GOLF Getting Personal
Andy Whyman - he’s scared of snakes, but will never give up!
Who are you? Andy Whyman - Course Manager at Chester Golf Club.
Family status. Married with two children; Lucas and Eva plus Rex, the labrador puppy.
Who’s your hero and why? Lucas Radebe (The Chief) - a Leeds United legend. I loved watching him play and he also turned down Man United!!
What’s been the highlight of your grounds career so far? Becoming a course manager.
If your younger self saw you now, what would he think? I proved those school teachers wrong.
Which famous people wind you up? Frank Lampard (enough said).
What job would you love, other than your own? Professional footballer.
What was the most embarrassing moment in your life? I couldn’t possibly tell you that.
What is your favourite fi lm? Home Alone. I love watching it with my family at Christmas.
What scares you? Snakes.
What would your autobiography be called… and who would play you in the fi lm? Life Is One Fun Ride ... Enjoy It! Adam Sandler would be cool to play me.
What is your favourite sport? Football.
What would you cast into Room 101? Hayfever.
Which historical time and place would you most like to visit? The old Wembley for the 1972 FA Cup fi nal ... just to see that Leeds team play once.
Do you have a lifetime ambition? Nothing currently springs to mind - just to be the best I can be.
What’s your favourite smell? Abercrombie cologne or Creed.
40 PC April/May 2021
Which three people, living or dead, would you invite to a dinner party? Lucas Radebe, Norman Hunter and Sir Bobby Robson.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given? Never give up.
What’s your favourite piece of trivia? Which famous US superstar once said: ‘I’ve never lost a game, I just ran out of time?’ Michael Jordan.
What’s your favourite piece of kit? Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXI8.
Which three albums would you take to a desert island? Too many to choose from. Spotify would be the answer.
What’s the daftest work-related question you have ever been asked? There have been some cracking ones throughout the years and it’s a diffi cult one to pick a winner!
What three words would you use to describe yourself? Outgoing, funny and observant.
What is the single most useful thing you could tell a 16-year- old greenkeeper? Always ask questions - however daft you may think they are. Don’t be scared to go out of your comfort zone to achieve your ambitions, gain as many qualifi cations and experience as you can possibly grab. The world is your oyster, if you want it to be!
What talent would you like to have? To be able to produce magic. Some of these magicians are something else.
Improvements have been made to drainage during lockdown
new valves, but there is no point in putting new valves into a forty-year-old pipe system. It is fully functional, but I feel it’s just a matter of keeping it ticking over at the moment. We have a contract with Greenacres Irrigation Ltd who undertake any repairs, but there is no doubt that we will have to look at a new irrigation system in the future, however, other projects currently take priority.” The original greens are predominantly the old push-up style, however, over the years, six of them have been reconstructed and are now sand based, giving a nice variant to work with. “In winter, we cut at 5 ½mm and,
in summer, we go down to 4mm. Reduced staffi ng levels this year mean we have been cutting with the Toro Greensmaster TriFlex 3420, as I cannot aff ord for two people to be hand-cutting when we have such a large site. We cut every day in summer, but we won’t always do a clean-up cut; it depends on growth and the weather. For example, if we are rolling straight behind, we might just roll the perimeters to give the greens a break. We have one green that is long and narrow and, because the Toro machines are not off set, it ends up leaving triple rings, so we obviously try to avoid that as much as possible.”
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