Not so easy Ryder! M


ost of you already know what happened at the 2010 Ryder cup at the Celtic Manor


Early morning starts Part of the Toro fleet


Stuart Hall, Workshop Technician at John O’Gaunt Golf Club, relates his experiences as one of 130 volunteers at the Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort


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Resort in Wales, but the 130 strong greenstaff had no idea what they were going to be involved in! Through the connections of IGCEMA, I got to know Patrick ‘Cal’ Callaby, the workshop manager at Celtic Manor and, in June 2009, I was lucky enough to be invited as a volunteer workshop technician for the 2010 Ryder Cup. Those fifteen months flew by, and it was soon time to brave the crossing of the Welsh border to meet Cal and the team. I could not believe the huge operation that was underway! After leaving the M4, and finding my way to Coldra Woods Drive, I arrived at the top maintenance facility to be greeted by a very warm welcome. Once everybody for the 2.00pm induction had arrived, we received our security passes, maps and welcome booklets. We then had the pleasure of meeting Jim Mackenzie, who gave us a rundown of what to expect, before we left to have a look at the course and set up - and ‘wow’ what a set up!! As we came down the hill, we got our first sight of the structures and set up that Cal had been showing us over the previous


few months via IGCEMA’s website. Pictures just don’t do it justice; you have to see it in person to realise just how big the site is, and to understand what has been done to the Usk valley. We were all given the opportunity to have a stroll round the course and tented village to get a feel for the place and get our bearings, before heading back to the maintenance facility to get our uniforms and park up the fast arriving caravan brigade. With caravans parked and hooked up to the mains, it only left one thing to do - get the fridges full of beer and the barbecues lit. We were then treated to a fantastic feast, courtesy of Famura, and organised by Steve Chappell. Thanks guys, and very well done!! A few drinks later, and it was time to turn in for the night as 4.00am was looming - the time we had to get up to attend our first practice at getting all 130 of us down to Richardson’s farm before 6.00am. With that easy challenge completed, we had a warm drink and pastry before a briefing and job allocation from Jim and his team. At that point, the ten equipment technicians and two product support guys - one from Lely/Toro and the other from


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