Golf
GETTING Personal...
Derek Metcalfe - has trouble keeping his partner awake. Maybe time to turn the amp up a notch or two?
Who are you? Derek Metcalfe
Family status: Divorced with two children in their thirties. I am now living with my partner, Shirley Burtonshaw.
club for thirty years. We don’t appear to suffer with disease here but, as my limited knowledge comes from pictures in books and magazines, I leave all that to Dave Manley. As for pests, it’s rabbits, rabbits and more rabbits. I use a mix of stale beer from the clubhouse, mixed with some water, to keep them away. This seems to be working. I am aware of how
environmentally important our site is. We have some stunning areas of heather and gorse that needs to be looked after. We are considering keeping bees to help here. Whilst we don’t have an environmental policy in place, everything we do here is with the ecology in mind.
Even as a volunteer group, What’s in the shed?
Kubota L4200 tractor Wiedenmann Terra-Spike
Toro 3100 Greensmaster for greens and approaches
Allen National of dubious vintage
John Deere 2653B triple mower for rough, fairway and mounds
Pedestrian Scarifier
Pedestrian topdressing machine Pedestrian Sarrel Roller Brushcutter
Flymo hover mower PTO driven rough topper
we do get some stupid comments, such as “I suppose you have nothing to do now the grass has stopped growing!” It’s frustrating, but we are doing the very best we can on limited resources and experience.
As things stand, it looks as though the volunteer force will keep going as we would find it expensive, as a club, to employ a greenkeeper. I am learning new skills and, at my age, that can’t be a bad thing, but I am sure things will have to change in the future.
Images
courtesy of Chris Hall and Derek Metcalfe
Who’s your hero and why? Leo Fender, he built the world’s greatest guitar.
What would you change about yourself? I would like to be a better guitarist, the golf swing I can work on.
What is your guilty pleasure? Wine.
What do you drop everything for? The right weather to do things I need to do.
What has been the highlight of your year so far? Cutting greens early on a sunny day.
Climate change - fact or fiction? Hard to say in Scilly, but worldwide FACT.
What’s your favourite season? Spring, as the green starts to grow.
What are your pet peeves? Golfers who don’t repair pitch marks.
If you could go anywhere right now where would it be? Vancouver, Canada.
What’s the best part of your job? The comments from visitors paying greens fees about the amazing views from the course.
... and the worst? Lifting that first 25kg bag of topdressing on a cold winter’s morning.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? It used to be Lands End to John O’Groats on a bike, but I think the legs are past it.
Who wouldn’t you like to be? There are some people but “no names, no pack drill”.
Favourite record and why? Springsteen, The Human Touch. He’s the boss.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Smile and sigh deeply.
Who would you chose to spend a romantic evening with? It would have to be my partner Shirley, if I could keep her awake long enough!
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument what would you be and why? Keith Richards’ open G tuned Telecaster; I won’t explain why, go and have a listen for yourself.
What is the best advice you have ever been given? By Dave Manley, our greens consultant, on how to replace hole plugs.
What is your favourite smell? Camomile in our fairways when they have just been cut.
What do you do in your spare time? Play guitar in a band.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? The Toro 3100 Greensmower.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Awkward, bloody awkward!
What talent would you like to have? To make it rain when I want rain.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Regional and performance pay for politicians, voted for by nurses.
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013 PC 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156