Tag Archive for: greenkeeper

The British greenkeeper building a world-class course

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The British greenkeeper building a world-class course: Jamie Faulkner’s journey from suburban London to the searing heat of Bahrain has been defined by travel and an enduring love of greenkeeping.

He first got on a mower at 16, working at Bletchingley Golf Club in Surrey. “I just liked using the machines,” he says. “It felt like a fun job at first, but once I started playing golf, I was hooked. I’ve never thought about doing anything else.”

The British greenkeeper building a world-class course

The British greenkeeper building a world-class course

That early enthusiasm has taken him across the world. From his roots in Croydon, Jamie has built a career that’s seen him work on courses in Australia, the United States, India and Saudi Arabia before settling in Bahrain as Director of Agronomy at The Royal Golf Club — the only grass course on the island.

The Royal hosted a DP World Tour event this month, so it’s a venue where expectations are high and presentation is everything. The course is also the country’s golfing flagship, setting the standard for two new developments now being planned elsewhere on the island.

“The players love coming here because it’s such a contrast to the rest of the region,” says Jamie. “Presentation and playing consistency are everything. Our goal for the DP World Tour was for the course to be the best it’s ever been.”

Huge investment

The club recently completed a £1.5 million machinery investment, replacing an ageing competitor fleet with a full suite of John Deere equipment supplied by Orient Irrigation Services.

“The guys love the machines, especially the mowers,” says Jamie. “The kit we had before was 15 years old and completely run into the ground, so these are a huge step up. Everyone’s very happy with them.”

The new fleet includes compact tractors, mowers, and two HD200 sprayers on ProGators. While the purchase was driven by the golf course, the machinery will also support the wider operation, which includes maintaining the nearby horse racing track and landscaping around 1,000 villas that neighbour the club.

“I’ve got 85 staff in the landscape business and 45 on the course,” Jamie explains. “It’s quite normal managing big teams here in the Middle East because the conditions are so demanding. The desert environment means there’s a lot of manual labour, from weeding and raking sand dunes to constant irrigation work.”

Away from home, but the weather still dominates

The heat presents relentless challenges. Temperatures can climb to 50 degrees with 90% humidity, making disease and pest prevention a year-round priority. “It’s a brutal climate,” he says. “We have to stay on top of everything, especially pythium root rot, which can take hold fast in the summer.”

Jamie’s journey to this point has been anything but ordinary. After several years working in and around London, first at Chipstead and then at The Addington, he decided to take his greenkeeping skills overseas.

His first stop was Kalgoorlie Golf Club near Perth, Australia, followed by a posting to Fiddlesticks Country Club in south-west Florida through the Ohio State University internship programme.

He spent three years in Bahrain before taking a superintendent’s role at a course in Bangalore, India, before moving to Riyadh to work for Golf Saudi. When travel restrictions hit during the pandemic, he commuted 600 kilometres between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain every two weeks to see his family.

“I’ve been away from the UK for 12 years now,” he says. “I was desperate to see the world, and I wanted to learn something new with every move. You pick up so much experience working in different climates and with different grasses. I think it makes you a better greenkeeper.”

The Royal’s 450 members are mainly ex-pat golfers, but with two new courses planned in Bahrain, there’s optimism that more international visitors will follow. For now, Jamie’s focus is on perfecting the playing surfaces and ensuring the club continues to set the standard for golf in the region.

Dealer support a major factor 

Dealer support plays a big part in that. Jamie works with Orient’s Harry Pattinson, a former outlet manager at John Deere dealer Thomas Sherriff in the UK. Despite being based an hour’s flight away, Harry provides ongoing technical and parts backup.

“We’ve agreed to do an annual expert check of the fleet,” says Harry. “We’ll spend a week going through every machine, checking for any small warranty issues and making sure Jamie’s team gets the most from the investment.”

For Jamie, keeping things simple is key. “We’ve got a huge workforce with people jumping on and off machines all day,” he says. “They need to be easy to use and reliable, which John Deere delivers. Out here, that’s what really matters.”

From his early days cutting greens in Surrey to preparing a DP World Tour venue in Bahrain, Jamie’s story is proof that passion and persistence can take you a long way. Even to the edge of the desert.

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Assistant Greenkeeper

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Edgbaston Golf Club would like to invite applications for the position of Assistant Greenkeeper starting on 1st April 2026 or before depending on availability. 

Assistant Greenkeeper

Assistant Greenkeeper

Set in magnificent surroundings, and voted in the top 150 courses in the country, Edgbaston Golf Club is a beautiful parkland golf course. It was designed by renowned architect Harry S. Colt and sits beside Edgbaston Pool, a glorious ornamental 11-acre lake with abundant birdlife. Wide, sweeping, tree-lined fairways, newly renovated bunkers, and tight, pristine greens make the course a joy to play as it winds through the magnificent grounds of Edgbaston Hall.

The role has opened due to one of the team moving to the United States to work at one of the renowned courses.

The successful candidate will possess the following attributes:
  • Self-motivated and passionate for golf course presentation and detail
  • The ability to work efficiently and effectively as part of a team
  • Shows a passion for learning and development
  • Knowledge of the game of golf
Desirable qualification are as follows but not essential:
  • NVQ Level 2 or 3
  • PA1, 2 or 6
  • CS30, 31
  • CPD Active
  • First Aid
Staff Benefits:
  • Uniform
  • Competitive Salary
  • Golf privileges
  • Continuous Professional Development paid opportunities
  • Staff Appreciation Days

Edgbaston Golf Club prides itself on been a forward thinking club with the ability to improve the course every year. The club finished its state of the art bunker restoration programme to H. Colt’s original design, working with world renowned architects and construction firms. Further projects included drainage installation, irrigation upgrades and other course improvements. With this vision the club believe they will soon achieve Top 100 status. If this is something that appeals to you, we would love to hear from you!

The role starts on 1st April 2026
Competitive Salary depending on experience and qualifications.
Please Send Cover letter and CV to: Matthew Palmer
Deputy Course Manager: assistantcm@edgbastongc.co.uk

Assistant Greenkeeper

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West Kent Golf Club – Kent

Assistant Greenkeeper

Assistant Greenkeeper

Job Title: Assistant Greenkeeper

Reports to: Course Manager

Location: West Kent Golf Club, Downe, Orpington

Qualification: NVQ Level 2 in Sports Turf (or equivalent) preferred

Salary: Attractive salary dependant on skill set and experience

Role Purpose:

To assist in the preparation, maintenance, and improvement of the golf course and practice areas to a consistently high standard, ensuring excellent playing conditions for members and guests.

Key Responsibilities:
  • Carry out all routine course maintenance including mowing, bunker raking, divoting, and general turf care
  • Operate and maintain a variety of turf machinery safely and effectively
  • Assist with course renovation work, including aeration, overseeding, and turf repairs
  • Apply fertilisers, topdressings, and wetting agents under supervision, following safe working practices
  • Set up the course for daily play, including hole changing, tee and bunker presentation
  • Help maintain practice areas, pathways, and woodland as required
  • Follow all club health and safety procedures and maintain a clean, organised work environment
Skills & Attributes:
  • Strong work ethic with attention to detail and pride in presentation standards.
  • Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
  • Flexible and reliable, with a willingness to work early mornings, weekends, and in varying weather conditions.
  • Positive attitude with a passion for golf course maintenance and improvement
To Apply: Send an email with CV and cover letter to course.manager@wkgc.co.uk

Springdale Resort’s Jeremy Boone becomes 91st Master Greenkeeper

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Springdale Resort’s Jeremy Boone becomes 91st Master Greenkeeper: Jeremy Boone, general manager and director of agronomy at Springdale Resort, has become the 91st Master Greenkeeper since the certification’s inception in 1990. 

In doing so, Jeremy is just the 37th person to possess both Master Greenkeeper and Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) classifications – two of the highest accolades available to experienced golf greenkeepers on either side of the Atlantic.

Springdale Resort's Jeremy Boone becomes 91st Master Greenkeeper

Springdale Resort’s Jeremy Boone becomes 91st Master Greenkeeper

It is an achievement Jeremy, who works in North Carolina, has been striving for since 2022 and he was overcome with emotion when Deb Burnett, learning and development manager at the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), called to deliver the news.

“It’s been quite a journey,” he said. “It’s been at least three years of trying, with some failing along the way, but each time I refused to give up.

“When Deb called, she didn’t say that I had passed or failed, she just said, ‘I called to see if you’d be available to come over here to BTME in January’. It was the best way to tell me I’d passed. I just lost it.

“People had told me it would be worth it when I got through, and I didn’t know how right they were. I told her she’d have to talk for a minute because I couldn’t.”

Jeremy’s greenkeeping journey began in 1991, when he transferred to NC State University to study turfgrass management and committed to a career in golf. Over the following decades he worked across four states, earned CGCS status – a designation he has now held for 25 years – and first became aware of the Master Greenkeeper qualification in 1996 when he noticed ‘CGCS, MG’ alongside Gary Grigg’s name.

He later stepped away from golf to run a local hardware business, helping expand it from one store to five, but was ultimately drawn back when Springdale came calling, with his family having deep roots at the North Carolina venue.

“The only reason I came back was this golf course,” he said. “My mother, father and grandmother worked here. My grandparents are buried within a few hundred yards of it. This place drew me back. Without it, there would be no Jeremy Boone MG.”

In joining that exclusive club, Jeremy has also achieved something personally meaningful.

“I’m probably the first Native American to be a Master Greenkeeper – I am an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians,” he explained. “That is the reason why I have such an affinity and a tie to the land.”

Jeremy was inundated with congratulatory messages from fellow Master Greenkeepers and colleagues across the profession – support he describes as humbling. He also paid tribute to Springdale owner Lex West for his encouragement throughout the process and said none of it would have been possible without his wife, whom he calls his greatest supporter.

Most recently, Jeremy has progressed into the general manager role at Springdale. It was not a transition he had planned to make, but the circumstances brought about by a natural disaster set him on an unexpected new path.

“I was happy being the superintendent,” he said. “I love being outside and I love being with the grass. When the hurricane hit, I volunteered to step in as interim general manager until we got through the disaster. We thought it would take a few months, maybe six.

“Then the owner told me he wanted me to take the general manager role permanently. I remember saying I’d spent the last five years trying to convince him the superintendent is the most important person on the golf course, and now I wasn’t going to be the superintendent anymore. He just said, ‘You’ll do fine’.

To qualify for the Master Greenkeeper Certificate, a candidate must have at least 10 years’ experience working as a greenkeeper including three years as a course manager, head greenkeeper or superintendent. Certification includes the completion of a rigorous assessment programme that covers all aspects of golf course management.

Master Greenkeeper is a mark of distinction and is highly respected in the golf industry, signifying the holder has achieved the highest level of professional expertise with a commitment to maintaining the highest standards of golf course management.

You can find out more about Master Greenkeeper on the BIGGA website, www.bigga.org.uk

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Head Greenkeeper

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Head Greenkeeper – Selby Golf Club
Selby Golf Club is seeking an experienced and motivated Head Greenkeeper to lead our Greenkeeping Team and support the continued development of our highly regarded championship course.
Head Greenkeeper

Head Greenkeeper

About Selby Golf Club
Selby Golf Club is a beautiful, par-71 championship course built on sand-based, well-drained land, offering excellent playability all year round. The club provides a full range of superb facilities, including a fully equipped practice area featuring TopTracer technology, an extensive putting green, and a newly developed academy course.
In recent years, the club has hosted the England Golf – English Ladies County Finals. Significant course improvements, most notably the full remodelling of all bunkers, have further enhanced the playing experience. Selby Golf Club has also been recognised as one of the Top 100 Courses for Under £70.
Key Duties:
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the knowledge and capability to deliver the following:
  • Produce maintenance and improvement plans that meet the long-term direction and needs of the club
  • Work to annual budgets aligned with the agreed maintenance and improvement programme
  • Organise, implement, and participate in planned maintenance and development work
  • Make necessary purchases of supplies and materials within the approved budget
  • Maintain a close working relationship with the General Manager, Greens Chair, and Board of Directors
  • Communicate effectively with members to build understanding of course management decisions
  • Manage, motivate, and develop the greenkeeping team, including effective delegation and monitoring
  • Manage the staff rota, including weekend working
  • Undertake basic machinery maintenance and repair, and organise servicing of course machinery and equipment, maintaining accurate records
  • Demonstrate strong knowledge of safe operating methods for equipment and tools used in course maintenance
  • Possess sound knowledge of turf diseases, weeds, pests, and control methods
  • Keep updated with advances in turf care materials, machinery, and greenkeeping techniques
  • Work at all times within Health & Safety guidelines, including COSHH, Risk Assessments, and SOPs, ensuring the safety of staff, members, visitors, and contractors
The Ideal Candidate:
  • Previous experience as a Head Greenkeeper
  • NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in Greenkeeping & Sports Turf Management
  • PA1, PA2, and PA6 spraying certificates
  • Current First Aid certification
  • Chainsaw certification
  • Full, clean driving licence
  • Strong working knowledge of golf course operations and a thorough understanding of the game of golf
  • Experience in budget management and cost control, with the ability to meet financial objectives
  • Excellent communication and organisational skills

Salary: Commensurate with experience and qualifications, following BIGGA guidelines.

How to Apply:

Please send your letter of application to the General Manager by email: manager@selbygolfclub.co.uk

Closing Date: Friday 19th December 2025