Comment
Pitch perfect at the County Ground Sussex
people who don’t understand what I do try to interfere too much that I start having to deal with the ‘hoops’. Though, personally, I prefer to bat them gently out of the way rather than try and fit my bulky frame through them. See that 32% saving above? Well, that didn’t happen because someone with no clue of how to run a grounds department was trying to put their fingers in the pie.”
Andy cites a scenario from the beginning of the cricket season just finished. “At the start of the season, we had a County Championship game against Derbyshire. The weather had been atrocious leading up to the match, and then we had nearly 50mm of rain between midnight and the start of the match. Everyone in the crowd, as well as the team and umpires, thought that there would be no chance of play but, an hour after the last drop of rain, the field was fit for play. People were telling us that we were amazing and a fans forum even voted us ‘man of the match’. The reality of it was that we did what we have always done, and nothing special at all, but the difference between this year and two years ago was that the club had allowed me to invest in resurfacing the outfield.”
“In my time at the club, I have been able to relay pretty much all of the cricket square, reshape the practice nets and rebuild the run-ups, install a superb irrigation system and redesign the outfield. At the academy ground, we have been able to install £60,000 worth of drainage, build a dedicated off-field grass net facility and various other projects. We have new sheds, our own grinding facilities and a reasonable level of staffing. I don’t have any complaints about the odd hoop!”
Andy Gray agrees: “My line manager leaves me to run the department as I see fit and doesn’t interfere or get involved, unless I ask him to. Then, moving onto the board level, they take my word on how it is. I feel I have 100% trust and confidence from everybody that is above me within the club.”
20 I PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 “
Cherington Course at Minchinhampton in full bloom
The problem is that, if a club in isolation embarks down a non- chemical route, there is likely to be a degree of reputational damage, at least for a while before things settle down. It would need a very robust
business case to be able to do this PAUL WORSTER
“The support and help we receive from all the coaches is very good too. On a daily basis we will liaise with them all to fulfil their training requirements, but all the while trying to protect the pitches to ensure they will last the full eleven months that they are needed for at the training ground.”
“I am currently very happy with the support I receive from management within the club. This not only includes my line manager and the board, but all the coaches from all of our teams that we house on site at the training ground.”
Adam appears to be generally satisfied with his lot, too. “Like most things, making a strong business plan for all that we do helps the management understand the need for investment in all areas of the department. Of course, there are times when they don’t, which can be frustrating, but generally we are well supported from above.”
Back to golf, and Paul says that he is fully
supported by the board as long as the case is made properly. “I have learnt to base my case not simply on cost-savings going forward (as these are often difficult to prove) but more on the benefits of upgrading a machine and, importantly, the risks run in not upgrading.”
Do you have any views on the prospect of a chemical-free amenity sector?
Paul recently asked a very similar question at a Dutch Golf Club Owners Conference. (Holland have a ‘Green Deal’ with their Government where they are currently allowed to continue to use pesticides, but they must be phased out by 2020). “I asked whether the delegates thought it would be more difficult to sell golf club memberships when there were no pesticides available, or perhaps whether such a circumstance might actually make it easier to sell golf to the public. The initial quick response was that it would be far more difficult - but then the conference really started to think about attracting families to golf.”
“We should all think about how we could use such an eventuality to our advantage. There is huge and undeniable public concern about the safety of chemical products in agriculture, horticulture, the amenity sector, even in our own homes, and I can’t see this changing anytime soon.”
“The problem at the moment is that, if a club in isolation embarks down a non-chemical route, there is likely to be a degree of reputational damage, at least for a while before things settle out. It would need a very robust business case to be able to do this. I do manage a chemical-free golf course and, take it from me, this is not particularly easy. Whilst many members like and understand it, there are an equal number of people who do not and there is no question this costs us memberships. The trick is to integrate ethics and price with objectives.”
Andy Mackay offers, perhaps, a surprising opinion. “I don’t think that this is likely,
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