Agrostis is the new, independent sports and amenity turf consultancy founded by Dr Tim Lodge.

Aims of Agrostis
To provide the highest standard of independent advice to professional sports turf managers and constructors ensuring they deliver the best possible quality of playing surface in relation to the needs of the sport.
Dr Tim Lodge of Agrostis
Dr Tim Lodge

Agrostis Philosophy
The true professional is concerned only to deliver the best, in whatever circumstances and regardless of whom the client is or the level of fees. The turf is the thing and for Agrostis it is a passion.
Dr Tim Lodge of Agrostis
‘This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow as the night the day
Thou canst not then be false to any man.'
  


Prologue

 

Turf management is regarded by most people unconnected with the industry as a rather odd and specialised occupation of limited appeal. But it is amongst turf professionals that I have encountered the most fanatical enthusiasts and I guess I would have to number myself amongst them.

  
There are reasons for this. To grow a golf green from seed and see the trueness and pace of the putts played upon it when it is finally being mown every day at just 4 mm gives a very real sense of satisfaction. Maintain a lawn composed of a pure stand of one of the better cultivars of smooth-stalked meadow-grass and you will be the envy of your neighbourhood. Or look at the diversity of plant and insect life that can exist and enjoy the sight of the beautiful fine seed heads in a ‘low maintenance' area of red fescue – delightful.
  
 

The turfgrass industry is large and varied involving most of our most popular sports, a crucial part of our urban landscape and of course our national obsession, gardening in all its forms. There are many ways in which turf practitioners can utilise their imagination and creativity.

  
 
I remember the parks manager who mowed out of longer grass a ‘labyrinth' (a sort of maze but you can see where you have to walk). He produced a beautiful feature that was both visually pleasing and fun. To some, walking the labyrinth in that town park became almost a spiritual experience.
Labyrinth of grass


 
Turf managers often pay tremendous attention to detail. There are products you can buy that coat the grass leaves in silica, like hairspray, so that they stay stiff and are cut more cleanly to produce a better finish. I know a first division soccer ground manager who mows his pitch with one of the larger pedestrian mowers and turns the machine on a board at the end of each pass so as not to wear out the turf on the sidelines. There are many people that take turf very seriously indeed.
 
Pretty golf area

So one can get passionate about turf and I would argue that showing people the best examples of what can be achieved can extend that enjoyment to others. Certainly to maintain the ultra-smooth surfaces of, for example, a golf green takes a lot of work. But with an understanding of the grasses and how turf of different forms can be created and maintained, the turf practitioner is able to choose from a palette of options and offer the best surface within whatever resource limitations that might be imposed.

 
I want my clients to be inspired to enhance the turf they look after (and most of us have some)
for their own pleasure and for others.


Perfect Turf

Agrostis Turf Consultancy
21 Grove Park, Walsham le Willows, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP31 3AE
Office 01359 259361
info@agrostis.co.uk
 Mobile 07725 629492



Author : WebHedz, a member of the STC Group.
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