GOLF
J
ason has been involved in golf from a young age; his grandfather was the caddy master at the prestigious Elm Park Golf Club in Dublin for forty-three years. “He unfortunately died of a massive heart failure on the golf course. Ironically, he was playing with three doctors, and the course backs onto a hospital, but they couldn’t save him. I was ten when he died but, whilst he was alive, I spent a lot of time with him on the golf course. His love of the game was infectious, so golf has always been in the family.” Jason has gained a lot of experience whilst working at various clubs in Ireland, England and Australia. “I’m from County Wicklow, just South of Dublin where there are lots of golf clubs and I loved to play golf as often as I could. When I was sixteen years old, it was time for me to start looking for a part-time summer job and, obviously, the natural choice was to be greenkeeper.” “My first taste of the industry was as a seasonal worker at Charlesland Golf Club. After a week or two, I went home to my mother and told her this is what I want to do - my mind was made up. The next step for me would be to attend college in England, studying sportsturf management, whilst supplementing my learning by carrying out seasonal work at various golf clubs to gain experience. After college in England, I then moved over to Sydney, Australia with my girlfriend, who I met in England and is my now wife (she’s a garden designer). It was a great experience; I worked at The Australian Club and Cromer Golf Club as an assistant greenkeeper. We lived out there for eight months, before we both got homesick and missed our families.”
“We moved back to Ireland and I was offered a position at Glen of the Downs Golf
Club, where I worked for six years. Then, the recession hit, and I was put on a three-day week. My wages reduced by twenty-five per cent and, unfortunately at the same time, my wife suffered the same fate. She’s from Saffron Walden in Essex, so we made the decision we should try to move back to England. I started to apply for jobs and one day my wife rang me out the blue and told me there was a position for a greenkeeper/ mechanic at Saffron Walden Golf Club on the BIGGA website; it was too good to be true. I applied and got the job, and we moved over straight away. After three years, I was made Deputy Course Manager; I stayed for one more year.”
“After volunteering to work at the Irish Open at Portstewart Golf Club, I came back with so much confidence that I felt it was time to take the next step. I applied for two course manager jobs - here at Yeovil Golf Club and Panel Golf Course in Harrogate. Luckily, I got the job here two years ago and I couldn’t believe it as it’s always been a dream. To be honest, it’s been a big learning curve, but I enjoy every minute of it.” The twenty-seven-hole parkland course, which covers one-hundred and eighty
This year has been bad for wormcasts and is getting
progressively worse, but it’s also been wetter. However, I don’t think we are suffering as bad as some places
PC April/May 2020 21
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