Sports & Recreation Clubs
GETTING Personal...
Graham Pickin - balancing height and weight with chocolate and ice cream!
Who are you? Graham Pickin, Head Groundsman at the Phoenix Sports & Social Club.
Family status? Married, with two adult daughters.
Who’s your hero and why? My friend and college Lieutenant Colonel Bob Pickford RIP; he was a man amongst men, he was awarded the MBE by HM the Queen for his work in Cyprus for soldiers returning from operations.
What would you change about yourself? I would like to be 6’ 11”, I would then be the correct weight for my height.
What's your guilty pleasure? Chocolate and ice cream.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Gaining the HNC Golf Course Management.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Barry White, Malandra Burrows and Mr Cadbury.
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? David Cameron, so I could resign.
Do you have any bad habits? I maintain a healthy ‘floordrobe’.
... or any good ones? Polished shoes, and ironed shirts.
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? Not worrying, but planning.
What are you reading at the moment? Phosphite interactions with Microdochium.
What are your pet peeves? Litter and condescending people.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Villamendhoo Island, the Maldives (again).
What’s the best part of your job? The completion of a successful project.
… and the worst? Machinery breakdowns, because it affects the product.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To stop one of my granddaughters sucking her thumb.
34 I PC JUNE/JULY 2015
Favourite record, and why? Lovely Day by Bill Withers; it takes me back to my military days.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? Maria, my wife.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Take Maria to Villamendhoo.
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? Bugle, difficult to play, loud and should be handled with kid gloves.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Invest in yourself.
What’s your favourite smell? Marzipan.
What do you do in your spare time? I don’t really have any, the family see to that.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? Does the sun always rise there?
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Anything Toro.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Tenacious determined, loyal.
What talent would you like to have? Plumbing, they are so expensive.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Bank holiday for Saint George’s day.
Tee work on the 11th - spot the Toro! Pollarding has been required to improve air flow
shows in the finished product. It also makes best use of their time.”
General day to day regimes
consist of cutting the greens down to between 2.5 and 3.5mm (varying with conditions and turf stresses) using a Toro 3250-D, tees at 10mm with a Toro 3100-D, fairways at 12mm using a Toro 5510, whilst the rough is kept at 35mm with a Toro 4700-D. “At this time of year [May],
the greens are cut at 3.5mm. They get a bi-weekly verti-cut using our Greentek Thatch-Away units, sarrel rolled and topdressed with Mansfield MM35 sand. Light and regular foliar feeds are applied. Controlled release fertilisers are used on tees, aprons and surrounds. During the autumn and winter, I apply monthly turf hardeners, like irons and phosphites, to great success, plus seasonally selected forms of N, such as Potassium nitrate, in the winter.” Since Graham’s arrival at the club, a number of projects have been undertaken to improve
both shade and air flow around greens and to get water off the course and in other problem areas around the site. “This required a programme of pollarding, as well as removing some trees altogether,” states Graham. “It is important that the members are kept informed about the whys and wherefores of what we are doing and, to that end, I write a regular blog for the website explaining the processes. I do try and add some humour as well.” “Having the artisans assisting us with these projects is very helpful, but they can also relay their thoughts back to the members.” “We have successfully drained
a very problematic 11th Par 3 and 12th tee area, and constructed a new tee with full decoder auto irrigation. We’ve also extended paths in several locations and have some exciting plans for the future, including further drainage and construction projects.” Graham is concerned that the recent changes in weather
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