Steve Gibbs

The Director of Golf and Greenkeeping at Wentworth Club has spoken about his pride at the return of a greenkeeper support team to assist with course maintenance during the BMW PGA Championship this September.

Last week I attended the host venue for the PGA Championship tournament where they revealed a new course maintenance fleet consisting of over 140 machines - including the latest GPS sprayer technology.

Keith Kent's final day as head groundsman of Twickenham was June 30th 2019 - and I, along with some invited turf professionals and RFU staff, attended his leaving do, held pitch-side on Wednesday 26th June.

The organisers of October's event have promised that visitors will notice some notable improvements to the registration process this year, due to new registration specialist partners.

Long daylight hours, coupled with warm air and soil temperatures often reaching well into double figures, means that grass growth will be vigorous and needs cutting regularly.

As part of my role as a Green Flag judge, I was tasked with visiting Castle Ring, a large multivallate Iron Age Hill Fort, around 2,500 years old.

The IOG say they are planning for the launch of a new communications programme designed to educate the public and media about the important role of groundstaff.

It was widely reported last week that three members of Brighton & Hove Albion FC's ground-staff team were dismissed over the leaking of team selections - but were allegedly denied disciplinary hearings.

Last week saw the launch of the Bernhard Academy at the company’s factory facilities in Haverhill, Suffolk, which is set to become a hub of learning and knowledge.

In tackling the management of amenity spaces and turf, we are all asked to take an integrated approach and deliver plans to do so. But what does it all mean?