Golf
Is there anything you would have done differently, professionally and personally?
Yes, quite a lot, especially when I first started out as a head greenkeeper/course manager! I was very much thrown in at the deep end and had to sink or swim. Although I got a lot of help from so many people to whom I will always be grateful, a lot of things were trial and error. There was very little of the education available back in the early 1980s, such as the workshops which BIGGA now put on.
I’ve always tried to look back and assess honestly what I’ve done and if it could have been done better or differently and learn from it. If I think it could have then I would look to change it the next time.
I have always tried to put what has been best for the golf course and my employers first rather than what might have been best for me, and I think that has stood me in good stead.
Having a supportive and understanding wife has been vital. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve what I have without her help and advice. It’s important to have someone a little bit removed from the immediate industry as a sounding board.
Any regrets?
No. Although there are obviously times or things which you don’t enjoy over a period of nearly forty years, they are far
outweighed by the good days and the friendships you make.
You have always been considered as an ambassador for the greenkeeping industry. Is it in a good place right now?
I think it is, although I’m always conscious that we are in a little bubble in St Andrews in that the visitors will keep flocking here because of the history and the tradition of the Old Course, (provided the courses are still in good condition and represent good value for money).
I know that isn’t the case everywhere and, where committees and members want particular standards but don’t appreciate the cost of producing these - or don’t want to know - then there are many good greenkeepers out there facing hard times. Although equipment and technology has improved so much, it has come at a cost and many clubs struggle to afford the latest all singing, all dancing pieces of kit.
How would you raise the profile of greenkeeping and sports turf in general?
I think the best way we can do it is through the media and, by that, I mean the golf magazines and TV. The industry magazines are great, as are all the seminars, workshops and exhibitions that are around, but mostly they are preaching to the converted. It would be great to get golf club officials along to events.
Unfortunately, greenkeeping isn’t ‘sexy’ and magazines and TV channels are not hugely excited about running articles or commenting on the skills and hard work put in to presenting a golf course
”
Unfortunately, greenkeeping isn’t ‘sexy’ and magazines and TV channels are not hugely excited about running articles or commenting on the skills and hard work put in to presenting a golf course.
However, through social media, there are signs of that changing with some behind the scene footage of the Open at Royal Liverpool starting to appear on websites etc, so, hopefully, the momentum will continue.
Thank you for your time.
PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 I 17
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