We had a busy time at BTME Harrogate Week and it was with pleasure to hand out our Unsung Hero Awards to Keri Jarman, Deputy Head Groundsman at Moor Park, and Hugh Murray, Head Greenkeeper at Bridgwater College for their outstanding commitment to the industry.

Keri Jarman was nominated by Stuart Bertram, the Course Manager of Moor Park Golf Course. Stuart told us that Keri took only four days leave (although he was entitled to more) having tragically lost both parents to illness in quick succession.

Sadly, Keri was left with his disabled brother to care for, while continuing to work full time. Keri finally made the very difficult decision to put him into a home: if his poor luck and recent difficulties weren't enough, Keri slipped on the ice and broke his leg - despite being in plaster, Keri hobbled in to work to check that all was well.

"In 1987, for the first time in their lives [the greens], I put the Vertidrain through the greens this was after the October hurricane. I used 1” tines at full depth (14”) and the soil just smeared, there was no chance to ‘shatter and fracture’ to create some structure."

Golf Consultant, Kevin Munt was the course manager at the Wentworth Club in the late 1980s and is describing on his blog, the challenge of breaking through a deep pan layer on the greens on the famous West 'Burma Road' Course - these conditions existed for him, those who preceded him and those who subsequently took over until present day.

Today, using our technology, any putting green, football pitch, bowling rink or indeed any natural grass playing surface, can benefit from treatment at depths that conventional specialist equipment cannot achieve.

We are at Saltex again - they do seem to come around so quickly.

One of our Unsung Heroes, Head Groundsman at York Racecourse, Adrian Kay, officially opened this years Unsung Hero awards by cutting a ribbon around the nomination forms.

The Terrain Aeration Unsung Hero awards are open to any greenkeeper or groundsman who is based in the United Kingdom. Sponsorship is by our long-term firends from Pitchcare and the English Golf Union and judged by representatives of BIGGA, the IOG and the STRI.

We will be despatching a team into South Wales in the week beginning 4th May 2009.

If you have a need for our de-compaction service treating turf or tree roots with compressed air to a depth of one metre then please email us asap.

Faced with immense difficulties in football pitch preparation, Norwegian football clubs are moving ever closer to the installation of synthetic football pitches.

Norwegian groundsman are challenged with difficult weather conditions and short recovery periods where it is possible to get a football pitch into a standard that is acceptable within the time available.

There is every likelihood that traditional grass pitches will be ripped up and replaced with plastic Astroturf much the same as Luton Town and Queens Park Rangers did in the 1980's.