GOLF
As a lover of the Irish people, their way of life and Guinness from
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previous trips, there was no decision to be made. I packed up my car and drove my life from Ostend to Dublin
German occupation during the second world war and moved to its present sixty hectare location in 1969.
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In this question and answer session, new Course Manager Richard Wing talks about his varied career to date and how he came to be working at this bracing North Sea links venue.
Pitchcare: How did you get into the industry?
Richard Wing: I have to blame my mum for getting me into the industry. She was the Office Manager at Abbeydale Golf Club, Sheffield (where it all began). I started with a summer job before and after my university study to become an engineer. After the second summer, I called an end to my engineering path and followed my new passion, turf. I was extremely lucky to have stumbled across such a wonderful industry and to find my ‘calling’ at a young age, knowing that many people go through life never finding their true passion.
What training and education did you undertake?
I completed a 3-year full-time BSc in Sportsturf Science & Management at Myerscough College, in combination with other industry training and qualifications. During my study, I was selected to become part of the R&A Scholarship programme, something that offers great benefits to help financially, but since has offered constant education and experience opportunities. I urge all student greenkeepers to pursue the scholarship and appreciate what it stands for in the industry.
Mind you, my career has been one constant training programme that has landed me in my current role. I am grateful
24 PC December/January 2021
ounded in 1913, Noordwijkse Golf Club in the town of the same name in Holland, lies on the coast a few miles west of Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport. It suffered from
to the excellent mentors that I have worked under and with, Warwick Manning, Dave Edmondson, Gordon Irvine and Richard Windows to name a few of the important ones.
Was there one person who inspired you?
In the initial stages of my career, it was more the freedom of a job working outside within sport and the opportunities to travel that inspired me to pursue turf management. However, this changed when I had the pleasure of working with Gordon Irvine. His passion for traditional greenkeeping and managing surfaces to promote the finer grasses completely changed my outlook on turf management, from then on this has been a driving factor in my career. Although I have not had the opportunity to work with Gordon since, we still remain good friends and I have volunteered to work out at Askernish Golf Club, one of his major projects (worth reading about).
Where did you work prior to your current position at Noordwijkse?
I worked at Abbeydale Golf Club, Sheffield during holidays and any breaks in my study. It was a great experience for a young greenkeeper working within a highly skilled and experienced team that were all willing to share their knowledge in all elements of course maintenance. I decided to work for one club, over short-term placements at elite clubs. I felt I would learn a lot more in a smaller team where I couldn’t hide. There were not only opportunities but a requirement for me to perform a wide variety of tasks and learn quickly. After my degree, I looked into the Ohio
State programme and other opportunities, eventually deciding on a student summer job in Belgium at Royal Ostend Golf Club; a great experience and my first working with a team of different languages and skill levels. Within a matter of weeks at the club, I was offered the role as Deputy Head
Greenkeeper, an opportunity I’m not sure would have happened so fast if I hadn’t made the move abroad.
October 21st (my birthday) I was offered two jobs inside four hours, the Head Greenkeeper role in Ostend or to become Assistant Links Superintendent at The Island Golf Club, Dublin. As a lover of the Irish people, their way of life and Guinness from previous trips, there was no decision to be made. I packed up my car and drove my life from Ostend to Dublin. It turned into a great move for my personal life and also placed me working with Dave Edmondson, who has been a great tutor to my development. In 2016, I was offered a role as an agronomic consultant for STRI, a role that, for years, had been my dream job and the inspiration to my career and education choices. It was an unbelievable experience, working at world renowned venues with some of the leading faces of the agronomy and greenkeeping world… the dream job, it appeared.
But, as I progressed into the role, the reality soon hit, many hours sat behind a steering wheel, many nights away in hotels and many days sat at a laptop in motorway service stations furiously typing up reports. The job that I had held on a pedestal for years was not how I pictured it. It started to badly affect my mental well-being and have a large impact on my life. Eighteen months ago, I took the decision to end my time with STRI and take a break from the industry completely.
Earlier this year I returned, so to speak, with a short stint at Leicester City Football Club, helping with the initial business plans and setup for their new Sports Turf Academy, a project that will have a tremendous positive impact on the industry. Then Noordwijkse came up, almost twelve months after the initial application process started (due to Covid-19). I thought to myself how often will the chance to manage an elite
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