Golf W
hen Mick Reece first arrived at Kings Norton Golf Club, he could have been forgiven for harbouring some trepidation. The year was
1994, and the likeable ‘Southerner’ had just beaten off a host of other greenkeepers to land one of the premier golf course management positions in the West Midlands. “I think there were a few slightly unimpressed locals at the time, wondering who’s this bloke from down south taking one of our best jobs!” smiles Mick.
“I’d reached a point in my career
where I knew my next move needed to be the ‘right one’ ... and, with a wife and children to support, I couldn’t be moving halfway across the country unless it was going to be worth it.” With twenty years experience, following long spells at Abbotsley Golf Club in Cambridgeshire and Brickendon Grange Golf Club in Hertfordshire, Mick felt confident he could take on a bigger site, and Kings Norton gave him just the opportunity he had been waiting for. Once installed, Mick and the club set
about implementing a blueprint of loong-term improvements to the course. Today, he finds himself almost at the end of his ‘to do list’, yet still as busy as ever! With 27 holes, a par 3 short course,
extensive gardens and outdoor function areas to manage - not to mention twelve full-time staff, you’d probably expect him to concentrate his attention on day to day maintenance, whilst leaving any specialist work to outside contractors. And you’d be wrong as, from his earliest days at the club, Mick has always been keen to keep all works in-house. “It’s not that I’m against contractors per se, just simply that the cost savings of undertaking big projects can be substantial. With a large group of staff to keep busy through the winter, the idea of paying for additional labour to an outside contractor seems excessive - especially in these cash strapped times, so we always try to be self-sufficient when it comes to extra work.” The most recent of these big projects has been the full replacement of the out- dated irrigation system. As old as the golf course itself, the irrigation system had long been a thorn in Mick’s side.
However, with quotes coming in at circa £250,000, Mick’s instinct for ‘keeping it in-house’ once again saw him and the team taking on the task. “Cross the labour off the bill and factor in the cost of materials and, suddenly, a full replacement irrigation system starts to look more affordable,” he reasons. With the confidence and experience gained from taking on previous large- scale winter projects, Mick knew he had the expertise within his team to properly execute the job. To keep things manageable, he and his long-time Deputy, Nick Bird, decided to split the replacement programme into two - which meant two loops of irrigation mains, separately installed across two winters. Under Nick’s supervision, work started in October 2011. “Initially, we thought we’d do well to lay 800m of pipe work per week,” explains Nick. “Yet, once we got going, we found we could lay up to 1000m per week - the lads really set a cracking pace.”
“Between October and December 2011, we replaced 3800m of pipe and cable, over 100 sprinkler heads and god
“Golfers expectations have now evolved into golfers demands - so the pressures to achieve results are greater than ever”
Mick Reece, Course Manager, Kings Norton Golf Club
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