“What can be done to swell the ranks of women in the industry?”
Any industry sceptics pointing the finger at women as failing to match men in the physical demands of the job would soon be put straight by Karen. “I am just as hands on as the others. We have a large club with few staff.” The club was recently immersed in the spring preparations and had a lead-up tennis tournament to Wimbledon, starting on 10 June, to handle. There are perks to working at a private club, Karen explains. “We get to use all the facilities. It’s also a very friendly environment, which adds to the level of job satisfaction.” “We work long, hard hours, but we’re looked after and it’s worth it.” Her length of service at Edgbaston is surely testament alone to Karen’s enjoyment of her role there. But on a broader scale, she believes that the status of her job is rising. “It is becoming more
recognised that being a groundsman is a profession and that we are professional people. There are increasingly more courses and more
opportunities for people to move into the industry for both men and women.” Karen’s advice for
women seeking to pursue a career in groundskeeping is to gain both formal qualifications and practical experience. “Hands-on experience is sometimes better than books” she notes. As for opportunities for career progression, “The clubs have a budget for sending people on courses to get them better qualifications.”
A GREENKEEPER at the beginning of her career is Elizabeth Crowley. Like Karen Carter, she is an advocate of both education and experience for those wanting to make their
mark. In her mid-20s,
Elizabeth traces the origins of her career aspirations back to her childhood in Ireland. “I’ve been working on golf courses since I was 13 or 14. A group of about 15 of us would go down to Old Head Golf Links, which was being created, and help by preparing fairways. I went back there year after year.” Currently working on the historic New Course at St Andrews, laid out by legendary greenkeeper Old Tom Morris in 1895, her route to her present position at the Home of Golf has taken in formal
qualifications and plentiful hands-on work as well as an industry ‘first’.
“I was the first female to
take a Certified Greenkeeper course in Ireland,” she states proudly, “then went on the Turf Science and Golf Course Management course at Myerscough College in Preston.” However, being a woman in a male dominated industry doesn’t faze her; “I’m a bit of a tomboy, I grew up with two older brothers so it’s nothing different to me really.” Following this educational grounding, Elizabeth joined the Ohio State Turf Programme in the USA, which has taken her to a variety of world- class courses including Augusta National, Pinehurst Resort and Merion.
“Back in October, I had the position of Second Assistant at Ledgerock Golf Club in Pennsylvania. I’ve come to St Andrews to gain more experience before returning to the States.
However, Elizabeth
relates an all too familiar story when she says “I’ve come across one or two other women working in
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