The Sodcast

From golf course greenkeeping to more than a decade at Northampton Saints, Turf Business speak to Head Groundsman Andy Miller. The conversation covers all things from the challenges of maintaining an elite rugby surface, the lessons that have shaped his career and his nine week FIFA World Cup experience.

For Watford Football Club Grounds Manager Scott Tingley, and Swindon Town Head Groundsman Matt Povey, their paths into the profession could hardly have been more different. Scott has spent years operating at the highest levels of football, while Matt's journey began in cricket. Yet as the pair reflect and discuss their experiences, mentors, challenges and ambitions, a common theme emerges: progress in this industry is rarely achieved overnight. Instead, it’s built through trust, opportunity, resilience and a willingness to keep learning.In this series Grounds Apart series, the professionals do the talking. Photo credit: Andy Crook.

Turf Business TV visited Craig Knight, Head of Grounds and Playing Surfaces at Everton FC at Hill Dickinson stadium. In the first part of this three part series Craig discusses the challenge facing the grounds team as they balance working at a cutting-edge new stadium alongside training facilities and multiple playing surfaces across the club’s wider estate.

After 40 years in greenkeeping, Graham Ives, Course Manager at Waltham Windmill Golf Club, explains why experience, adaptability and getting the course right matter more than ever.As golf courses across the UK contend with rising temperatures, changing weather patterns, increasing member expectations and rapid advances in technology, the role of the modern course manager has never been more demanding.

In the first of the Grounds Apart series, Flynn Good skilled Sports Turf Operative at Leicester City Football Club interviews Gary Barwell Head of Sports Turf at Edgbaston Stadium.

Alex Earle, Head Groundsperson at Weissenhof in Stuttgart, on how his career took him from Sydney to Germany. Having never left Australia, Alex's first international flight was to take on a role at the All England Tennis Club. Now, his role sees him assisting to oversee two additional tournaments in Berlin and Bad Homburg.

Turf Business TV sat down with Richard Hayden, principal Consultant at Hayden TurfCare Ltd to talk about his career so far and the often overlooked detail of equestrian surfaces.

Paul Chaloner has been at Wrexham AFC for nearly two decades, a tenure that has seen him evolve from a part time helper at the raining ground to the Head Groundsman responsible for both the stadium and academy facilities. Today, the team falls under the Hollywood spotlight, with owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.