Maintaining a golf course alone

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Maintaining a golf course alone: Meet the head greenkeeper who took on lockdown single-handedly and was overcome by the community at his club.

Ian Pemberton always joked his course at Cleveland Golf Club would be brilliant if golfers weren’t on it. Then they were gone – for nearly two months.

He was alone, his entire staff furloughed, with a sweeping 18-hole links to manage as coronavirus shut the country as well as the club.

‘Pembo’, as everyone at the club knows him, is part of the furniture. He’s been in the trade for nearly four decades and head greenkeeper at the Redcar course for just over 13 years.

You could say he’s seen a lot. But he’s never experienced anything like the pandemic that gripped the town.

“It was horrible,” he said. “It was a testing time. It was a character building time and it was a learning curve.”

When a pipe burst, he had to be on it. Whether it was tees, fairways or greens, he was the only one on a mower.

Pemberton’s never regarded greenkeeping as anything other than a vocation – “it’s not a 9 to 5 job” – but he knew the only way to get through what essential maintenance actually meant was with detailed planning.

Well, that and an April drought.

“I put together an Excel sheet and programmed timings for when something desperately needed cutting. The greens were every three days and the fairways didn’t take much because it was that dry.

“(Without that) I don’t think I would have coped. I would have had to get the lads back in.”

When he needed it most, in those moments when everything threatened to get overwhelming, there was assistance from volunteers who gave him more of a fillip than they could have known.

“They were tremendous. They need a huge ovation from the rest of the membership. They were limited in what they could do, because they couldn’t jump on machines.

“They were divoting and getting to areas I couldn’t. There were always offers of help and that’s what I needed at that time.”

And even though he’s coming through a torrid experience, as we all have in our own ways, Pemberton has found positives among the hardship.

He’s always had a love-in with the members – anyone who’s ever had a round at the course is bewitched by his infectious enthusiasm and easy way of going about his work.

But even he admitted to getting a little emotional when golfers returned to the course and showered him with praise for its condition.

“It was wonderful. I’d be in the shed and three or four members came in with crates of lager. One brought me some Corona. How good is that? There’s a little bit of Corona for you.

“I love it here. The course is my back garden. It’s just that my back garden got bigger overnight for six or seven weeks.”

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Greenkeeper airlifted to hospital

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Greenkeeper airlifted to hospital: The course manager of Pitlochry Golf Club is expected to make a full a recovery after being involved in a terrifying accident on the Perthshire course yesterday.

Stuart Griffiths, 44, was taken by air ambulance to Ninewells Hospital where his injuries are said to be serious but not life-threatening.

According to reports, he was trapped under a tractor after getting into difficulties on an embankment.

The Courier reported that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service dispatched six appliances to the scene shortly after 8am on Thursday morning, with winch lines, cutting gear and a rescue board, while the Scottish Ambulance Service attended with a trauma team and special operations team, as well as the air ambulance.

Fortunately, a tweet from the club’s official Twitter account this morning confirmed that he is recovering well.

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Junior football pitch set on fire

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Junior football pitch set on fire: Vandals who lit a bonfire on a junior football pitch in Barrow have been slammed by a member of the club.

Football coach Paul Speirs said Barrow Wanderers Juniors are now thinking about having to fence off the field to stop people from wrecking the turf.

Mr Speirs, coach and groundsman at the club, noticed the bonfire scorch marks on the pitch recently and he has appealed to the public not to disrespect the fields, which they have left open to be enjoyed by everyone.

He said the damage was ‘just about on the corner flag’ area of the pitch.

“For this season (the pitch) is probably was not needed as I imagine we have until January before we are playing again,” he said.

“We will need to dig it out and reseed it before then though.

“It is vandalism pure and simple. Everyone knows it is a football pitch.

“We have had to take the goalposts down because of vandalism as well. It is a shame as we do leave it open for young people to use. This is the first bonfire I have had to deal with and this pitch has been going for three or four years now.

“I asked people to use it and enjoy the pitch, don’t disrespect it. The same goes for dog walkers, make sure you clean up your dog mess. It is private property at the end of the day and we do not want to have to fence it off because of this behaviour.

“We have one elderly gentlemen that practises his (golf) chip shots on there. He asked if it was okay for him to do it and he keeps it tidy. If I didn’t see him I would not have known he had been.”

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Greenkeeping course set to continue

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Greenkeeping course set to continue: The Singapore-based Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) have said in a statement they will continue their Certificate in Greenkeeping (CIG). The development comes after the educational programme was abruptly halted by the coronavirus outbreak.

The certification programme is being run in partnership with the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute (NZSTI) and the backing from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) in Scotland

The Certificate in Greenkeeping aims to improve the knowledge of greenkeeping staff and providing an educational framework for the golf greenkeeping industry in the region, the AGIF said.

“This will enable green-keepers across Asia to develop their careers and gain certification.

“The programme focuses on the core knowledge and skills required to operate safely and efficiently as a greenkeeper and in a way that protects the turf, prevent damage to the reputation of the course and improves productivity.”

The CIG is a 12-month programme with five modules and to date has attracted participants from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, with 18 completing the programme.

The AGIF said there are 31 participants enrolled in the course stalled by Covid-19 and that a further 30 were awaiting to sign up.

AGIF president Richard Walne, who pledged to recommence the programme at the earliest opportunity, said: “The success of the first intakes and the interest from new (prospective) students has driven us to find ways of continuing.

“Of course, the safety of all involved is our number one concern. That’s why we’re unable to proceed with the planned programme delivery in June.

“The confirmation courses have been delayed until November, when we hope to be able to continue as planned. We will, however, build a contingency that if we cannot travel internationally in November, we will have in place a hybrid learning system.”

Walne said the modified system may include having local mentors delivering the written and practical elements of the confirmation courses. That would be complemented by video links to overseas instructors, who would be able to moderate and oversee proceedings.

“This approach will ensure that students who are part way through their modules will be able to complete their programmes,” added Walne.

Walne said students in Malaysia and Thailand, who are part way through their courses, will be given extra time to complete their tasks with their mentors and the support of the NZSTI.

“We need to do this to make up for the time students spent under lockdown, when they were unable to complete practical tasks on the golf course.

“The AGIF and NZSTI are continuing to develop and refine modules and develop a back-up plan for delivery, which will allow us to continue to provide accredited education for Asian golf courses, including on-course practical work, classroom and remote learning.

“A special ‘thank you’ to our mentors who have been a key factor in the success of the CIG. Once we are back to normal life, it is the intention of the AGIF to expand the programme to other countries,” he added.

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Pitch perfect at Holwell Sports

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Pitch perfect at Holwell Sports: Carel Fourie has been named the United Counties League Groundsman of the Year after the Welby Road turf impressed judges.

“It’s a great honour. As a Division One side, winning the award which also includes the Premier Division is a great honour,” said Sports chairman Graham Lewin.

“We’re very proud of our pitch – our whole ground – and the work Carel does is exceptional.

“When opposition teams come to us their first thought is always ‘wow, what a pitch’.”

Mr Fourie – who is aided by Ed Pearson, Bill Harding and Graham Parker – was delighted with the accolade.

“I felt very happy, it was a very proud feeling” he said.

“It’s always nice when the club gets praise for the surface. We work hard to keep the pitch looking nice all the time and if you put in the hard work it pays off and you get your rewards.”

Mr Fourie – a groundskeeper of 14 years – has been with the club for three years and previously worked at Stapleford Park Golf Club.

He describes his job as a ‘passion’ and has been lovingly tending the pitch and the adjacent training area during lockdown.

“We’d be ready to go tomorrow,” he added.

“It wouldn’t be perfect, but we could play football on there now.”

Mr Lewin added: “On the Saturdays we aren’t at home, our academy sides can play on the main pitch.

“As you can imagine, they love it. It’s like playing at Wembley for them.”

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