Golf GETTING Personal...
Chris Rae - Border, Botham and Walters over for dinner - good luck with that!
Who are you? Chris Rae, Head greenkeeper at Orkney golf club.
Family status? Married to Inga with a twenty-month old son Ewan.
Who’s your hero and why? Probably my granny, the hardest working person I have known, gave all her time to helping others, she was awarded an Order of Australia medal (OAM) in 2002 for over forty years of voluntary work.
What would you change about yourself? To have a better memory, my head is like a sieve sometimes.
What’s your guilty pleasure? A nice Barossa valley shiraz with some smoky cheese and crackers on the side.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Becoming head greenkeeper at Orkney golf club. We certainly aren’t going to host any major tournaments, but it’s nice to be leaving your mark on a club.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Allan Border, Ian Botham and Doug Walters, bound to have one hell of a hangover!!
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Mitchell Johnson during the 2013/14 Ashes in Australia, one of the finest examples of fast bowling you’ll ever see.
Do you have any bad habits? Not listening
... or any good ones? Sorry, what was the question?
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? I am only human, so yes you get the odd night you worry, but luckily not many.
What are you reading at the moment? Thomas the Tank Engine to my son, every night, the same book ad nauseam!
What are your pet peeves? People turning up for work at 6:05am.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Maldives, fantastic place, friendly people.
What’s the best part of your job? Being out on the course at 6.00am in summer overlooking the northern isles of Orkney with flat calm water and the sun shining.
… and the worst? Machinery breakdowns.
32 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017
Do you have a lifetime ambition? Take a year off and travel around Australia in an old Landcruiser.
Favourite record, and why? Currently, it’s Joy Division’s Closer, just a great original sound. All time is Husker Du’s New Day Rising, a brilliant ground breaking post hardcore punk record with plenty of melody.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My wife.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Book three seats up the pointy end of the plane for a trip home to Oz to see family and friends.
If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? Maybe not an instrument, but I have been described as sounding like an AM radio with poor reception; after a few too many beers I can be really quiet, but then become rather animated and loud very quickly.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? You don’t play to lose.
What’s your favourite smell? My wife’s baking.
What do you do in your spare time? Running/family time/listening to records.
What’s the daftest work related question you have ever been asked? Once, whilst installing some herringbone drainage in the middle of a faiway, a member walked past and asked “are you planting more trees?”
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Hopefully, it’s our Weidenmann verti- drain when we get it delivered?
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Honest, dedicated, competitive.
What talent would you like to have? To play a musical instrument.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? Before becoming a member, golfers are to read a book on golfing etiquette.
and was happy to answer any questions I had. It took about three seasons to find out what really worked for us. There was a lot of trial and error, but we are slowly getting there.” Chris has three additional staff to assist him. Twenty-four
year old Ewan Coltherd has worked at the course for nine summers. Adrian Stanger (60) has been with Chris for three years. Prior to joining, he worked for forty-one years as a stonemason for Historic Scotland. And finally, there’s nineteen year old Fergus Macivor who, after working on the course for two summers, has now been taken on as a full time apprentice. He is in his first year at Elmwood doing his SVQ1, which runs for two years.” “We work by the ‘all hands on deck’ method, as we say, i.e.
all staff can use all the mowers, strimmers etc. When it comes to construction, I generally work on my own so the other boys can be maintaining the course, calling them in if I need a hand.” “Currently, only I am qualified to spray, but Fergus will be
getting his tickets this year. The apprenticeship system is great, it allows me to train him to a high standard and delegate other jobs which, in the past, only I was able to do, freeing up my time to concentrate on other work.” These ‘other jobs’ have been many and varied. “Since I
started four years ago, we have undertaken a rolling programme of bunker reconstruction. To date, we have attended to fourteen bunkers, either rebuilding or eliminating them altogether as they were more of a nuisance. We can’t afford a designer, so I design and build them myself, putting into practice the skills I learnt in Sydney whilst working in course construction. I thoroughly enjoy this method as it builds my skills and learn from my mistakes. I build them with maintenance in mind, so we are reducing time spent on them once in play. We can have a bunker built for about £1500- £2000, depending on size, doing it all in-house. We are also attending to any drainage issues that arise.” “We grew in our own turf farm last year. We own a twenty- five acre field next door which is rented out to a farmer, so we
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