Former course manager Glenn Kirby is the company’s new position of dedicated Technical Manager for the UK Turf & Landscape business.
Glenn brings 25 years’ experience of practical turf management skills from both downland and parkland environments, along with experience from both corporate and members’ golf clubs. He has held the Course Manager’s role at Hockley Golf Club in Hampshire and, prior to that, as Head Greenkeeper on the Heritage course at The London Club in Kent. He has also been through the Ohio State University programme in the US, including championship preparation at the prestigious Oak Hill Country Club, along with a wide range of other tournament experience.
Throughout his career to date, Glenn highlighted his commitment has been to deliver great playing surfaces, alongside an environmentally sustainable and economically viable business. “The ethos has been to use innovation to achieve results, and to get the most out of the available budget.
“Syngenta has been at the forefront of helping me to achieve that on the golf course. This exciting new role gives me the opportunity to support more greenkeepers and to help the industry to adapt to the changing picture of products, pressures and integrating technical innovation on a wider scale.”
Glenn will be working alongside Syngenta UK Business Manager, Daniel Lightfoot, to give an unrivalled understanding of issues facing the UK turf industry, and together utilising the company’s immense R&D capability to develop practical solutions for an effective Integrated Turf Management approach.
A renowned champion of the Syngenta Operation Pollinator initiative and an advocate of improving the accuracy spray application techniques on his own course, Glenn will be looking to use his Technical Manager role to enhance the industry’s position and to further develop young greenkeepers’ skills in these areas.
Daniel Lightfoot added: “The new Syngenta role of a Technical Manager dedicated to the UK continues the company’s commitment and investment in the turf industry. Glenn will have an important role to launch several new products and science-based innovations over the coming months and years, including a programme to provide information and support for their best use and to achieve the optimum results in practice.”
The Syngenta Turf & Landscape Technical Manager role covers the company’s range of products and services for all golf and sports turf surfaces, landscape management, professional horticulture and professional pest management.
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For UK and Ireland turf specific agronomy and product information go to www.greencast.co.uk or follow on Twitter @greencastuk