Davy’s on the road again...
Davy Cuthbertson, Golf and Estates Manager at Rockliffe Hall, predicts a famous future for the stunning new course in County Durham. Rob Stewart caught up with him to find out why
A 12
s Davy Cuthbertson finally prepares to take a sip of his coffee at Rockliffe Hall, there is a flurry of activity and a whirr of satisfaction that sees a
smile spread across his face as a group of eight North-East businessmen stride towards their clubhouse table following a round of golf. It is impossible not to overhear their plaudits for the region’s most celebrated new course and, as Davy is Rockliffe Hall’s Golf and Estates Manager, that chorus of approval was the ultimate seal of approval. “For me to hear that our members and visitors are happy with the course is what the job is all about. It’s what we are all focused on here,” Davy said. “It’s the be- all and end-all and makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
Davy heads a team of thirteen full-time staff who work around-the-clock, from before dawn ’til after dusk, throughout the year, tending the picturesque course that is perched on the northern banks of the River Tees which divides County
Durham with neighbouring North Yorkshire.
In taking on the club’s key position at
Rockliffe Hall three years ago, he accepted the challenge that came to turn the course into the North of England’s foremost golf destination. “Here, there is a stunning five-star hotel with great rooms, wonderful restaurants and a vast spa. They want a golf course to match it,” Davy added. “People who succeed here are those who can’t wait to get the place recognised. Top greenkeepers, such as Pete Newton, who came from the Belfry, and Jon Wyer, who came from the Forest of Arden, courses which have held large tournaments nationally and internationally. I’ve always liked a challenge and this is the biggest I’ve taken on. That’s why I’m here.” Since Davy picked up the gauntlet at a course masterminded by Rockliffe Hall chairman Warwick Brindle, award- winning course designer, Mark Westenborg from Hawtree, and
consultant agronomist George Shields, he has had to use his many years of experience to keep the course heading in the right direction.
And how! He has had to use all his
know-how, because there are all sorts of natural and man-made issues, from the choice of grass more suited to the sunnier climes of the United States for the greens, to dealing with floodwater from the Tees.
That means this family man has to be on the top of his game at this course, next to the acclaimed Middlesbrough Football Club Academy, just south of the village of Hurworth in County Durham. Bearing in mind that the area, up until just four years ago, was once used for farming, that is no easy task, but Davy and his team are leaving nothing to chance in their quest to establish Rockliffe Hall as a leading course. “The golf course used to be purely farmland; sheep and an array of crops. Those crops, especially, were always going to be difficult because, no matter
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