
A concerted effort to improve groundcare standards at Nottingham Racecourse has been rewarded with patronage by racing’s future stars. Head Groundsman Ron Mason about the changes that have been implemented since he joined the East Midlands venue.
Artificial Surfaces 56
As the summer ended, the attention of the sporting world switched to England’s staging of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Pitchcare went to Eastbourne College where rugby has always been important, but never more so with the arrival of the mighty Springboks imminent.
Exeter’s turf chiefs 62
Alice Northrop gets just the tiniest bit excited as she gets the opportunity to visit one of her old university haunts - Sandy Park - ahead of their first Rugby World Cup fixture. Groundsmen Adrian Witton and Max Sandford calm her down and tell her what it has been like for them both in the run up to the Tonga versus Namibia game.
Upping their game 66
The Bayer Turf solutions team talked to members of the groundstaff at Kingsholm, home of Gloucester RFC, about preparing the pitches and maintaining the high standard of play required throughout the Rugby World Cup.
The taming of the Shrews... 70
For most football clubs outside of the top two divisions, financial constraints keep budgets at a minimum. The primary focus is on the playing side and the pitch requirements can be regarded by Chairmen as a seemingly bottomless cost to be kept on the tightest leash.
Schools & Colleges The sport of Queen’s
Public Places Paradise Lost - or invisible? 88
Green Flag judge Bernard Sheridan argues that, despite being a target for further draconian austerity cuts, parks should, in fact, be regarded by local and central Government as being as important as good hospitals and schools.
Refurbishing existing surfaces 102
This article, the fifth in a series prepared by David Rhodes of Traction Sports, discusses how the refurbishment of an existing facility can bring substantial benefits, not only in improved technology but also in how the new surface may be marketed to potential end users.
Conservation To the bat cave!
50 Grasscutter
Relief or spin? Used Machinery
106
Bats are truly fascinating animals – the only true flying mammal. There are over 1,100 species of bats in the world, and more are still being discovered. Bats account for more than a quarter of mammal species in the UK and around 20% of all mammal species worldwide.
History and ecology... 110
James Hutchinson, Environmental Officer at The St Andrews Links Trust, headed to Kingarrock, where golfers play with original hickory clubs from the 1900s, and hit softer, rubber-wound balls, on a 9- hole course in a serene setting that makes the most of fine views and a rich natural environment.
Technical Dig for success...
80
Chris McCullough talks to Gary Thompson, Head Grounds Officer at Queen’s University Belfast, about the working practices at this jewel in Northern Ireland’s crown.
132
Myerscough College Frank Newberry Elsham Golf Club
Kazakhstan Rugby Union 116
Golf Course Consultant Billy McMillan is seeing such high levels of organic matter in golf greens and, with modern equipment and advances in turf science, he questions why this should still be happening and what ‘back to basics’ method you could employ to help alleviate the problem.
The soil biology revolution 122
In the first of a series of articles, Symbio’s Managing Director Martin Ward look at how healthy soil works and why natural grass systems remain friable, drain well, disease free and colonised by perennial grasses.
I heard it through the... 126
Ian Mitchell, a former Senior Training Technician at Cutting Edge Training, discusses the issue of noise - how it’s measured and its effect on operators working with outdoor power equipment.
144
Low Laithes Golf Club Death by flower!
146 148
Solheim Cup with John Deere 150 Offside
152
136 140 142 144
77
130 132
Also in this issue Mixed Abilities Rugby
News
5 54
80
Gary Thompson, Queen’s University
96
Ron Mason, Nottingham racecourse
152 PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2015 I 3
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