The 1st of March 2023 marks the inaugural year of a new turf care event in Scotland, with The Scots Turf Show opening its doors at Hamilton Park Racecourse.
Richard Heywood of Campey Turf Care and Alan Thomson of AllGrass
Devised by 17 industry companies, the organisers of the event say it will "strive to give back to the Scottish turf community by providing a local event".
Organisers believe that almost 50% of the grounds industry in Scotland, be they groundsmen or greenkeepers working in football, rugby, golf or at schools or councils, have never attended an industry event.
A primary reason they give for this is the time and cost of travelling to existing exhibitions in England. Alan Thomson of AllGrass Turf Care, who had the original idea behind reviving a Scottish Turf event, felt this had to change.
“Back in 2019, I went to Richard Heywood at Campey Turf Care with an idea to create an event in Scotland that gave back to the Scottish market,” Alan explained.
“There used to be Scots Turf, and we’ve not had it for roughly 15 years, and as a result, almost half of the Scottish turf industry has missed out on educational opportunities and seeing machinery that could help them in their day-to-day work.
“Clubs can’t afford to let their staff go to current events, which means two days away from Scotland, financially they can’t do it, and there are various other reasons.
“We held a trial event in 2019 with seven companies at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club and had 118 people turn out. The clubhouse was probably only big enough for 100, so it was great to see that there was something there.
“After a delay due to Covid. We got back to the vision of how big we could make this. We had to bring it back to earth a little because we’d love to have 40 companies there and make it a big grand event, but we want to grow at a steady rate that works for the visitors and companies involved.
“So, this is another step. There’s a market, and there is a demand. This year we have a fantastic venue at Hamilton Park Racecourse. There’s plenty of parking, an onsite hotel, various marquees and live demonstrations outside.
“As well as the 17 companies, we’ll have seminars in one day consisting of twenty-minute sessions, so people stay engaged. We have devised everything to benefit those attending, and we’re looking forward to their support so we can continue to provide this for them.”
A significant difference between this event and others already on the industry calendar, say organisers, is that this one is purely financed by the companies behind it.
Organisers believe this allows for every discipline of turf care to be covered in a focused one-day event that engages visitors and makes it financially viable for whole teams to attend.
Email scotsturfshow@gmail.com to register your attendance.
