Winter Sports - Football


GR SSCUTTER But they pay our wages...


Our anonymous, and somewhat grumpy groundsman, Mr AKA Grasscutter, meets his ‘grumpy match’ at an industry seminar and open day


At a recent seminar/open day, I got into discussion over lunch with a greenkeeping colleague who was having a moan about the state of the industry.


The thrust of his complaint concerned, in the main, golfers, followed by a swipe at leatherjackets, chafers, worms and sales reps. As I listened, I couldn’t help thinking that this chap might be in the wrong job, but he had many years of experience, so maybe he had a point? I continued to listen.


His truck with golfers was simply a list of ‘nots’; they do not repair pitch marks, they do not replace divots, they will not rake bunkers, they do not read signs put up to guide them ... “they simply don’t care, it’s very frustrating” was his passing shot.


When I suggested to him that it was all part of his job, he took umbrage. “Why should it be?,” he said, “I work hard to prepare the course for them, so why won’t they listen?”


So, here’s my take on it. Is it really every golfer or just the minority? Has communication broken down between the greenkeepers and golfers? Was there any communication in the first place, or just a series of demands? Does paying ‘your’ wages give them the right to ignore the course etiquette?


I suggested to my colleague that my job is to prepare the pitches for play; pure and simple. So divots and skid marks will need repairing after a match or training session as part of my job. Okay, the rush and slide after scoring could be outlawed, I suppose, but it makes for good viewing, especially when it goes wrong, as it often does on the less pristine pitches of the lower leagues!


I went on to suggest that no groundsman would expect a player to repair a skid mark on a tennis court, or stud marks on a football pitch, or horses hoof damage on a polo rink, so why should he expect a golfer to repair in‐play damage?


By now, our discussion had attracted a few other industry colleagues, and the original complainant had a few backers, pointers and arm wavers. Expletives were being bandied about like confetti, but I stood my ground,


56 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2018 “


And how are we supposed to fix the leatherjacket and chafer damage, or casting worms, we can’t do much about that?


making the connection, again, between wages and golfers.


“But we get blamed when things aren’t right,” piped up one. My response was simple; “well put it right then; it is part of your job.”


“And how are we supposed to fix the leatherjacket and chafer damage, or casting worms, we can’t do much about that?” When I suggested that there were options out there, one person asked if I meant nematodes, because they won’t work. “Have you tried them?” I asked, to which he replied, “No, too expensive!”


By now, I had realised that this was an argument I was not going to win and, as the


afternoon sessions were about to begin, I made my ‘must get a cup of coffee’ excuse and returned to my seat.


As I was driving home, I kept thinking about some of the comments that had been made in our mini‐debate and kept coming back to their complaints being all part of their job.


A further trawl through social media later that evening made me realise that ‘ignorant golfers’ is a common topic; one I’m sure golfers and employees alike would be concerned to read about, with all sorts of consequences, no doubt!


Keep the faith, and keep cutting the grass. After all, that’s all we do!


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