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Jeff Lenihan: Pitch Prep in the UK

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About this blog

Jeff blogs while interning with Campey's at various sports turf sites in the UK. Sponsored by The Ohio State University Global Intern Program.

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10 countries and 1000 cups of tea later...

I have finished up my summer in Europe with trips to London and Paris with my family. In total, I traveled to ten different countries and met hundreds of turf professionals along the way. This trip was an incredible experience. My adventure with Campey Turfcare enabled me to visit some of the world's most famous sporting venues, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Wimbledon, Wembley Stadium, and St. Andrews. On each stop, I got to pick the brain of the groundsman and learn a bit about how

July 27, 2015

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Final presentation, and running with the bulls at Pamplona

My last project this summer with Campeys was completed in Budapest, Hungary. It was very successful, with more than 40 turf professionals coming out to see our pitch renovation. The Hungarian Football Association was there as well. For the first time in my short career, and hopefully not the last, I gave a presentation to those attending about why you should renovate a pitch (Poa annua, thatch, safety, etc.) and the process we use. It went as well as it could have for my first time speaking

July 14, 2015

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Hanging out with the Pope...

With my last day at Campeys on June 30, I said my goodbyes and headed off on July 1 for a mini vacation to Rome. I picked a place to stay near The Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. When you first see the famous dome and balcony, it is pretty surreal knowing just how much history surrounds you, from Michaelangelo's paintings to the tombs of more than 90 popes, including the tomb of St. Peter, the first pope and a disciple of Jesus. On Thursday, there was a ceremony at The Vatican and Pope

July 6, 2015

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Manchester United Training Complex and Old Trafford

The official Manchester United Instagram account sent out a picture a little over a week ago that shocked a good portion of its 4.2 million followers. The picture, as you can see, features barren soil instead of grass in the Theatre of Dreams. The comments on this picture ranged from outrage to confusion, with a lot asking why they stripped the pitch that just won the joint Premier League Pitch of the Year with Arsenal. The answer can be found if we rewind back exactly one year in time. Last

June 29, 2015

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Kilts and Bagpipes: The end of my Scotland trip

My time in Scotland has come to an end. Before I left, I got to see a traditional Scottish pipe band play. The Kilbarchan Pipe Band led a march of local school children up to the school for their end of the year dance. One of the most supported football clubs in Scotland is the Glasgow Rangers. I got to meet their passionate head groundsman David Roxburgh. Rangers play in Ibrox Stadium which holds the unique and challenging title of the darkest stadium in Europe. It really was incredibl

June 27, 2015

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St. Andrews and the 2015 British Open

I recently had the unique opportunity to visit the famous St. Andrews Links golf course, the home of the 2015 British Open on July 16-19. Preparations were well under way to welcome the world's best golfers to one of the world's best known and oldest courses. The spectator stands were being constructed as we walked the fairways of the Old Course. Because the course is so flat, wind here is a major challenge for the golfers, and we certainly felt its power as it swirled around us on our

June 23, 2015

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Edinburgh Castle

Today, I visited the famous Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. It was built in medieval times, around the 12th century and sits on Castle Rock overlooking the city. Edinburgh Castle was involved in the War of Scottish Independence (yes, the one with William Wallace!) and withstood numerous sieges, including one that lasted two years. The architecture in the castle and the rest of this city is incredible. It is best described through pictures, from both the castle and the surrounding area:

June 21, 2015

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Chambers Bay feel at seaside Irish links course

Portmarnock is a small coastal town right outside Dublin in the southeast of Ireland. It is home to the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links, a seaside resort that includes a spa, a 4 star hotel which is my home for the week, and an 18 hole Championship Links Course designed by Bernhard Langer. View out of my hotel room window at Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links Ocean view from the golf course... With the U.S. Open being this week at Chambers Bay, you can imagine my surprise at walki

June 16, 2015

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Lots of Guinness... And some innovative equipment as well!

Ireland is an incredible place, with beautiful scenery and friendly people. And great beer. Specifically, Guinness. It is a thick and creamy beer that goes down smooth, and a heavenly pint of this dark and savory drink will have you wanting more of this delicious... But I digress. Back to turf! Demonstration days give groundsmen the opportunity to see first hand equipment they believe can benefit them. With today's technology, you can see videos of new innovations at the push of a button. Ho

June 11, 2015

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Dublin, Republic of Ireland: Croke Park

Today was the first day of two weeks I get to spend in Ireland. We got off the ferry at 5 am this morning loaded down with Campey equipment to show. The visit today was to the center of Dublin and Croke Park, the home of the Gaelic Athletic Association. This massive stadium seats 80,000+, making it the third largest stadium in Europe behind Barcelona's Camp Nou and Wembley Stadium. Croke Park is home to traditional Gaelic games like hurling, camogie (a game like hurling typical

June 8, 2015

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Imants Visit in Holland, and Staffordshire FA

After the pitch renovation in Denmark, I left with Lee in the truck to drive it home to Macclesfield. We went down into Germany and across into the Netherlands to get a ferry from Rotterdam to Hull. On the way across Holland, we stopped in to the small town of Reusel, which is just outside of Eindhoven. This is where the Imants offices and manufacturing plant is located. I met the owner of Imants, Felix Peters, who showed us around. The Imants factory Imants Spader for agricultur

June 7, 2015

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Pitch renovation and demonstration day in Denmark...

We traveled to Denmark on Sunday to a town called Randers, near Aarhus. The pitch to be renovated belonged to Randers FC, a Danish Superliga team who will be competing in next year's Europa League. Immediately after arriving at the pitch we saw that it was full of Poa annua, which grew well in the summer but checked out in November and December. The Sporting Director for Randers FC, Peter Christiansen saw they had a problem and, along with the city council of Randers, decided to tak

June 2, 2015

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England FA National Football Centre- St. George's Park

St. George's Park is located in the middle of England and is the national training centre for all 24 of the England Football Association's teams, ranging from under-16s to the senior team. It was opened in 2012 and contains 14 (soon to be 15) pitches, one indoor artificial pitch, a rehabilitation and workout facility, a restaurant and bar, and a hotel. We had the opportunity to stay a night at St. George's and get a tour from head groundsman Alan Ferguson. He and his staff of only 14 tend to

May 29, 2015

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Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur, and the Emirates Stadium

Over the last couple days in London, I've been able to see some of the best pitches Europe has to offer. It started at the Arsenal Training Center on Tuesday and continued with the famous Wembley Stadium on Wednesday. Wembley is the National Stadium in the UK and plays host to Championship games from all competitions, as well as being the home of the England National Football Team. It holds 90,000 people and can be recognized by the white arch sticking out of the London skyline. Wemble

May 28, 2015

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Arsenal FC and Wimbledon (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club)

London is the location this week. Yesterday was a morning trip to Arsenal FC's Training Centre to meet with head groundsman Steve Braddock. With us, we brought an Air2g2 and a Koro with a Universe rotor. The staff there tested out the Air2 on a patchy area of grass and used the Koro to clean out one of their Desso Grassmaster pitches. The Air2G2 on demonstration at Arsenal FC's Training Centre. The Universe rotor on the Koro did a fantastic job of removing the unwanted grasses and

May 25, 2015

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Manchester United vs Hull City

Today, I went to a Barclays Premier League game between Hull City and Manchester United. United is my favorite club in the Premier League, so I chose to travel to Hull in northeast England because Monday is a bank holiday in the UK so there is no work. KC Stadium, home of Hull City FC Tigers It was the last day of the season today and Hull City were on the edge of relegation to the Championship (lower division). They needed a win, so there was extra excitement in the air this weekend.

May 24, 2015

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Finland Pitch Renovation #2

Pitch renovation #1 was completed and we demonstrated all the equipment to local grounds managers. The field was seeded and then dragged with a drag mat to complete the renovation. The representative for NH-Koneet Oy, a machinery dealer we partnered with, informed us that the Finnish National Football Team would be training on the pitch once it was grown in. Pitch renovation #2 took place at a popular community field called Pirkkola Pitch. This pitch was uneven and had some issues with compa

May 22, 2015

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Koro Pitch Renovations in Finland

I traveled to Finland on Saturday and met up with Lee Morgado and David Stonier, two of Campey's employees. They had just driven from Sweden and taken a ferry over to Finland with all of Campey's equipment on a truck for the renovation and demo days. After a weekend doing a bit of sightseeing around Helsinki, we got started on Sunday with a Koro pitch renovation at a local community pitch which has had problems with drainage and winterkill. When we dug into the pitch with a spade, we cou

May 18, 2015

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The Old Traffords and Leigh Sports Village

I was on the road with Ian again today and we drove into Manchester and to Old Trafford, the cricket grounds that is, not football just yet. There we met Matthew Merchant, the head groundskeeper. They had just finished up with a four day long cricket match, and Matthew was doing some work on the pitch. Old Trafford cricket grounds If you have never seen a cricket match before, they have a different way of managing their pitch than at a football or rugby stadium. Instead of growing on a

May 14, 2015

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On the Road: Baroness and Air2G2 demonstrations

Today was a busy day, as I was out on the road with Ian Campbell, Campey's UK and Ireland Sales Manager. We first went to a new client of Ian's at nearby golf course to demonstrate a rough mower made by Baroness. The picture below shows Ian on the mower with the grounds manager and a Baroness sales rep watching the demo. After that, we traveled to Stamford Golf Cub (established 1901, about 12 miles from Manchester city center) where I got to see one of the newest innovations in turf

May 12, 2015

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First Day at Campey

Today was my first day at Campey Turfcare Systems. They have a great office building as well as a spare parts building, lots of storage for equipment, and a workshop. After meeting almost everyone, the rest of my day was spent in the workshop with Charlie, the head of maintenance. Charlie put me to work on a lot of odd jobs, some of which included some general maintenance and cleaning of their equipment. I also got to see a Koro Field Top Maker, one of Campey's main products, being assembled

May 11, 2015

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In the UK

After 5,300 miles of traveling in 24 hours, I am finally in the UK, more specifically, Manchester, England. Mr. Campey was waiting to provide a ride back to his house, where I will be staying for a few days. On the way back, we glimpsed a view of some nearby famous soccer players' houses, including Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney's upscale house. After a delicious meal of quiche, boiled ham and potatoes, we took a ride around the town, looking at the rolling hills and beau

May 10, 2015

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Here We Go...

After two sleepless nights studying earlier this week, final exams at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are behind me and I am getting ready to fly to the UK tomorrow. I just finished up my sophomore year at Lincoln, where I am majoring in Turfgrass Management with a minor in Business Administration. I completed an internship last summer at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH, where I was fortunate enough to be connected to Mr. Mike O'Keeffe, the Program Manager for the Ohio State Univers

May 8, 2015

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