CONTENTS The Pitchcare team
KERRY HAYWOOD Editor
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JOHN RICHARDS Sub-editor
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Issue 92 August/September 2020
LEE WILLIAMS Editorial
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lee.williams@pitchcare.com PETER BRITTON
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peter@pitchcare.com Our contributors COVER STORY: Football is just the beginning
When you hear of St. George’s Park, you immediately think of the home of England football - twenty-seven teams to be precise! It lies within 330-acres of stunning Staffordshire countryside and Assistant Head of Estates Matt Arnold and his team have the enviable task of developing and maintaining the estate to offer visitors the ‘wow’ factor. P36
GOLF Lockdown over ... JANE CARLEY BLAIR FERGUSON
If you have just dusted off the clubs after no golfing action for the past few months and fancy a few rounds on an idyllic well maintained course, then add Ballyclare Golf Club to the wish list. Chris McCullough paid the venue a visit just as it reopened to see the efforts to which the greenkeepers, under Head Greenkeeper John Beggs, had gone to keep the course in such good shape. P12
Carry on camping! NEVILLE JOHNSON CHRIS McCULLOUGH
In the first week of the return of golf after Covid-19 lockdown, on what was a perfect day for a round of golf, Lee Williams headed to Northamptonshire to meet up with Tony Hunter, Silverstone Golf Club’s Course Manager. Not being able to shake hands and having to follow the social distancing rules made conducting the interview a little different, but it was great to get back into the ‘swing’ of things. P20
DAVE MEARS GREG RHODES
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PC August/September 2020 CONSERVATION If you go down to the Woods today
Warley Woods, a West Midlands historic landscape is gaining national recognition as a community trust reaching out to secure vital funding, including the help of a national treasure, as Greg Rhodes discovers when he meets Trust Manager Viv Cole and Golf Course and Park Manager Alan Merricks. P28
WINTER SPORTS Presenting the perfect pitch
Is there such a thing as the perfect football pitch? Anyone who has played at The Oval Stadium, home to Glentoran FC, would say this pitch is as good as they get. Chris McCullough took a trip to Belfast to meet groundsman William Kirkwood to see for himself. P44
A window of opportunity!
Lee Williams headed to the village of Cranfield, a few miles east of Milton Keynes, for his first face-to-face site visit since lockdown restrictions were relaxed. He was there to meet Wesley Matthews - at a safe distance, obviously - the award winning groundsman at Cranfield United Football Club. P54
Blazing a trail
St Blazey lies on the south coast of Cornwall, just a mile or so inland from the popular Par Sands. This is grockle country ‘par’ excellence. The town’s football club competes in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division West and is considered to be among the most successful clubs in Cornwall. Lee Williams met with Paul Bowden, the club’s volunteer groundsman, amongst other things! P62
SCHOOLS & COLLEGES Nursing the pitch back to life
Loughborough University is a public research university in the East Midlands. It covers an area of 438 acres (1.77 km2
) and, after getting
lost on the expansive site for around twenty minutes, Lee Williams eventually met up with Kris Nurse, 34-year-old Team Leader, outside the impressive University stadium. P68
Matt Arnold, St George’s Park
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