GOLF


A prominent loopholed tower is surrounded by German bunkers


“Going into some courses that were quite run down and getting them ready for a tournament was always a buzz,” he said. “Especially going in with a local team who had never experienced it. I would go in weekly or monthly and put programmes together and work with them and train them, so that was very satisfying. At the end of the tournament, the local greenkeepers felt amazing, so that was a really nice journey to go on with them.”


“One of the most satisfying jobs was construction. You go to a site and have a look at it for a potential golf course and you’ve got this open pallet, and you work with the designers and build the course. Seeing it from day one to the end result, when golfers are going out and playing, is the most rewarding part of the job; being involved through the whole process and being part of a team who create a legacy that thousands of people will come and enjoy. When I look back today at the courses


I’ve gone full circle, from working at the highest level to being very hands-on at a course back home. I was lucky to come back and have a project like this on my doorstep


” Air2G2, a favourite machine of Rick’s 40 PC June/July 2020


I’ve worked on, it’s an amazing feeling.” Being able to experience a career of such variety abroad for so long comes at a price. The countless flights and long hours are part of the job but, eventually, the time spent away from his wife, children and grandchildren, coupled with regulation changes regarding golf course construction in China, brought Rick’s time away from home to a natural end.


As a dual citizen, he had the option to return to Australia, but ultimately the draw of home won. This decision, like the one that initially saw him leave, had an element of fortunate timing about it. There were no solid plans for work on his return to the island, just considerations of farming or consulting. However, not long after he was home, La Grande Mare came calling and, for the two years that have followed, he has strived to make it the best course in the Channel Islands. “I’ve gone full circle, from working at the


highest level to being very hands-on at a course back home. I was lucky to come back and have a project like this on my doorstep. I live six minutes away whereas before I could spend sixteen hours travelling to projects.” “I came in and started working, and then we got a new owner last year, and we’re looking at doing a lot of development work. We’ve had a good budget to go and buy new machinery for the course, and I’ve been able to do a machinery replacement programme and get the guys here trained up on the new equipment.”


“The course is twenty-five to thirty years old, and it’s quite short. It’s a beautiful site on the beach; it’s not a links but a parkland course built on marshland. It needs upgrading, like a lot of courses that get to a certain time in their life. It needs to be rejuvenated, so we’re looking into that aspect of things going forward.” “The soil type is clay and silt so, in the summer, it hardpans and it’s like rock. Even


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