KEYNOTE


Over the last few months, I’ve been thinking more about publicising things that we have tried that maybe


haven’t gone so well, which provides an opportunity for others to learn from us


really good number two on the golf side, so he was promoted and I could concentrate on the Ryder Cup and Montgomerie construction.


Can you pinpoint the highlight of your career?


There’s actually been a few. The first Head Greenkeeper position I got at Renfrew was certainly a pivotal point for me. Leaving home and going to Wentworth was another. And obviously coming here … meeting the owner of Celtic Manor for the first time, Terry Matthews, was a huge turning point. I had never met Terry before but, after half an hour in his company, if he had asked me to punch a hole in the wall, I would have replied ‘do you want me to use my left or right hand’. He is so inspirational, and he’s still involved to this day.


People always ask if the Ryder Cup was the highlight. It wasn’t a particularly enjoyable week due to the pressures, and I think if you ask many greenkeepers who have been involved in tournament golf, they will all agree that they don’t define your


career. You learn so much during events such as the Open and Ryder Cup, but you will never be able to put those skills into practice again - unless you’re fortunate enough to go to another tournament venue, but then it might not be the same anyway. I learnt so much and would do things a lot differently, if I ever got the chance again!


How has the industry changed since you joined?


The biggest thing is education. When I first joined the industry, opportunities were limited. It’s with thanks to people like Cecil George (who recently passed) and a few others, that the education side was slowly ramping up. Certainly, over the last few years, there has been a lot of good education programmes at BTME and publications like Pitchcare all help to share information and educate.


The other major change is machinery. When I first started, we would drag mowers along banks and ditches without much in the way of health and safety provisions, and we certainly didn’t have help from


hydraulics like the machines of today. I think the job is much easier now with the help of technology. I actually have a couple of guys who complain with recurring back problems after sitting on machines for too long and, when they do something physical, they’re not used to it. In my day, you were on the go all the time.


Another important change is the professionalism. When I first came into the industry, the PGA had done a great job in persuading clubs that the guy who sold the Mars bars, took the greens fees and held the odd lesson was a professional, and we greenkeepers weren’t held in any regard. I think we are now viewed very differently. The biggest, most recent change though is the non-certification of certain chemicals and how this effects maintenance and disease control. It’s going to become harder over the next couple of years without moss killer, insecticides and worm control. There are new fungicides being released, and we wait with bated breath to see what they are, but the learning process will be a long one. I think it will be very different for people


PC June/July 2019


49


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