Technical GETTING Personal...
Ben Morgan - Steve, Vic and Bob are welcome round for a curry - or fish and chips - anytime!
What are you reading at the moment? Practical Golf Course Maintenance: The Magic of Greenkeeping by Gordon Witteveen and Michael Bavier,
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Walking hills in the Lake District with my partner and dog (Henry).
What’s the best part of your job? Watching the sun rise over the golf course in the morning.
… and the worst? When there’s a week of rain and we have loads of work to get started.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? To be the course manager at a major golf course.
Favourite record, and why? Dire Straits: Money for nothing, I always sing along when it's on the radio.
Who are you? Ben Morgan, First Assistant at Drax Golf Club.
Family status? I live with my partner and our French bulldog Henry; he runs the house!
Who’s your hero and why? My dad. He has helped me out a lot in my life and always gives me great advice.
What would you change about yourself? Having more self-confidence; I’m getting better as my career progresses.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Watching a box set with an Indian takeaway. If it’s my weekend off work and we don’t have any plans, I can spend all day on the sofa.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Working at Pinehurst Resort during the Ohio State Intern Programme and at St Andrews Links Old Course.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Steve Coogan, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer. I love the work they do and I am sure by the end of the dinner I would have a six-pack from laughing so much - wishful thinking!
Do you have any bad habits? Chucking my dirty work clothes on the floor when I get home. My mum was a saint when my two brothers and myself were younger - but now I get nagged about it!
... or any good ones? Having a good chat with the golfers, it’s a good way of nipping issues in the bud and getting valuable feedback
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? Yes, I can worry about how much work and projects we have to complete but, if we have a good plan, it puts my mind at ease.
What are your pet peeves? Grumpy people at work. They make work life a misery!
114 I PC APRIL/MAY 2016
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My partner, we don’t get out as much as we used to with the dog and we both have our work commitments.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? I’d buy a nice smallholding in the country; farming is in my blood and would love to get back in to it.
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? The banjo, it reminds me of the blue grass music they played in North Carolina.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? “Let your clubs do the talking”, by the professional who mentored me when I first started golfing. It’s a good metaphor for life: talk is cheap, but results speak for themselves.
What’s your favourite smell? Fish and Chips; driving past the chippie on a Friday night is like torture!.
What do you do in your spare time? Trials motor-biking, golfing, beekeeping, fly-fishing.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? You always get asked if you're digging for oil when digging holes on the course.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Our Wiedenmann Terra Spike, it does a great job. But I would love to have a go with the Ecosol drill ‘n’ fill on our greens.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Ambitious, happy and hungry - for knowledge.
What talent would you like to have? I played the piano when I was younger and wish I had carried on.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Cleaning/housework being banned on weekends! I hate it on the weekend and my other half has a list of jobs we need to do!
regular overseeding programme is that we can keep our sward up-to-date with the latest seed technology. This can provide benefits such as:
- Improved drought resistance - Disease resistance - Improved green speed - Shade tolerance - Better recovery - Less thatch production - Increased competition against weed grasses Species management
The greens at Drax already contain percentages of bent and Fescue grasses (Agrostis and Festuca). However, they also contain high percentages of annual meadow- grass (Poa Annua). This grass is extremely difficult to get rid of without good management. It is susceptible to Fusarium through the winter and it prolifically produces unsightly seed heads in the spring/summer, which make the surface uneven. The reasons we want our greens to have more Fescue in them is because this species is more resistant to Fusarium and it also provides a great putting surface all year round. Fescue is a delicate species but, if provided with the right conditions, it can thrive. Unfortunately, it does not like low cutting heights, excessive nitrogen application, excessive water application or an environment that is constantly disturbed. If we want to encourage this grass, we need to change the management strategy on our greens. This year, in conjunction with the improvements to the drainage of the green, we also plan to:
- Keep the cutting heights no lower than 4mm in the summer and 6mm through the winter on the greens - to allow the Fescue to thrive
- Only apply the minimum amount of nitrogen required to sustain healthy grass on the greens
- Carry out disturbing cultural practices
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