With the rugby season now virtually completed, it is time to encourage rugby clubs to invest in some end of season renovations.

These operations are key to ensure clubs can rejuvenate their pitches after a long, hard season - with the aim of restoring the playing surface and relieving any compacted pitches.

I recently attended one of the RFU’s popular Groundsmen Connected roadshows at Veseyans Rugby Club, Warsall, Birmingham - hosted by Twickenham’s head groundsman, Keith Kent. In attendance were a number of local rugby club volunteer groundsmen who were keen to meet Keith and receive any relevant help and advice on looking after their pitches.

Rugby Groundsmen Connected (RGC) is the RFU’s easy access, two-way communication network between the RFU and rugby union groundsmen. It is the main communication channel for the RFU to provide information and advice to groundsmen and has special offers and exclusive benefits for members. Everything the RFU does related to pitch maintenance will now come under the banner of Rugby Groundsmen Connected. 

Groundsmen Connected is for anybody that has any involvement in the upkeep of rugby pitches; from the complete novice to Premiership groundsmen. Anyone can register to join RGC at no cost. Registration is by email to groundsmenconnected@rfu.com. Once signed up turf professionals will receive regular communications with advice, information and the opportunity to ask questions.

RGC now has well over 1,000 groundsmen registered and Keith has been very supportive of the scheme and has himself visited many clubs up and down the country to pass on his advice. As a volunteer pitch advisor for the RFU myself, I was keen to meet up with Keith and offer my services to any local clubs. It is without doubt a busy schedule for Keith. To date he had already visited over 30 rugby clubs up and down the country giving vital advice on pitch maintenance.

During each road show Keith is supported by several of the Groundsmen Connected partners who support the scheme and pass on other relevant advice to the attending rugby clubs.

The road show kicked off with Keith giving a slide show and delivering an inside account of the work he does at Twickenham followed by presentations and demonstration from Rigby Taylor, SISIS, Mansfield Sands and Iseki. Machinery dealer Sharrocks supplied the Iseki tractor for the demonstrations.

Glen Howard of Rigby Taylor brought along their robotic GPS (First in Line) Tiny Line Marker a revolutionary self-propelled line marker. This machine is capable of initial marking out of a rugby pitch from scratch in less than 40 mins. Once you have located the post positions into the software app and decided on the width, length of the pitch and set the depth of the in-goal areas, away it goes. It was very impressive to see it at work, first hand. It can mark up to four rugby pitches with 10 litres of Impact paint.

This machine can initial mark out a football pitch in less than 30 mins and an eight-lane running track in just over two hours. These figures were backed up by Dave Fowler Simons of Lakeside Grounds Maintenance based in Coventry who was attending the roadshow. He himself owns one and said it saves him many manhours on his sports turf contracts.

The cost for hiring this machine to initial a rugby pitch come in at around £90 per pitch - a no brainer for me. What better way to ensure you have accurate lines on your club rugby pitch for the start of the season?

Next up was John Glifford of Iseki who spoke about the range of Iseki tractors on offer as part of the RFU partnership deal for Groundsmen Connected members. SISIS brought along their Quadraplay and outfield spiker that has become a very popular combination package for rugby clubs.

Keith Kent was on hand to praise these bits of kit and said they are the mainstay of any rugby club. Both essential for keeping the pitch in good condition over a hard and long demanding season.

After the demonstrations it was back inside the club house for a round of questions and answers, with many of the attendees keen to find out more about the services on offer.
As Keith and the rest of the companies in attendance stated, the key to having a decent playing surface is to invest in your pitches. The key for clubs is to ascertain the current condition of their pitches and find the best option of how to maintain them - whether it’s by hiring in contractors to undertake the work or to take on the responsibility themselves. In most cases it’s a combination of the two. Doing the basic maintenance regimes themselves and then perhaps hiring in contractors to undertake the end of season repair works.

While on the subject of Pitch renovations, Campey Turfcare are hosting a pitch renovation day at Newcastle Town FC, Staffordshire on 8th May, so you’ll be able to see at first hand a range of equipment and machinery in use at the football ground. To secure yourself a place please email Campey Turfcare at info@campeyturfcare.com

Not sure how long we expect this good spell of hot weather to last, but hopefully long enough for you to be getting on with your end of season renovations – followed by some much needed rain.

In light of increasing public scrutiny over glyphosate, Complete Weed Control (CWC) has announced the launch of their online glyphosate resource.

The company say the website is but one facet of their ongoing campaign to address the misinformation and fear mongering that is pervading the industry. The layout is that of a ‘FAQ’ (Frequently Asked Questions) library containing useful information such as which qualifications are required to use glyphosate professionally; what PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is necessary and how soon after application people and animals can use the treated area.

Designed with various stakeholders in mind including members of the public, local authorities and industry operatives, CWC say there is also a wealth of information available through the “Resources” section: from links to related articles from the European Food Safety Authority, to operative-oriented advice on tender specification, complaint handling and application advice.

The concept was brought about following CWC’s successful “Glyphosate Roadshows” - staged in numerous venues throughout the UK - having been attended by over 150 local authority delegates from across the country.

Speaking at the seminar, Complete Weed Control’s managing director, Ian Graham, said, “There has been a considerable and sustained volume of frankly unsubstantiated bad press and much negativity surrounding this product - so we felt it was essential that we explore the reality and present the data that exists from numerous agencies around the world that have all declared this product to be safe.”

Indeed, this data is now readily available through the website and its primary function say the company, is to act as a uniform point of reference for common questions posed by members of the public to spray operatives. All Complete Weed Control employees will now be equipped with a wallet-sized card that displays both a text URL and QR code that leads the enquirer to the FAQ.

To help tackle the growing public concern for glyphosate use in amenity space, Complete Weed Control is offering a similar service with bespoke rebranding for local authorities whom will be able to disseminate their own cards throughout their constituency. Any local authorities interested in this service should contact Complete Weed Control.

To view the new glyphosate website visit www.glyphosateinfo.co.uk

Allett, the Staffordshire based specialist cylinder mower manufacturer, has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2019 in recognition of its growth in exports and contribution to the British economy.

A wholly British-owned company, Allett has designed and manufactured mowers for the sports and premium lawns market for over fifty years.

The award marks a major period of development for the company, with ranges of new products launched to meet the needs of strong emerging markets. Allett’s main export success has been achieved with their professional products for sports stadiums and training grounds, achieving increased sales with the USA, Russia, Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Spain leading their top ten markets in the past three years.

“We’re very honoured to receive the Queen’s Award,” said Austin Jarrett, Allett’s managing director. “It recognises our achievements and team efforts in bringing innovative developments in our mowing systems to meet challenges in overseas markets with large potential. We’re no longer confined to the seasonality of domestic sales cycles in the UK. Our mowers and turf maintenance systems are used throughout the world where they are maintaining sports surfaces and lawns to the highest standards.”

Allett was the major supplier to the host stadiums and contractors in Russia for the 2018 World Cup football tournament. The company concentrates on assisting a World Cup country for a period of three years to help attain the striking light green-dark green stripes in time for the main tournament. Markets with large potential such as the USA offer access to developments for sports such as American football and baseball as well as soccer. South America, where previously they have not had the financial resources, is now a developing market, says the company. Allett has placed its first mowing systems in China where there are great World Cup ambitions.

“The groundsmen in the UK are recognised as being the best in the world and they demand the highest standards from their equipment suppliers,” says Austin. “This demand drives our engineering team to improve and develop our mowing systems which consequently produce world class sports surfaces and garden lawns. We have benefitted from this and we are confident that we can deliver improved standards to the stadiums and lawns using our systems in the rest of the world. This is because of the help we get from our great customers in the UK. Every one of our machines proudly wears a Union Flag decal, and this really helps us in our export markets where the UK is revered for their lawns.

“We will be hosting Pitch Maintenance training seminars in China this year,” adds Austin, “to help set standards and expectations for the playing surfaces in this huge country which is growing rapidly as a footballing nation. Allett is more than just a machine. We’re strengthening our technical support and embarking on a plan of new product development to concentrate on a wider range of grass and sports turf maintenance products.”

Allett recently launched and continue to develop products powered by Lithium-ion battery. To accommodate the growth of the business the company recently moved their Hixon, Staffordshire base to a new, larger factory. The company has an after-sales team in place to support overseas national distributors and, as export sales grow, consider it is important to maintain the ‘brand value’ which has been a keystone to home market success.

Allett say the recognition of achievement the Queen’s Award for Enterprise brings is a proud moment in its history, and one the company can bear as a premium standard into the export markets of the future.

A UK-based pitch manufacturing company has invested £1.8 million in a new turf production facility, safeguarding more than 50 jobs, and creating an additional 15 positions by 2022.

Despite the uncertainty facing UK businesses through Brexit, SIS Pitches say they have re-affirmed their commitment to British manufacturing with this major investment.

The purchase of a new backing plant will allow SIS Pitches to extend its current site in Maryport, Cumbria, increase production volumes and grow its workforce.

It’s welcome news for Cumbria, where unemployment rose by 1.5% between October and December last year, as recorded by the Office for National Statistics.

SIS Pitches is a full-service provider in specialist sports pitches and landscaping grass. Last year, SIS Pitches designed, constructed and installed SISGrass hybrid pitches at six 2018 World Cup venues, including the Luzhniki Stadium pitch for the opening match and the final.

The new factory, which covers an area of more than 2,100 square metres, is one of the most technologically-advanced production facilities in Europe. The company will use the new factory to deliver what they describe as "the highest quality, long-lasting synthetic surfaces".

George Mullan, SIS Pitches Owner and CEO, said: “This investment in new state-of-the-art facilities and technology will support our ambitious growth plans while also creating and safeguarding jobs in the local community.

George Mullan

“The Glasson Industrial Estate has been at the heart of manufacturing for more than 50 years and, despite business uncertainty in the face of Brexit, we are very proud to be able to continue that tradition through this significant investment. We are also grateful to Cumbria LEP for their investment in the project.

“Our new factory will ensure we continue to provide the highest quality products and increased output, maintaining our position as the market leader in the manufacturing of synthetic turf.”

The expansion plans at the Glasson Industrial Estate has benefited from a £274,000 Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership investment, which supports wide-ranging projects including transport, skills, business support, broadband, innovation and flood defences through its Local Growth Fund.

The site has been home to UK turf manufacturing since 1966, when Palmyra Ltd, the UK’s largest polypropylene artificial grass manufacturer, relocated to the north west of England as part of its expansion plans.

The new SIS Pitches facility utilises the latest technology in thermal insulation, LED lighting, laser-fire detection and advanced cladding systems, while the new backing plant will be the most advanced turf backing system in the UK.

The state-of-the-art coating line, the most advanced in Europe, provides SIS Pitches with the option to run either new standard latex coating or their new ‘SISBond’ Polyurethane technology, both of which are applied to the back of the synthetic turf during the manufacturing process to secure the artificial grass fibres to the backing cloth.

The line also comprises new turf straighteners and guidance units to ensure products are fit for purpose, plus an advanced roll-up unit to eliminate creasing and enable turf to be rolled tighter than before.

In addition, SIS Pitches has also developed and launched a new UK-made premium yarn that is designed to maximise durability and fibre resilience.

Reesink Turfcare has secured the UK distribution rights for Core Solutions, a core collecting blade attachment from US-based Nordic Plow.

Designed for both golf courses and sports surfaces, this product fits onto all brands and models of aeration equipment and bunker rakes to deliver an efficient and cost-effective way to remove cores from the playing surface in minutes.

Core Collector ProCore 648

Jeff Anguige, national sales manager of Reesink Turfcare UK, says of the new addition, “Any tool that can complete a labour intensive process such as core clean-up with less manpower will generate interest. As a distributor we aim to bring our customers innovative products and the lightweight 64-inch collector means cores are removed as the turf is aerated in one pass and that simple fact makes it a perfect solution for core collection.”

The blade of the Core Solutions attachment has been developed to take into account the fact that aerating with the grain of the green or side to side reduces stress to the turf and results in a flawless scrape, says product manufacturer Nordic Plow.

Further advantages include the removable sleeve which the company says removes cores on severely undulated greens without the need for tools and the adjustable scraper edge which can free float or lock into position. The brushes mean if users topdress first the cores can still be removed if the turf is wet and there’s no issue with small tine clear up. 

Jeff concludes, “We’re continually looking to extend the range of innovative turfcare solutions we offer our customers, choosing those which align with what the market demands and that fit our values for quality and innovation. Core Solutions brings this, and more, to our portfolio.”

MTD Specialty Turf Products have announced the appointment of Scott Hawkins.

Scott joins the team as territory sales manager for the South East, a role which will see him providing additional sales support on both the Cub Cadet TMSystem and Infinicut.

Scott joins MTD on the back of two years as football & cricket head groundsman at the La Manga Club in Spain. During this period he was responsible for overseeing all elements of grounds maintenance for the natural grass soccer pitches and cricket facilities - both of which are regularly in use by leading teams from around the world for warm-weather training. Prior to this, Scott worked at Fenner’s Cricket Ground for the University of Cambridge and began his career at Essex County Cricket Club.

Upon embarking on his latest venture, Scott said, “I’m very excited to be taking up this new position and working with such technologically advanced machinery. I have already enjoyed a busy BTME in Harrogate and look forward to using my knowledge and experience as a groundsman to work alongside turf managers, in both the golf and sports turf markets, helping them to achieve their aims.”

Elland Road, home of Leeds United Football Club, has been using TYM at its training grounds since 2017 and has now chosen the tractor brand for the stadium too.

Head groundsman Kiel Barrett centre left, joined by TYM’s Steven Haynes left, Reesink Turfcare’s Mike Turnbull centre right, and Russell Groundcare’s Ian Waddington on the pitch at Elland Road

Head groundsman, Kiel Barrett say the reason for this is that the tractor brand has proven to provide high-quality performance and deliver the results required across both surfaces.

“We’ve recently invested in another TYM tractor because what we’ve been using has performed so well,” he says. “Thanks to the range of tractors available, we’ve found models to suit the surfaces at both the stadium and the training grounds which are very different despite being the same length and width.”

It all started in 2017 with the arrival of the T503 at the training ground: “The T503 has delivered over and above expectations and worked brilliantly for our annual renovation work at the training ground as well as for topdressing and stripping turf off. It’s a really reliable workhorse.”

It made sense for the club to invest in TYM again for Elland Road, but with such different requirements at the stadium Kiel requested a demonstration from local dealer Russell Groundcare who brought the mid-duty T393 for Kiel and the team to trial.

Kiel says, “The demonstration proved the T393 could deliver the same quality of work at Elland Road, although in less heavy-duty roles. Its user-friendly operation really impressed me as well as the cab, which is really comfortable to work in. It’s a productive all-rounder and we use it to help move equipment, carry out drainage, aeration and spraying.”

Since having the machine, Kiel say he has not been disappointed. “Like the T503 at the training ground, the T393 is a huge improvement from the previous equipment we were using and we can really tell the difference.

“In terms of a compact tractor range, TYM is one of the best around and I foresee that in the coming years it’s going to be seen more and more across the grounds industry,”

DLF Seeds have become members of The Amenity Forum. They join over 70 other organisations, covering all aspects of the sector, to deliver research and information to those responsible for natural turf areas.

Amenity Forum chairman, Professor John Moverley commented, “We are delighted that DLF Seeds have joined the Amenity Forum and, by doing so, have demonstrated their commitment to delivering best practice in the sector. The forum advocates a fully integrated approach to amenity management, and choice of the right grass seed and its management thereafter is an important part of that.”

As part of their relationship, DLF recently hosted an update event at their Didbrook research station. On the day, DLF UK Breeding Manager Tony Strickland delivered an insight into their Global R&D amenity grass breeding programme, and the 16 years of development, profiling and testing that goes into bringing a new variety to market. The event concluded with a visit the Amenity plots, to look at DLF’s portfolio of cultivars currently under trial.

John added, “The day was a fantastic opportunity to update those that attended on current policy issues, as well as to provide information on the new Assured Standard for the sector, which is due to be launched later this year.”

Timberwolf has appointed Mason Kings to offer sales and support to customers in North Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

Timberwolf woodchippers at Masons Kings

In addition, the manufacturer's long-term dealer Ben Burgess GroundsCare Equipment with its head office in Norwich, will extend its East Anglia coverage to include Bedford and Milton Keynes from a brand new, purpose built depot in Ellington.

Ben Burgess's new depot at Ellington

This latest business growth takes the number of Timberwolf dealers to 17, working from 38 depots, with over 225 trained technicians.

Guy Marshlain, sales and marketing director, said, “We know our machines are a crucial element in the smooth running of businesses throughout the UK, which is why end-to-end support for our customers is something we provide with every Timberwolf product.”

With three depots, in Exebridge, Chudleigh and St Columb, the Masons Kings team of over 40 trained technicians will ensure parts are located even closer to businesses, reducing down-time required for servicing and providing quick access to spares, as well as an increase to the Timberwolf sales and demonstration teams in the area.

Ben Burgess GroundsCare Equipment’s new depot based in Ellington enhances the already comprehensive service support Timberwolf owners are given in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

This announcement follows the recent news that Tallis Amos Group have also been appointed by Timberwolf.

NEW HORIZONS FOR THE HATTERS
Investment paying off at Kenilworth Road

ELIZABETHAN RESTORATION
At Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens

WHAT IS BIOPHILIA?
The vital impact of parks and green spaces on health and well-being

WORM CONTROL
Without carbendazim

THE TRUE COST OF PETROL
Battery-powered outdoor power tools are now turning the heads of professionals

SANDS OF TIME
Sand-based pitches are now the norm in professional sports

WHY DO WE DO THE RIGHT THING?
We must maintain industry standards

CHASING GRASS PERFECTION?
11 things you need to know . . .

MAINTAINING STANDARDS
Q&A with BASIS ceo, Stephen Jacobs

STRI RESEARCH DAY 2018
Hosted at research trial grounds in Bingley

THE MECHANIC
Leicester City FC invest in new role

LORD'S 'GRASS-GUVNOR' TO RETIRE
Mick Hunt bows out after 49 years

HOLLOW CORING & DEEP SCARIFICATION
Is it really necessary?

PLANNING AHEAD
Renovating grass surfaces

FROM WINTER TO SUMMER SPORTS
April is a busy period

THE VALUE OF TREES
Trees bring real benefits to our cities, health and well being

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Choice of fertiliser products will be influenced by many factors

A WONDERFUL INDUSTRY
But we need to be encouraging the next generation

THE VALUE OF PARKS
Facilities must not be taken for granted

A VERY BUSY MARCH
Plenty of work for turf professionals to be getting on with

SHARING KNOWLEDGE
At the Dennis & Sisis groundcare seminar

INSECT DECLINE
A cause for concern

HELP IS AT HAND
Seek advice from industry bodies

SPRING RENOVATIONS
February is a good time to start planning

BTME 2019 REPORT
Great start to the year

BTME WEEK IS HERE!
Harrogate time again

THE VALUE OF PLANNING
Benefits for pitch sustainability

HAPPY NEW YEAR
Opportunities & challenges in 2019

View all of 2018's blogs here

Berkhamsted Golf Club has installed a comprehensive new irrigation system which will see a seven-fold increase in sprinklers and better playing conditions at the 129-year old golf club.

The famous bunker-free course at Berkhamsted is regularly included in lists of England’s Top 100 golf courses, and is a well-known connoisseur’s choice for fans of golf architects such as James Braid, Harry Colt and Willie Park Junior, each of whom had a hand in its design.

Largely unchanged for the last 100 years, and set in a beautiful 560-acre area of natural Hertfordshire heathland, each year the club hosts the prestigious 72-hole Berkhamsted Trophy, which kick-starts the Men’s elite amateur golf season in the UK. Previous Berkhamsted Trophy winners include former world #1 Luke Donald, and Masters champion Sandy Lyle, plus a host of European Tour stars and amateur giants such as Peter McEvoy and Gary Wolstenholme.

Berkhamsted’s winter 2018-19 irrigation project was a team effort which saw decades of experience brought to bear on the project from the club’s own in-house team, plus external irrigation consultants Irritech and sports turf contractors Agripower.

27-year irrigation industry veteran Roger Davey runs Irritech, which is Europe’s largest irrigation consultancy practice. From St Enodoc to Sunningdale, Royal Norwich to Royal North Devon, and Wembley to Wimbledon, Irritech have seen it all in the 17 years since they were established.

Berkhamsted GC contacted Roger Davey in early 2018, when the club was reviewing its irrigation. After meeting the greens committee and Berkhamsted’s new Club Manager, Howard Craft, Irritech was selected to appraise the club’s existing system. “Berkhamsted needed advice as to what they already had, and what they needed their irrigation system to be capable of, going forwards” said Davey.

“I often ask golf course managers to name their largest piece of machinery” he said. “Most of the time, their answer is some sort of mower or tractor – but I remind them that their irrigation system is actually the biggest and probably the most expensive piece of kit that they have.

“If you think of your irrigation system as a single, large, complex machine which spreads over 100 acres, you can begin to understand how important it is.”

Davey conducted an initial appraisal as part of a due diligence process. This highlighted several deficiencies at the club, and Davey was subsequently asked to design & specify a new irrigation system, and to manage the process of putting it out to tender.

By late summer 2018, five firms had tendered. Sports turf contractors Agripower, based locally but highly-rated nationally for their drainage, earth moving and pitch construction expertise, submitted the winning tender, and started work at Berkhamsted GC in November 2018 with Irritech installed as project managers.

Needing approximately 18km of water pipe and around 23km of signal cabling to control the sprinklers, the Berkhamsted project was a typical size for an 18-hole golf course. However, like every site, it also offered unique obstacles for the team to surmount.

As he prepared his team in autumn 2018 to start the job, Agripower director Gary Plummer knew that bunkerless Berkhamsted GC’s unique layout would create its own challenges.

“Berkhamsted is one of the only completely bunker-free golf courses in the UK,” he said, “but despite the lack of man-made hazards it is still a very tough test of golf. This is partly due to the high number of mounds to be found on every hole, particularly around the greens. I could see that the abruptness of the slopes would make it difficult, in some cases, to position our machinery where it needed to be.

“There are also a few road crossings to be planned for, when getting from A to B, and with the top surface prone to breaking up with very dry conditions underneath, after the hot summer, we knew we had to be at the top of our game.”

The hot summer of 2018 had left the soil very hard, as at most UK golf clubs. Also, as the club had never had sprinklers on its approaches before, a whole new system had to be designed. The project also hit delays in late January 2019, when severe frosts and snow halted work for ten days. “When there’s snow on the ground, you can’t see the tees and greens properly to mark out exact sprinkler positions” said Davey. “Plus, moling in the snow and frost is more or less a non-starter.”

With visits to the Berkhamsted site approximately every ten days to check on progress, Davey played a hands-on role in assisting the Agripower and Berkhamsted teams. “Although they are not best-known for irrigation work, I found Agripower to be an extremely competent contractor, with everything on hand and very quick to react when the project threw up the occasional unpredictable situation!” he said.

New irrigation was needed in all parts of the golf course – greens, tees and, starting approximately 15m from the putting surfaces, approaches too.

With just under 600 new sprinklers going in, Berkhamsted GC was set to see a seven-fold increase on its previous sprinkler count.

“The old system was proving difficult for the club to upkeep” said Plummer. “They weren’t covering the approaches, and the tees weren’t irrigated either so it was a very comprehensive renewal.”

Set just below turf level for easy mowing, the new Berkhamsted sprinkler system consists of computer-controlled Rainbird 751s and Rainbird 950 Eagles on the greens and approaches, with Rainbird 5004, 8005 and 550 series sprinklers around the tees.

Back-to-back sprinklers were paired with a 200mm gap in between, for the greens and approaches, with tails also watering a little behind the sprinkler in many cases.

Roger Davey specified where each sprinkler should be placed, and what the bar pressure settings should be.

Additional Quick Valve Coupling brass connections were also supplied at every green, so that club staff can provide additional irrigation or sprayer fill for any emerging hot spots.

The main line pipe installed was Polypipe 90mm HPPE SDR17 10 Bar, with Agripower’s DitchWitch RT120 Quad Trak vibrating mole plough doing the main mileage around the course for the pipe to be laid. All other pipe laid was Polypipe 90mm HPPE SDR11 12.5 Bar.

For the more detailed work around greens and tees, a DitchWitch 5700 vibrating mole plough was used.

Kubota mini-diggers (U17/3 1.7tonne and KX71/3 3 tonne) were used for earth moving, and a 3-tonne Terex dumper running on turf tyres was the main workhorse for ferrying duties.

2.5mm Rainbird cabling was used for the electronics to control the sprinklers and the solenoid valves around the tees.

Each sprinkler and solenoid at Berkhamsted is barcoded, enabling Course Manager Gerald Bruce to identify every individual sprinkler and setting on his golf course.

“The new irrigation system at Berkhamsted is linked to a weather station” said Bruce, who has been at the golf club for 34 years. “It’s an intelligent system, so if we have set it to irrigate 4mm of water overnight, and we get 2mm of rainfall, the system only supplies the extra 2mm needed.

“It is a huge upgrade for the club. Having a computer-controlled water input system, with each component in the system controlled independently, will give us far better moisture control on our greens, which will lead to more consistent putting surfaces. This will help us with our plan to move towards more desirable bent-grass-dominant surfaces over the coming seasons.

“Now that we have extended our irrigation to include the approaches, we are far better-equipped to defend those areas from unwanted dryness, and of course we can also now manage our tees more easily – which makes me confident that they will also look much better as a result of the new irrigation system.

“Golfers should notice a better blend from fairway to approach to putting surface as they play at Berkhamsted, once the new irrigation system has begun to have an effect.”

Back in his office Bruce can now control the entire irrigation system via two PC screens, and he also has full control via an iPhone app. “If needs be I can now independently irrigate any particular dry spots on the golf course from my phone, right down to an individual sprinkler” he said. “This will save an enormous amount of time, and means that I can also look after the golf course remotely, or even from home.

“The weather station monitors things like temperature, rainfall and evapo-transpiration, which is the rate at which moisture is being removed from the surface. All parts of the system are designed to ‘talk’ to each other, and my team and I are thoroughly looking forward to having the new system in our armoury this season!”

On the time-saving aspects of the club’s new water-management system, Bruce said: “We will certainly save a lot of time in keeping dry areas alive, and there will be less need to hand-weed some parts of the estate owing to better moisture-control, but correspondingly we also expect to be doing more cutting on a regular basis as our grass will be growing better and more consistently.

“Plus, with almost 600 sprinkler heads to maintain, rather than the 76 we had previously, our workload will be similar to before, albeit with a different emphasis.

“For example, our Sixth Hole has five different tees, each now with six sprinkler heads, so there are 30 sprinklers around that tee alone.

“Our famous Berkhamsted mounds will also receive more moisture via drift, so we expect those to look aesthetically better too!

“Overall, our members and the many golfers who regularly make the pilgrimage to one of England’s most notably inland golf courses should see a great improvement in course conditions over the next few seasons, as my team and I harness the full power of our new irrigation system.

“Our beloved golf course up here on Berkhamsted Common may be entirely natural, and free from man-made hazards, but underneath the soil there is now some extremely powerful 21st-century technology.”

As for working with Agripower and Irritech on the project, Bruce has no doubt that the club picked the right team. “It has been a very good experience, and the quality of the work has certainly met our expectations” he said. “The attention to detail shown by Gary, Roger and their staff has excellent throughout, just as you would want it to be.”

“The Berkhamsted GC team have been amazing throughout this project” said Plummer. “We have all worked well together through the unpredictable winter weather and on a demanding deadline, given the timing of the Berkhamsted Trophy in early April.

“At Agripower we are better-known for other things, for example the numerous drainage and construction projects we have done at golf clubs and major sports stadiums – but Berkhamsted is now a proud achievement for us, and our third major golf club irrigation project after previous work we have done at Batchworth Park and Banbury golf clubs.”