Earning his Spurs - Pitchcare

Issue 5
Issue 11
inimitable Laurence Gale, set about
contacting all the head groundsmen at
the Test venues to get their views on the
series and the work they had carried out
in preparation for the eagerly awaited
contest. Laurence was already ‘righting’
articles for the website, so the transition
into hard copy was, for him, fairly
straightforward - if anything can be
straightforward in Loz’s life!
Forty-two companies supported the
launch issue, most of whom still support
us to this day - it took Harry Jurgens
until issue 4 to join the fold!
That first issue consisted of just fiftyfour
pages and was saddle stitched (i.e.
using staples). Featured on the front
cover were Mick Hunt from Lord’s,
Stuart Kerrison (Essex CCC) and the
wonderfully supportive Dr Kate Entwistle
who, to this day, still supplies us with
excellent technical articles on soil
science, bugs and other nasties!
It carried fourteen articles across all
sports disciplines, including Peter
Robinson - Volunteer Groundsman at
Warley Cricket Club; Jason Booth from
Headingley (sans Carnegie at the time);
Dan Duffy - Swansea Stadium; Gordon
Moir - St. Andrews Links Trust; Jimmy
Stevenson - Leicester Racecourse and our
other ‘ever present’, training consultant
Frank Newberry.
The launch issue also included the first
batch of ‘Lozisms’ and ‘Readers Lives’ -
both remain popular with readers to this
day.
of their very successful
publication. Pitchcare is a well
respected magazine in the
Turfcare industry and we are
delighted to advertise and work
in partnership with them. A very
well deserved congratulations!”
Bayer Environmental Science
“Time flies - your
magazine has
gone from a
‘decent sized’
magazine to a
huge read - all are
exclusive stories.
The industry
needed a champion and
Pitchcare have taken on that
role.”
Lynda Green, Terrain Aeration
“Over the years Pitchcare has
become a leading magazine
Issue 20
Having identified 7,000 recipients
from our website database, the first issue
was posted out, and we sat back and
waited for responses.
It wasn’t long before we were rewarded
with congratulatory comments from all
quarters and, so, with renewed vigour, we
started on the second issue. Display
advertising support grew and we were
able to publish a sixty-eight page
magazine - the first to be perfect bound
(a glued spine).
By issue five we had established a
successful format, with a mix of articles
across all turfcare disciplines, technical
info and some humour. Our first spine
message appeared - “Wishing speedy
recoveries to Peter, Mike and Kerry” - a
reference to three industry folk (the first
being myself) who had suffered major
health problems.
Our first 100 pager was issue 12 and,
subsequently, the magazine has grown to
an average content of 132 pages. It was
also in this issue that we took the
decision to include some of the smaller
technical articles in the classified ads
section. This, we believed, would be of
greater benefit to the advertisers as the
reader remains on the page longer and,
therefore, the ads have a greater chance
of being noticed.
In an era where many ‘paper’
publications are struggling, the Pitchcare
magazine continues to buck that trend.
Our last issue was the largest we have
ever published, at 148 pages, and it goes
which is well read by us and
many other foreign people. I
always look for highlights, new
products, news and articles that
can improve our brands ‘Imants’
and ‘Koro by Imants’. It is not
always easy to find enough time
to read all the
industry’s
magazines, but
Pitchcare is
always on top of
the pile.”
Felix Peters,
Imants BV
“It feels much longer ago that
you arrived on the scene with a
magazine that covered every
conceivable corner of the Turf
Care Industry, developed the
best website in the industry and
were not afraid to ruffle a few
feathers on the way. Well done,
Issue 21
without saying that we could not have
done any of this without the fantastic
support of our advertisers and editorial
contributors. As if to come full circle,
issue 30 showed Mick Hunt on the cover.
Along the way we have given our
readers product comparison tests, indepth
interviews with
turfcare
practitioners,
detailed
technical
articles and
legislation
updates, as
well as
stimulating
debate on all
manner of
issues. We’ve
rattled a few
cages too and
that, we
believe, can
keep highlighting the
professionalism of groundsmen
and greenkeepers and the
industry obviously “needed
another bloody
magazine” when it
is the quality
product that
Pitchcare is.”
Keith Cann-Evans,
former Managing
Director of Hunter
Grinders
“Well done Pitchcare! You have
proved, through a quality and
well produced
publication, that
the industry did
need another
magazine. There
is plenty of
interest for all
involved in the turf
Issue 26
Issue 30
only be good for our industry.
Our remit remains unchanged, to
bring you, the reader, a high quality
magazine across all sports and amenity
turfcare disciplines - a publication worthy
of the professionalism of our industry.
On a personal note, my thanks go to
the fantastic team at Pitchcare, who have
stood by me through some difficult
times, and to all my clients for their
support.
Here’s to the next five years.
care sector. We have been with
you from the start and have
reaped benefits from advertising
and editorial coverage.”
David Mears, Joint Managing
Director, Highspeed Group Ltd.
“Five years of consistently
excellent magazines covering a
broad range of topics, giving the
readers exactly what they want -
information,
advice, facts ...
and Loz’s humour!
Well done.”
Ian Howard,
Managing
Director, Dennis
Mowers