Golf
he Isles of Scilly nine hole links occupies the north east coastline of the island of St Mary’s and was carved, largely by hand, from clifftop scrub by farmers and a golf mad Dr Thomas Brushfield, opening in 1904.
T Derek Metcalfe
The course length is 5942 yards with a par of 73. Eighteen hole competitions mean playing the nine holes twice. The signature hole where, down the years, a number of ‘aces’ have been recorded, is the short 109 yard 4th which requires an iron shot into a basin from a gorse surrounded tee spectacularly poised above the cliffs. The course, from which there are stunning views of a plethora of islands, can lean towards low scoring in benign conditions but, when the wind blows (which is often), its exposed nature makes golf a hard test. It is also forgivable to be distracted by the beautiful sea views! The ball tends to sit up invitingly on the fairways, but holding the ball on the greens can be difficult due to their relatively small size.
When the club’s one and only
professional greenkeeper, Graham Mumford, was forced to retire through ill health, three members came forward to offer their services. Derek Metcalfe takes up the story.
“Not only had we no previous
experience of tending fine turf, our collective age is 229! 84 year old Bill Pender is a retired quay docker, Garfield Ellis (79) used to run an inter-island pleasure boat - the Buccaneer - whilst I’m a former painter and decorator with the council, a local musician ... and 66 years old! We were asked if we would be prepared
to take on the task of looking after the course and, although we had little experience, we were given ‘on the job’ training by Dave Manley, now head greenkeeper at Praa Sands Golf & Country Club in Cornwall. He now visits us twice a year to advise on materials, and also provided a year long programme for me to follow for the greens. He also terra-spikes our greens and tees when he comes over, so his arrival is welcomed with open arms. And, I have read the greenkeepers’
Pitchcare’s attention was drawn to the Isles of Scilly Golf Club when our editor received an email about three volunteer greenkeepers who, with a collective age of 229, were keeping the course going for members and visitors.
This unusual arrangement required further investigation, so we asked the youngest of the triumvirate, Derek Metcalfe, to explain more about ...
The Scilly Season!
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