Where the grass isn’t always greener
Showing their Wolfpack pride while touring U.K. turf sites were N.C. State students (from left) Trey Wilson, David Goodman, Josh Beeson, Rich Bache and Chris Schultz.
Photo Courtesy Art Bruneau
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the pond, and that’s one of the revelations a group of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences turf students brought back from a summer study tour of turf in the United Kingdom.
Professors of crop science Drs. Art Bruneau and Grady Miller organized the tour to allow American turf students to see different types of turf management and network with students from three other academic institutions with turf programs: Reaseheath College in Wales, Washington State University and Elmwood College in Scotland.
Said Bruneau, “Much of what they do over there is unique and different from what we do here. They use different grasses, and much of their turf management tends to be low-input. Their selection of pesticides is much smaller than in the United States. They’re not that concerned that the grass is green but that the turf is playable.”
The tour group consisted of Bruneau, Miller and five students. The North Carolina group was joined by faculty and five students from Washington State University.
Bruneau became familiar with the U.K., its turf and turf scientists during a sabbatical there about 10 years ago. He hosted a turf study group from Reaseheath College several years ago.
For a week in May, the North Carolina group visited turf sites in Wales, England and Scotland. The first stop featured a lawn bowling green. Bruneau said lawn bowling is played in nearly every town and village, and while the sport takes place in a social atmosphere, it is taken seriously by the participants, and competition among clubs is keen.
The group also visited a cricket ground, where the turf is managed to be hard and fast. Gareth Phillips, a senior lecturer at Reaseheath College and former cricket groundsman, led the tour. Bruneau said the fields on which cricket is played must be level and require frequent rolling to encourage compaction and thus good ball bounce. He added that in many ways, the needs of the game are in direct conflict with the needs of healthy turf.
The Royal Liverpool Golf Club, one of the oldest (established in 1869) English seaside links golf courses, was also on the tour. It frequently hosts the British Open golf tournament. Bruneau said the greenskeeper gave a wonderful tour of the course and answered myriad questions posed by the students.
Also on the tour were what the locals call a football pitch, what Americans would call a soccer field, at the Everton Football Club in Liverpool. Bruneau said movable lights are often used on the field to enhance turf growth during the winter months, when shade is an issue due to the shortened days as well as the height of the stadium.
While in Liverpool, the group visited Aintree Racecourse, where the Grand National steeplechase horse race is held. The students walked the 2½-mile track and saw how it is maintained. The jumps, made of twigs of certain trees, are built the same way they were 160 years ago, according to Bruneau.
The group also visited a nine-hole golf course named Ffistiniog that Bruneau described as “pretty much natural.” The course is managed by three volunteers. Electric fences are used to keep sheep off the putting greens, and inputs such as fertilizer and pesticide are minimal.
Also on the itinerary was a stop at the Sports Turf Research Institute, one of the oldest research turf facilities in Western Europe. Bruneau said the institute advises more than 2,000 sports facilities in Great Britain, Ireland and parts of Europe and conducts applied research. Dr. Andy Newell, who oversees variety testing and pathology programs, gave the group an overview of the institute, followed by a tour of research plots. The students got to see most of the turf species used in Great Britain as well as innovative equipment used to determine ball roll, ball bounce and wear tolerance.
In Scotland the group stayed at Elmwood College, next to St. Andrews, where golf is thought to have been invented. Elmwood College is internationally known for its turf program. Ian Butcher, part of the International Team at Elmwood, hosted the group. The students toured the Old Course, the most famous of seven golf courses at St. Andrews, and talked with the head greenskeeper.
One of the last events of the trip was a formal banquet, held at the New Club at St. Andrews, with all four academic institutions represented.
—Dave Caldwell
Professors of crop science Drs. Art Bruneau and Grady Miller organized the tour to allow American turf students to see different types of turf management and network with students from three other academic institutions with turf programs: Reaseheath College in Wales, Washington State University and Elmwood College in Scotland.
Said Bruneau, “Much of what they do over there is unique and different from what we do here. They use different grasses, and much of their turf management tends to be low-input. Their selection of pesticides is much smaller than in the United States. They’re not that concerned that the grass is green but that the turf is playable.”
The tour group consisted of Bruneau, Miller and five students. The North Carolina group was joined by faculty and five students from Washington State University.
Bruneau became familiar with the U.K., its turf and turf scientists during a sabbatical there about 10 years ago. He hosted a turf study group from Reaseheath College several years ago.
For a week in May, the North Carolina group visited turf sites in Wales, England and Scotland. The first stop featured a lawn bowling green. Bruneau said lawn bowling is played in nearly every town and village, and while the sport takes place in a social atmosphere, it is taken seriously by the participants, and competition among clubs is keen.
The group also visited a cricket ground, where the turf is managed to be hard and fast. Gareth Phillips, a senior lecturer at Reaseheath College and former cricket groundsman, led the tour. Bruneau said the fields on which cricket is played must be level and require frequent rolling to encourage compaction and thus good ball bounce. He added that in many ways, the needs of the game are in direct conflict with the needs of healthy turf.
The Royal Liverpool Golf Club, one of the oldest (established in 1869) English seaside links golf courses, was also on the tour. It frequently hosts the British Open golf tournament. Bruneau said the greenskeeper gave a wonderful tour of the course and answered myriad questions posed by the students.
Also on the tour were what the locals call a football pitch, what Americans would call a soccer field, at the Everton Football Club in Liverpool. Bruneau said movable lights are often used on the field to enhance turf growth during the winter months, when shade is an issue due to the shortened days as well as the height of the stadium.
While in Liverpool, the group visited Aintree Racecourse, where the Grand National steeplechase horse race is held. The students walked the 2½-mile track and saw how it is maintained. The jumps, made of twigs of certain trees, are built the same way they were 160 years ago, according to Bruneau.
The group also visited a nine-hole golf course named Ffistiniog that Bruneau described as “pretty much natural.” The course is managed by three volunteers. Electric fences are used to keep sheep off the putting greens, and inputs such as fertilizer and pesticide are minimal.
Also on the itinerary was a stop at the Sports Turf Research Institute, one of the oldest research turf facilities in Western Europe. Bruneau said the institute advises more than 2,000 sports facilities in Great Britain, Ireland and parts of Europe and conducts applied research. Dr. Andy Newell, who oversees variety testing and pathology programs, gave the group an overview of the institute, followed by a tour of research plots. The students got to see most of the turf species used in Great Britain as well as innovative equipment used to determine ball roll, ball bounce and wear tolerance.
In Scotland the group stayed at Elmwood College, next to St. Andrews, where golf is thought to have been invented. Elmwood College is internationally known for its turf program. Ian Butcher, part of the International Team at Elmwood, hosted the group. The students toured the Old Course, the most famous of seven golf courses at St. Andrews, and talked with the head greenskeeper.
One of the last events of the trip was a formal banquet, held at the New Club at St. Andrews, with all four academic institutions represented.
—Dave Caldwell