Golf
GETTING Personal...
Chris Mitchell - sitting in a bar in Menorca with two deaf ears, thick skin and a notebook!
Who are you? Chris Mitchell, Course Manager at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club.
Family status? With Rosie, my girlfriend.
Who’s your hero and why? Jim Arthur. He got us all thinking.
What would you change about yourself? Learn to relax more.
What’s your guilty pleasure? It’s got to be Guinness.
What do you drop everything for? My two kids, Damian and Holly.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Getting the courses to the state they are now.
Glass half full or half empty? Half full.
Climate change - fact or fiction? Climate change is happening, but I believe it’s cyclical and has been going on for millions of years and not necessarily man-made.
What’s your favourite season? Spring.
What are your pet peeves? Pitch marks and power trolleys going through the heather.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Sitting in a bar with some good food and wine on a beach in Menorca.
What’s the best part of your job? The great outdoors, the changing seasons and the challenges they bring … and the worst? Paperwork.
Favourite record, and why? A favourite album is difficult but, if I could have only one, it would probably be Led Zep II.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? I’d buy a nice bolt-hole somewhere to escape for a while.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? It came from Jim Arthur; “A good greenkeeper has two deaf ears, a very thick skin and a notebook”!
What do you do in your spare time? Photography, woodwork, gardening and playing in a band
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? It came from a golfer came when we were repairing a burst in a water main; “Do you have to do that there; can’t you do it somewhere further from the green?”
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Our Vredo seeder.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Passionate, committed, eccentric.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Fines for dog owners that clear up after their dog then hang the plastic bag full of mess in a tree or throw it into the bushes!
22 I PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014 The 18th hole from the forward medal tee
produce heather from this seed bank.” “The R&A’s sustainable golf
initiative requires a departure from heavy reliance on pesticides, fertiliser and water and working with nature as opposed to fighting against her, but that’s nothing more than Jim Arthur advocated,” says Chris with a smile. “The upside of all this is that, as
we confront more and more EU legislation regarding pesticide use, courses adopting this type of policy will be one jump ahead of the rest. The other benefit, of course, is the
The Island 6th on the Old Course
I’m lucky enough to have a chairman of green who is very enthusiastic and regularly updates members with what is going on out on the course
”
reduction in costs.” So, how does Chris communicate all this ongoing work to the members? “I’m lucky enough to have a chairman of green who is very enthusiastic and regularly updates members with what is going on out on the course. This is done either by email or an open evening. I also have a dedicated page on the club’s website where I am able to answer frequently asked questions. Another of our members also runs a blog and includes a course based topic each month.”
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