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GOLF Getting


Personal Martin Venner - he’s a polite guy with a big heart


Who are you? Martin Venner, Head Greenkeeper, Stockley Park Golf Club.


Family status. Engaged to my partner Sam, and I have two children.


Who’s your hero and why? Superman.


What would you change about yourself? Worry less and switch off from work on my days off.


What’s your guilty pleasure? Guinness and blackcurrant.


What’s been the highlight of your career so far? Definitely getting the role I’m in now.


What are your pet peeves? Lateness and bullies.


If you could go anywhere right now, where would it be? Florida with the family.


What’s the best part of your job? Job satisfaction after a hard days work


… and the worst? Rainy days.


Do you have a lifetime ambition? To give my kids the best possible opportunities.


Favourite record, and why? Too many to mention.


Who would you choose to spend a romantic evening with? My partner.


If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? Go on holiday and make some plans.


If you were to describe yourself as a musical instrument, what would you be and why? Drum kit; loud and chaotic.


What’s your favourite smell? It has to be freshly cut grass.


36 PC April/May 2019


Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? My granddad, Freddie Mercury and Tom Jones.


If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be and why? David Beckham.


Do you have any bad habits? Snoring after a few beers.


... or any good ones? Courteous, and I put others before me.


Do you go to bed worrying about the next day’s workload? 100% yes.


What are you reading at the moment? Not a big reader, but always have time for Pitchcare magazine.


What’s the best advice you have ever been given? When you feel like you’re coming to the end of your rope, tie the knot and hold on.


What do you do in your spare time? Play golf and days out with the family.


What’s your favourite piece of kit? Toro ProCore 640 (but we haven’t got one).


What three words would you use to describe yourself? Hardworking, trustworthy and passionate.


What talent would you like to have? Play the drums.


What law/legislation would you like to see introduced? The introduction of a mental health first aider introduced to every work place.


Image above taken after Martin had just scaled Scafell Pike for Make-A-Wish Foundation. His second time climbing the mountain for charity.


with the help of his dad and using the skills he learned in previous job roles, to take on the task of remodelling the first hole which will reduce contracting costs greatly. “Historically, the first hole was infilled, leaving stones on the surface and limited grass cover, making it unplayable. The hole currently has a temporary tee, which is in a bad state of repair from where you play directly onto the green.” Gary adds: “Martin and I sat down and designed a hole from scratch. We took some inspiration from Berkhamsted Golf Club, using the contours of the land, grass bunkers, putting a water hazard in there and a dogleg as well. This has been our first major project here and we are now at the point where we have reshaped the fairway, turned it


over, stone buried it, carried out 200 metres of drainage work, and we now just await a contractor to come in and do a final stone bury and then overseed it. Once it’s back open for play in June/July, it will be a massive achievement for us.”


The club recently invested heavily in new machinery which arrived at the end of March. Gary explains: “We signed a five-year lease agreement with Farol Ltd for new John Deere equipment. The old machinery we had limited what Martin was able to achieve, so the new equipment will help the presentation of the course and enable us to get that much wanted definition between the rough, fairways and surrounds. It’s all about having a vision for the course and, luckily, we all


Working through last summer’s heatwave


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