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NEWS


Stony Holme course is saved


Former head greenkeeper to act as consultant as course revival praised by golfers


Golf fans in Carlisle have welcomed the news the city's much-loved council-owned Stony Holme course has been saved.


There were fears the course would be left to go to rack and ruin after operator Mack Golf ceased trading and entered into voluntary administration. But Carlisle City Council vowed to get the right professional help to keep the course viable.


A new operator has stepped forward - Jim Douglas - who previously managed the facility for 20 years. He has vowed to bring the course and the neighbouring Swifts Driving Range back to life.


Former head greenkeeper Robin Little, who will act as an advisor to help get the course back on its feet, said: “This is great news for the club and good news for Carlisle, because it means the city has a site for grass roots golfers again. I wish Jim all the best.”


“He is the right man for the job. It’s all about providing affordable golf that’s accessible for everybody.”


Stony Holme captain Mark Thompson played a key part in highlighting the danger to the course after its sudden closure five months ago.


Former head greenkeeper Robin Little


For a time, parts of the course fell into disrepair, with flood debris left where it settled, and fusarium affecting some greens.


That was brought under control after Carlisle City Council hired a specialist firm. “Everything now seems to be quite positive,” said Mark.


The maintenance commissioned by the city council has meant the course will be back in action far more quickly than would otherwise have been the case, he said.


“People have obviously been waiting to see what would happen but hopefully they will come back. The message is that this golf course will get up and running again so people should use it. We can take back the course from the dog walkers and the mountain bikers.”


Mr Douglas warned last week that there is a tremendous amount of work needed to re- establish the course and clubhouse, but he was confident it will happen quickly. He thanked Carlisle City Council, grounds staff, reception staff, the golf club and its members.


ICL embark on research project


ICL has started an exciting research project exploring the use of wetting agents to further improve water use and to potentially help optimise nutrient use for managed amenity turf.


It is a three-year research project delivered through the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation, Lancaster University. The Centre is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and is supporting local sports field construction specialists J Mallinson in collaboration with surfactant specialists at ICL.


Dr Andy Owen (ICL International Technical Manager) has been instrumental in planning the project. “I have known the research team here


at Lancaster Environment Centre for a number of years and the chance to collaborate and generate useful research optimising inputs to turf through wetting agent use is invaluable.”


Graduate researcher Vasileios (Billy) Giannakopoulos is working under the supervision of Dr Jaime Puertolas and Professor Ian Dodd. Billy, who was selected ahead of a number of other applicants to embark on the three-year project, said “I’m delighted to be a part of this project as this kind of research has never been undertaken until now. It is such an interesting and relevant topic, with the potential to make a real difference for turf and crop management.”


Cricket returns to its roots?


On an expanse of Texan grass, two immigrants were openly engaged in a distinctly un-American activity … they were marking out a cricket pitch.


Armed with a tape measure, a ruler, a heavy roller and a small pot of white paint, Samuel Plummer, the Jamaican head groundsman, and his assistant, Shafeeq Ahmad Khan, a Pakistani, put the finishing touches to another wicket at the Prairie View Cricket Complex, 45 miles northwest of Houston.


In the process, they brought the dream of a local businessman and the ambition of the sport's international leadership closer to realisation.


Cricket was once America’s national pastime. Benjamin Franklin brought an early rule book back from England and there is some evidence that George Washington’s troops played a form of the game during the revolution. A match played in Manhattan in 1844 between teams from the United States and Canada has been cited as the first modern international sporting event, predating the America’s Cup by seven years and the Ashes by 33.


The sport is stirring back to life in America. Cricket’s administrators are eyeing the opportunity presented by an estimated 20 million armchair fans and 200,000 players, drawn mostly from the Asian and Caribbean communities.


The United States men’s team played its first Twenty20 game with full international status in the United Arab Emirates in February.


The sport has “enormous potential” in America, Dave Richardson, the International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive, said in 2015. James Sutherland, the chief executive of Cricket Australia, has pressed the ICC to commit to hosting a global limited overs tournament in America soon and suggested Central Park in New York as a possible venue. “Bring big games and big names to the country,” he said in 2017. “It’s one of the biggest commercial markets in the world.”


BASIS Points for magazine subscribers


BASIS awards two CPD points for ‘paid-for’ subscribers to the hard copy version of Pitchcare magazine, due to the “diverse range of content that relates to the control, management and use of pesticides”.


Subscribers can now obtain a further two valuable CPD points for their Professional


8 PC April/May 2019


register, simply by paying for a subscription to the ‘hard copy’ version of the Pitchcare magazine.


Anyone wishing to claim their points should email their full name, BASIS membership number, date of birth and postcode to edi- tor@pitchcare.com.


*BASIS is an independent standards setting and auditing organisation for the pesticide, fertiliser and allied industries.


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