Golf GETTING Personal...
Christopher Sharp ‐ it’s not unusual to keep your land drains clear!
Who are you? Who am I…? [worried look on his face]
Family status? Single.
Who’s your hero and why? My dad. He showed me how to have empathy.
What would you change about yourself? I’d be taller.
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Being chosen for Sawgrass after an interview process, and representing John Deere.
What are your pet peeves? I like things to be perfect. If we do a full rake, the lads must put the rakes back in the way I like. And cutting in straight lines.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Canada. I’ve always wanted to visit.
What’s the best part of your job? Receiving praise from the membership.
… and the worst? Receiving criticism from the membership.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? Yes. I’d like to be Director of Golf at a big resort, ideally in the US.
Favourite record, and why? ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ by Oasis ‐ reminds me of my dad.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? Mila Kunis.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Make sure my family were comfortable.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? My dad, Steve Carell and Arnold Palmer.
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Got to be somebody Welsh. Yes ‐ Tom Jones.
Do you have any bad habits? I can get hyperactive, which can annoy people.
... or any good ones? I’m tidy.
Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? Only sometimes.
What are you reading now? ‘The Intelligent Investor’.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Keep your land drains clear.
What’s your favourite smell? Red wine.
What do you do in your spare time? Play golf. Binge‐watching TV and films. Exercising.
What’s the daftest work-related question you have ever been asked? “Are you going out to defrost the greens?”
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Toro ProCore.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Passionate, determined, patient.
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? I’d enforce correct etiquette on the golf course.
30 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
switching to winter greens, and Chris’ take on this is simply: “It’s their golf course. If they want to play, we’ll let them play.” What they did have space for is a short game area, which is behind the 8th green. It’s around 70 yards, and features a small green with a bunker, as well as a grass tee. This is utilised by an impressive three teaching professionals. There is also a small putting green by the 1st tee.
The club also plans to
implement an interactive swing screen studio but, as it would be indoors, Chris said: “That is out of my hands”.
Chris is building a new practice tee right near the staff’s shed. This is to avoid dangerous crossover between those playing and those practising.
The team hand‐cut usually, and only tend to use the ride‐on during summer, and then only once or twice a week, all at 5mm in winter/3mm in summer.
Two of the team go onto the course at one time and perform greens cutting, bunker raking and move the tee markers all in one sweep by about 8.00am in the summer.
The rough is being cut at 3.25 inches (8.25cm), because the
rotary tends to scalp, and taking the length any lower than this can cause damage ‐ this is one of the main motives for the new mowers, i.e. a shorter rough length would be more forgiving and speed up play. The team cuts‐and‐collects every autumn. Semi‐rough is around 45mm for the same reason, while Chris would like it between 25‐30mm. He said it would be nice were it “a little bit tighter around the greens, to help the average handicapper.” Tees and approaches both vary from 10‐ 12mm depending on season. All this underperforming machinery is currently being replaced, and the club will have much of a new fleet. These will, as Chris had suggested, be taken on lease.
The new machinery is all to be Toro‐produced, although the exact machines are yet to be decided at time of writing (beyond knowing they need their three main mowers replaced).
John Deere and Toro came to give demonstrations, and Chris said both were impressive, but that Toro better suits
Hampstead’s style: “We’ve got a lot of undulations, some of which are pretty severe. The Toro stuff could all handle that really well.”
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