Golf
Social media is an area we are beginning to use now as well. Communication, communication, communication as they say
rounded professional, should they seek bigger challenges in future.” “Prior to BIGGA, there was no recognised
training set up, so you learned off your head man. Coming into the industry as a young apprentice in 1978, I had to buy my own boots, there were no uniforms and ear defenders were never seen. The changes BIGGA has brought about have really advanced us as a profession and, today, there are no limits to what you can achieve in this industry should you wish to do so. However, the one-on-one training I received as a young man should not be underestimated and is still important in how young greenkeepers develop. Our industry is strong at the moment and there are some
occurrence, so the new mini verde bermuda greens were being put through their paces, mowing first thing in the morning and then quad rolling almost every day. We had to use boards to help protect the young rye grass collars from wearing out. Once winter time settled in, we focused on
attention to detail and back of house areas. They do a thorough job of keeping everything neat and tidy. Another job was splitting wood; they have a big wood store here for members during the winter.
With the new Bermuda greens, we covered them with a permeable transparent plastic cover when temps got below 25O
F. On one
occasion, the temperatures got down to single figures, so we helped the insulation by putting pine straw on top of the covers. The weather here is extreme and changes
daily. For instance, in one week we had twelve inches of snow, a day of 75O
F and a
thunderstorm that dropped two inches of rain! As I write this in mid-March we have had a
couple of stints of nice weather. The Wells Fargo tournament is six weeks away and the
fantastic opportunities for young greenkeepers out there as are reported often in the pages of this magazine.” “But we are still undervalued. We have
tried very hard to promote ourselves in a more professional image and the hierarchy in most clubs appreciate the work we do and the professionalism we show. However, my experience of most golfers is that they just want to play the game and go home and, if they miss that four foot putt to win the monthly medal, it won’t be their fault, it will be ours!” “I think we are doing as much as we can to
raise our profile here at Chiltern Forest. We have held open evenings, as we did at Gerrards Cross when I was there. What I
place is starting to look immaculate in readiness for the TV cameras to show our work to the world.
This is our busiest time. Grandstands are going up and there is a lot of work to do. One things that does work well is bleaching the bunkers. It turns the sand back to bright white and, with the weather back home in the UK, I think that it is something that could make a huge difference to the presentation of golf courses coming out of winter. Throughout the winter, there has been no
stripes when mowing. This is because, for the tournament, everything is light and dark so every time we mow tees, fairways and rough, it is always in a different direction. Once the tournament is over, the focus will be on the transition back to Bermuda. The rye grass will have a chemical applied to kill it off. Leading up to the tournament, only nitrogen is applied and no phosphorus or potassium, this is so the transition will be easier and so the roots are not as healthy as they could be (in theory). The first week of June is our renovation week where fairways, rough, tees and approaches
”
found at both clubs though is that there will be a hard core of members who are interested and will attend each year, but you very rarely see any new faces wishing to learn about how a course is managed. It goes back to my previous comment about golfers just wanting to turn up and play. So, each year, we are effectively preaching to the converted. But we persevere.” “We have used newsletters, greens
reports, notice boards and have held course walks. Social media is an area we are beginning to use now as well. Communication, communication, communication as they say.”
will be cored out. We have two Toro tractor mounted corers and one pedestrian. For the tournament, the fleet will all be Toro and there will be up to 120 greens staff, including two guys from the UK, Danny Allen who works at Centurion and Callum Herbst, who is a senior greenkeeper at The Grove. I think it will be great for them and their respective CVs and shows their commitment to their careers. All greenkeepers should experience a
tournament conditioned golf course to feel the buzz and to see how it is done and, possibly, take some tips back to their club. When I return in September, I hope to find a
deputy’s job, although it’s the wrong time of year. I know one thing is certain; that I’ll stay in the turf management industry. I couldn’t think of any other job with the same satisfaction. My future is uncertain at the moment. I
might even travel abroad again for the winter, having previously done a stint in Abu Dhabi. For the moment, I’m just looking forward to the remainder of my time in the USA and the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
PC JUNE/JULY 2014 I 35
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