GOLF Getting Personal
Matt Shimwell - he’s positive - definitely ... maybe!
Who are you? Matt Shimwell, 36, course manager at Manchester Golf Club.
Family status? Married to Melissa. Kids Ben, 6, Isla, 4.
Who’s your hero? I haven’t got one.
What would you change about yourself? I’d be more confident.
What’s your guilty pleasure? Watching Oldham Athletic FC.
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Working at Augusta National. I hand-mowed greens and managed their greenside bunkers.
What are your pet peeves? Golfers who don’t rake bunkers.
If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? New Zealand - the South Island.
What’s the best part of your job? Early mornings. … and the worst? Digging drains.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? I’m happy as I am.
Favourite record, and why? Definitely, Maybe by Oasis.
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Move to New Zealand.
Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? Anna Kournikova.
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Pelé. Adolf Hitler. Liam Gallagher.
If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? Gareth Southgate.
Do you have any bad habits? I fall asleep in front of the TV every night.
... or any good ones? Positivity. Fairness.
Do you read (and what)? Most recently, Chris Eubank’s autobiography.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? “Go and do some greenkeeping in America”. What's your favourite smell? Indian food.
What do you do in your spare time?Watch the football. Spend time with the kids.
What is the daftest question you’ve ever been asked? While I was in America, some bloke wanted to know whether it was a bottom-mounted laser which cut the grass.
What’s your favourite bit of kit? Air2G2.
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Happy. Hard-working. Honest. [The infamous ‘three aitches’!]
What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? I wouldn’t mind a few turf care products being brought back…
quarter-inch semi-rough. Approaches are slightly tighter than the fairways, at 11mm, and the greens are at ordinary heights, anywhere from 3.5- 4mm in summer and around 5.5mm in winter. Renovations take place sometime around August, and this year will include a 12mm verti-drain, a run with the club’s own Graden machine at 10- 12mm, followed by seed, a pure sand topdressing and a fertiliser designed for recovery. The club’s current major project is rebuilding its footpaths: “Because the course is so hilly, we were getting a lot of washouts.”
“Every time it rained, you’d get red shale washing down the hills, and you’d spend a lot of man-hours shoving it back up. In spells during the winter, that could be every day, and was becoming a health and safety issue.” “We’ve invested a lot of money in footpaths, having considered many options including resin, Tarmac, concrete and plastic mesh.” “We went for the Tarmac option on the steepest paths, so there can’t be any washout. They can now use those year-round. In the lower areas, we opted for the mesh, because it feels natural, with the benefit of robustness too.”
And its ongoing project has been that tree work: “We tend to get together with the greens committee to organise a good four-to-six months’ tree management through the winter.” “Luckily, one of the members here, Gordon Yates, is an ecologist. There will be a tree walk each November, to determine what would be the best option for tree removals.” “He knows every bit of wildlife
that’s here. I will look at those trees causing shade issues to the greens, while Gordon gives his verdict on the
28 PC August/September 2018
effect that route could have on the wildlife. Finally, the council will discuss it, and we’ll implement.” Speaking to Matt as we toured the grounds, it became clear that this was perhaps the part of his wider plans with which he’d been most pleased. With the removal of hundreds of difficult trees, there are valleys on this huge course where up to five gorgeous holes are revealed from one hilltop tee.
It has allowed for that distinctive feel which is the course’s trump card. Refreshingly, the uniqueness of the course has, indeed, been maintained. Thanks to the efforts of Matt, and Mark before him, it remains not just another wooded, doglegging inland golf course, but a genuine, old-fashioned Harry Colt.
What’s in the shed? John Deere 2500E x 2
Lloyds Paladin pedestrian mowers x 3
John Deere 8800 terraincut (semi rough)
John Deere 8800A terraincut (rough)
John Deere 7700A fairway mower Air 2G2 Dakota 410 topdresser Gambetti 600 litre sprayer Kubota RTVs x 3 Kubota L5040 tractors x 2 John Deere tractor Super 3900 greens iron Amazone 600L spreader Landy drain jetter Wiedenmann Terra Spike XP John Deere Aercore 1500
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