these Open Championship Clubs choose to relief grind - Pitchcare

• Ideal for bowls and golf clubs, contractors and other
turf professionals
• Choose from 510mm (20in), 610mm (24in) and
864mm (34in) working widths
• Start off with just one cartridge head and add others
as needed or when budget permits
C-Range professional mowing
and turf maintenance system
Uses quickly-interchangeable, precision cartridge heads,
enabling one machine to cut grass (with or without grooming)
and to scarify, verticut, slit, brush or lightly spike fine turf.
Phone 01889 271503 or email sales@allett.co.uk for
more information and a no-obligation demonstration.
www.allett.co.uk
Summer Sports - Cricket
... but how hard can it be?”
he won’t be there forever, and then what?
There are contractors out there who are
very good, but it’s what they do for a
living, not for charity. Many a decent
square and ground has been ruined in
one season because someone who took it
over from old George said, “No, I’ve
never done it before, but how hard can it
be?” We all know there are many expert
groundsmen in the bar or on the square
before the start of a game.
Then, there’s machinery. I know some
guys are handy with a set of spanners and
can do an oil change without any trouble,
but cylinders and bottom blades will need
to be sharpened, machines will break
down in the middle of the season and you
will need to get them fixed. Provision
needs to be made for this, or at least the
powers that be need to be made aware of
it.
So, at the risk of much derision and
critique, here is what I have forecasted to
be the budget requirements for materials
and machinery servicing costs to our
committee for the coming year. I do this
because these requirements are not a wish
list; they are essential basics for the level
we are playing at, and to help provide a
decent surface to play cricket on. But, I
seriously encourage all groundsmen,
volunteer or otherwise, to keep the
committees fully up to speed with
essential costs. It’s all part of the
continuing education process to make
people aware of what’s involved in
producing decent cricket surfaces.
The more information you feed to your
committees, the less likelihood there is of
you being referred to as “the bloke who
cuts the grass”. I’ve recently added a
“Groundsman’s Corner” link to our
website where I’ve started it off explaining
what end of season renovation entails.
Materials
Loam (200 bags) = £1,200 (this includes
all the loam for the end of season
renovation and enough loam to see me
through the coming summer for pitch
repairs etc.)
Seed (4 bags) = £300
Fertiliser (7 bags) = £200 (I am
embarking on an increased fertiliser
programme over the year to further help
prevent moss, weeds invading the square
and to generally improve the surface
Liquid Spraying for worm control (2
sprayings) = £220 ( By the way, first year
I’ve had it done and money very well
spent)
Spraying of outfield = £300
Line marker (15 litres) = £50
Diesel for triple (200 litres) = £230 ( this
is red diesel that I buy in a 200 litre drum
to save a bit)
Petrol - for roller, mowers, strimmer,
blower etc. = £300
Miscellaneous = £100
Total = £2,620
Machinery Hire
Scarifier and loam spreader - for end of
season renovations = £400
Spiker = £220 (this is only for two
spikings, should really be done at least
three times in the winter depending on
weather)
Total = £620
Servicing of Machinery
Servicing of Outfield Triple and two
pitch mowers = £2,100 labour
Parts for above = Approx. £300/£400
(this is an estimation - could be more
because the triple has a hydraulic leak)
I have negotiated a 25% discount on
labour and 15% discount on parts to get it
down to these figures. I booked this in for
the third week in January. We will be
invoiced about the middle of February
and have thirty days to pay.
Total = £2,520
Grand Total = £6,020 (also you could put
on that an additional cost of a few
hundred pounds to replace the ageing
netting for the two artificial nets)
Those figures could increase because
the triple does need some serious tlc. This
servicing will be done by a very
professional company and they are not
the cheapest, but I know they do a good
job. My committee knows this is essential
and that the costs will not be less. I have
to say that they are fairly easy to deal
with, but constant communication is vital.
This is what I consider to be the barest
essential costs for the coming year. On top
of that there is a wish list. Firstly, and
fairly essential in my book, is some
6-blade cylinder 10-blade with groomer 10-blade cylinder Brush Scarifier Slitter Sorrell Roller Verticutter
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012 PC 81