Groundsmen and Greenkeepers Bowled Over by Dennis Seminar

Rounding off their 2010 Spring Seminar programme, Dennis Mowers recently held a Fine Turf Maintenance Seminar at Uxbridge Cricket Club. The event was organised in conjunction with Richard Taylor Machinery of Aylesbury who was delighted with the attendance figures. Over 50 Groundsmen heard presentations from Richard Brown of British Seed Houses, Geoff Yelland from AmegA Sciences and grounds maintenance expert Dave Bracey.

Robert Jack from Dennis gave working demonstrations of the Dennis range of bowling green and cricket pitch equipment including the renowned 'FT' mower, with its versatile cutting, scarifying and verticutting cassettes, the Razor Ultra 560, Verticut TT, S500 slotter and spiker with the Bray Hand Tools completing the demonstration equipment.

"We were pleased at the broad cross section of the delegates at this seminar from bowls clubs, cricket clubs and Local Authorities" commented Richard Taylor. "Dave Bracey is of course inspirational, and the delegates clearly respected his knowledge. British Seed Houses' Richard Brown gave a very interesting and technical presentation on seed mixtures and the use of fertilisers which drew several questions from the floor."

The host of the day, Vic Demain, Groundsman at Uxbridge Cricket Club introduced the facility to the guests. He encouraged his fellow grounds care enthusiasts to analyse and identify the problems they may have been having with their greens, and to question whether going through the same procedure every year was putting the problem right. Vic also has responsibility for the Bowling Green on the same site and shared some problems he was faced with when he took over the management of it some 4 years ago. He outlined to the delegates an interesting procedure he started to use in order to measure the levels of the green using laser levels.

In addition to being educational, Dennis seminars create an environment where delegates can rub shoulders with like minded people. Having fellow Groundsmen, Greenkeepers and experts to hand, allows for discussions on various topics and problems they might have with their greens. One such delegate, John Vickers from the London Borough of Barnet, found the talks very informative and was impressed with the quality of the speakers.

Vic and his team proved excellent hosts and Richard Taylor would be interested to hear from any Bowls or Cricket Club who would be interested in hosting such a seminar. Richard can be contacted on 01296 738197.

Dennis, Howardson Works, Ashbourne Road, Kirk Langley, Derby DE6 4NJ UK

Tel: +44 (0)1332 824777 - Fax: +44 (0)1332 824525 - www.dennisuk.com