SPORTS CLUB
Getting Personal
Andrew Horsfi eld - he just wants to be happy and see plastic banned
on the time available.”
Who are you? Andrew Horsfi eld - Head Groundsman at
Timperley Sports Club. Family status. Married.
Who’s your hero and why? Terry Hearn - he’s a carping legend.
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Managing £400,000 of projects in the last two years.
Which famous
people wind you up? Most of them.
What job would you love, other than your own? Carp fi shing.
What is your favourite fi lm? Caddyshack.
What scares you? Linch pins.
What is your favourite sport? Cricket.
What would you cast into Room 101? Humans.
Which historical time and place would you most like to visit? Redmire 1957.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To be happy.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? The SISIS Combirake.
82 PC February/March 2021
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Terry Hearn, Bill Hicks and Richard Ashcroft.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? What goes around comes around.
What’s your favourite smell? Cut grass.
Which three albums would you take to a desert island? Urban Hymns - The Verve, The Stone Roses and Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not - Arctic Monkeys.
What’s the daftest work-related question you have ever been asked? Do the brakes stop the tractor?
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Hard-working, fun and loyal.
What is the single most useful thing you could tell a 16-year- old groundsperson? Pursue a diff erent career path.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Plastic banned!
Aeration is a vital part of Andy’s maintenance regime as he explains: “A contractor will come in after the cricket season, to relieve any compaction from constantly cutting. Between September and December, I have a small Shockwave which I like to use as often as possible, at a depth of nine inches, then possibly once before cricket comes back (however, that is leaving it late because clay has a memory and does open up). In addition to this, I have a slitter with worn tines that go down about three inches, which I will run over the site every week.”
Andy moves on to tell me how he prepares his wickets ready for this season. “I spiked them just before I was furloughed in December; I managed to get a period where I could
get the pencil tines on my little SISIS Autocore. Then, I sprayed them with GO Green Select, to harden them up for the next few months. When I get back, it will be a case of cutting with the rotary mower at 25mm - until I get the Dennis cylinder mower back from a regrind. As the temperatures pick up around March, I will start to cut more regularly with the Dennis, but keep the height of cut at 25mm as we get into the summer months, then gradually cut down to 18mm. In between cutting, I will reseed any bald patches that have not germinated from the end of season renovation.”
“Once I get to 18mm, I will start to do a bit of pre-season rolling with the Lloyds Paladin. Then, I will switch over to my square mower and get the heavy roller on to consolidate the square. If I still have any areas that have not
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