Technical


team just after Steve in 1975. “He came in as a tractor driver and moved up to become deputy head greenkeeper if he wanted it, but all the paperwork put him off so stayed where he was,” Steve says.


How does the family get on, working side by side for much of the time? “Michael and I have had just one row in all that time,” recalls Steve of his brother; “about the £20 socket set for the gang mowers that he’d left outside, back in 1981.” That’s it? “That’s it.”


So the family firm is alive and kicking. “The club committees were a bit sceptical at first as, at the time, we were half of the workforce, but they’re comfortable with it now,” Steve adds. After completing his A‐levels, Sean sought work at Harpenden Common but, with no vacancy at the time, he was apprenticed as a greenkeeper at nearby Brocket Hall for a few weeks, before a job turned up at the club and he moved here in September 2008. “The key thing for me is that I’m working


“ “


Michael and I have had just one row in all that time - about the £20 socket set for the gang mowers that he’d left outside, back in 1981


with dad and Steve and can gain from their vast experience and knowledge, allowing me to progress quickly. I knew little before I came here, but am always learning.” NVQ Level 2 and 3 in the bag, plus an HNC in golf course management and an HND in the same discipline underway via a distance learning programme with Elmwood College, Sean knows that qualifications are key to moving up.


Already a member of the influential BIGGA Young Greenkeepers Committee, he is growing rapidly in stature and influence among his peers.


“The GCM course teaches you how to focus on projects and tasks from start to finish to deliver best results,” he explains, before adding: “I’m not sure about eventually moving into an office‐based post though as I like working outside too much.” Only metres from the course ‐ he rents one of the original cottages sited next to the clubhouse ‐ the temptation is surely great never to switch off from the day job but, he


assures me: “When I close the door at the end of the day, that’s the work done for me and I can enjoy home life until tomorrow. When you are inside relaxing, you barely recognise where you are, it’s so peaceful.” Referring back to the positive relationship with the general manager, Sean adds: “Terry is keen for me to learn more about how the club is run, so I gain a greater understanding of his side of the equation.”


“But it’s mutual and Terry wants to share our knowledge of our side too. He is our middleman with the committee. If he knows how we work, he can argue our case more strongly when necessary.”


“I’m in a really fortunate position ‐ learning from Steve, with his forty‐three years experience, and from Terry, who has about forty years of business knowledge behind him.”


Those insights Sean is bringing into play in his role on the Young Greenkeepers Committee. “Our aim is to give young people in the industry a voice. I may be confident of


The key thing for me is that I’m working with dad and Steve and can gain from their vast experience and knowledge, allowing me to progress quickly


118 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018


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