Pitchcare sponsor BTME Welcome Celebration Awards

The Welcome Celebration at BTME 2016 saw a host of greenkeeping achievements recognised as the winners of the BIGGA Awards over three categories were announced:

The Greenkeeping Achievement of the Year - sponsored by Pitchcare - went to The Minchinhampton Golf Club's Greenkeeping Team and was presented to the club's Golf Course Manager, Paul Worster, by Pitchcare's Marketing & Sales Director, Dan Hughes.

The award was given for the achievement of the Minchinhampton's greenkeeping team in rebuilding all the greenside bunkers on their No 1 (Avening) course in the space of a single winter season.

The club hosts at least four County events each year and also regional and national events, so it didn't suit their model to have bunkers in different stages of construction or age, because this would have ruined any consistency.

The team, totally in house and without any outside support, completely rebuilt 55 bunkers - re-contoured, new surrounds, drainage, new sand and new turf. "A heck of an achievement," commented Paul, "and we used 200 tonnes of home produced rootzone from our composting system to provide the finishing material."

The two other awards were: The Championship Greenkeeping Performance of the Year, which was sponsored by GBR Technology and presented by their Managing Director Paul Morris, to the St Andrews Links Trust greenkeeping team, led by Gordon Moir and Gordon McKie for the Open Championship in July 2015.

The Young Greenkeeper of the Year, sponsored by Jacobsen and presented by Karen Proctor, International Marketing Communications Manager, went to Jack Groves, Greenkeeper at Broadway Golf Club.

Congratulations to all winners.