Tag Archive for: greenkeeper

Greenkeeper Celebrates 40 Years

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Greenkeeper Celebrates 40 Years: A special staff function took place at the Berry Bowling Club on Sunday, to celebrate Rodney (Rod) Armstrong’s 40 years of continuous employment as a greenkeeper at Bomaderry Bowling Club and in more recent years also covering Berry.

Rod started his apprenticeship at Bomaderry in 1978 under the highly respected greenkeeper Ron Sharpe who served the club from 1966 until he retired in 1989. During Rod’s 40 years he has seen and been involved in many changes implemented at Bomaderry. Changes of particular note include the construction of the elevated green which now carries Ron Sharpe’s name, the moving of the green on the Cambewarra Road side of the club to the northern side and more recently the maintenance of the Berry greens and liaison with Nowra Golf Club.

Greenkeeper Sets Up Mental Health Support Page

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Greenkeeper Sets Up Mental Health Support Page: The head greenkeeper of Hazel Grove Golf Club in Cheshire has set up a successful Facebook page that offers mental health support to greenkeepers in the industry.

Mike Davie created the page after observing “the increase of expectations of the golfer with increased personal abuse aimed at, and stress among, the greenkeeping community”.

He added that he’s known greenkeepers who have left the industry due to this, and therefore set up the page ‘Greenkeepers mental health support group’ earlier this year.

It already has more than 250 members.

“Mental health issues are more apparent nowadays as more seek medical help,” he said.

“Yet little support is offered from many golf clubs and duty of care is apparently not seen as a necessity.

“One of the problems is that clubs are run by well-meaning volunteers, which means when they need to discipline members for acts against the club’s staff, they don’t want a confrontation with their ‘friends‘ and would rather brush the matter under the table and resolve the issue by providing a polite pat on the head of the greenkeeper. This all creates a feeling of isolation within the industry.

“Any sign of acknowledging a problem by oneself is deemed as thought of being weak, so we tend to bottle it up, causing greater problems.

“In late 2017 I attended a stress awareness seminar by BIGGA at Sale Golf Club and realised that, by the number who had attended, and the fact that many are highly respected within the industry, we had a problem with mental welfare.

“I started a local support group in south Manchester for greenkeepers who wished to attend and talk out their problems. The realisation that we are not alone made a huge difference. The feedback I got was positive so the Facebook page was started in late July.

“This group does not always need people to comment but, as I have been told, the fact there is a page that can be accessed gives strength to someone feeling down.

“A big problem with our industry is that it is a high percentage negative industry. For example, you lie in bed listening to the rain, wondering how the course is affected. Will there be breakdowns, will all the staff turn up? The first thought of seeing a committee member is ‘what’s their complaint?’ and so on.

“These sites help to promote the fact we are not alone and in fact are a strong community we just need to tap in to, build bridges and connect more.

“In the long term I hope that the governing bodies will take on the challenge of promoting, supporting and giving help to the welfare of greenkeepers.”

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Head Greenkeeper Talks Flower Meadows

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Head Greenkeeper Talks Flower Meadows: In a special column, Rob Peers, head greenkeeper at Hever Castle Golf Club talks about an exciting first year in the job:

I took up my post as head greenkeeper at Hever Castle Golf Club just over a year ago – and what a year it’s been.

One of the greatest challenges has been a tropical heatwave that seems to have lasted all summer!

For the team at the Golf Club, watering this summer took on a new and interesting dimension with the addition of nine new flower meadows.

The meadows are situated in Hever Castle’s gardens and Hever Golf Course: they cover an area of 4,500 square metres on Lake Walk (in the Castle grounds) and the golf course itself.

Each of the nine selected areas had different considerations and their own micro climate, environment and purpose. It was really important to us to select sites that would improve bio-diversity and functionality in areas which had previously been dominated by aggressive species such as bramble and nettle.

My team nicknamed the first area they developed ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’, and it was the first point of contact as we passed through the fence from the golf course into the grounds of the castle. We felt when we entered this part of the castle’s beautiful grounds that we’d escaped!

When we began prepping the ground back in March we could hardly dare dream of the kaleidoscope of rainbow colours that would burst forth beside the Lake.

The fourteen species including Calendula officinalis (Marigold), Centaurea cyanus (Cornflower), Cosmos bipinnatus, Linum grandiflorum (Flax) and Papaver rheas (Common Poppy) have delighted visitors and the team alike.

We sowed the rainbow mix beside the lake in May and the flowers should bloom until November. This is my preferred mix and includes marigold, cosmos, flax and poppy – it looks great and is a very good pollinator.

A real highlight for me this year was the rediscovery of the Anne of Cleves Bower House folly.

I’d been walking in the woodland area with our CEO Duncan Leslie who was explaining the work that was ongoing on the Loggia in the castle grounds. The water in the lake had been lowered and as we walked beside, what I believe was the original path of the River Eden, I spotted a step in the water. I broke off suddenly from our conversation and rushed to take a closer look.

The steps were part of the folly, which had previously been hidden among the under-growth.

We believe the folly dates from the time of the Astors but it looks like they used medieval brick to create it, and there are two heraldic shields for Anne of Cleves.

It was thrilling to uncover it for the first time in years and bring it back to life with a more subtle and feminine flower mix for Anne.

We planted species such as Anethum graveolens (Dill), Borago officinalis (Borage), Callistephus Chinensis (China Aster) and Lupinus nanus (Lupin) here.

The meadow areas on the golf course itself have a more sympathetic visual appearance with more native and naturalised species from a mix called ‘Flora Britannica’ which includes Achillea millefolium (Yarrow), Aquilegia vulgaris (Common columbine), Borago officinalis (Borage) and Campanula carpatica (Tussock bellflower).

It not only looks great, but it fits in beautifully with the landscape and has also proved to be another fantastic pollinator.

The creation of the meadows has been a real boost for the team – when the flowers began appearing, it’s no exaggeration to say that we’d go down and giggle like school children as we marvelled at the changing floral landscape.

Even though the meadows are still in full bloom, my thoughts are turning to next year and to possible new meadow areas.

If you like meadows, then why not have a go – if you get the right seed mix and you prepare the ground well, then the results are spectacular.

I don’t know whether the flowers in the meadows would have been higher if we’d had more rainfall, and we can only speculate at the moment why some areas have dominant yellows and others have more pinks – we will continue to monitor their progress and note down the different habitats – the amount of light in one, and the subtle differences of soil in others, and see what happens next year.

Watch this space!

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Wales’ First Female Head Greenkeeper

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Wales’ First Female Head Greenkeeper: Lucy Sellick has been appointed head greenkeeper at Wenvoe Castle Golf Club – the first time ever a Welsh golf club has a female head greenkeeper.

According to Wales Golf, Lucy is now one of only two female head greenkeepers in the whole of the UK.

Lucy began her career at Virginia Park Golf Club in Wales in 1991 – as it was built by her next door neighbour. She then moved to Celtic Manor in 2000, and had been the deputy course manager at Saltford Golf Club in Bristol since 2008.

“I’d like to thank all the clubs that invested in me to get me to the level I am now,” she said.

“I started on an apprenticeship scheme which is still available now, and then earned greenkeeping qualifications.

“I still love the job now, 27 years after I started, and come to work with a smile on my face every day. I think every greenkeeper leaves their job on a Friday and looks over their shoulder and thinks ‘I did that and it looks good’.”

Speaking of her future work at Wenvoe Castle, Lucy said: “Hopefully the course will speak for itself once this hot spell is over! I’m a golfer and will produce something I want to play on, and fingers crossed the members will be happy with it too.”

On being one of very few women working in greenkeeping, Lucy added: “I have slightly thicker skin than most people and you do have to prove yourself to people – get in that bunker next to the guy and out-shovel him!

“I’d encourage other women to pursue a career in greenkeeping. It’s too good an industry to miss out on because of people’s opinions of what we can do. Up to two years ago I never knew another female in the industry – we’re proving we can do it. Just give it a go!”

“She went from her local course in Caerphilly, to Celtic Manor ahead of the Ryder Cup, then England before returning to Wales to take the top greenkeeping role at Wenvoe Castle.

“As she looks round at her ‘office’, the rolling, tree-lined course which she is responsible, she encourages other women to get involved in the special industry of greenkeeping.”

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Final Roll For Retiring Greenkeeper

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Final Roll For Retiring Greenkeeper: Deniliquin’s Tom Maw has worked and mastered the art of ‘greenkeeping’ over the past 48 years.

When Mr Maw was 17 he applied for a greenkeeper apprenticeship at the Deniliquin Golf Club after his father noticed the ‘wanted’ position when playing a round of golf.

He applied and got the job, completing some formal studies via correspondence from Sydney over three years while at the same time keeping Deniliquin’s fairways and greens lush and manicured.

Mr Maw developed a love for the job. He spent about six years at the Golf Club before taking a position at Deniliquin Bowling Club under head greenkeeper Bruno Roberto, where he stayed for another six years before becoming the sole greenkeeper at Deniliquin RSL Bowls Club where he has remained for 36 years.

Mr Maw said a lot of people think there’s not much to the job but it’s not as easy at is seems.

‘‘You have to be prepared to do the hours and you have to overcome a lot of problems. The biggest problem I found was a lot of people get their ambitions and their capabilities mixed up, so they blame the greens because they didn’t bowl well! I’ve been pretty lucky with few complaints because our greens are pretty good, but there’s always someone not happy,’’ he said with a laugh.

Mr Maw’s final day on the job is today and he said he’s thoroughly enjoyed his time at the Deniliquin RSL Club.

‘‘It’s a very enjoyable job working at the RSL. I just do my own thing, I don’t have to clock on or off, just as long as the work’s done, that’s why it’s a good job.

‘‘I recently turned 65 and thought it was time to give it away.

‘‘I think I’ve walked around Australia once at least, because some days I think you could walk 20 kilometres easy. Every day the greens are mowed and sometimes you have to go over them at least six times to get the product you want, so there is a lot of walking involved.’’

Apart from the long hours and labour, Mr Maw said you have to have a ‘knack’ for the job.

‘‘You mow, roll it, fungicide it, fertilise it and water the grass.

‘‘If you have been doing it a while like I have, you tend to know just by looking at it what it needs.

‘‘I would be able to tell you where the dry patches will show before they even come up. You get to know the greens and build a relationship.’’

There have also been a lot of changes to the grass throughout his career.

‘‘When I first started there we has a thing called bent grass which is a grass that grows in England because they have a lot of moisture, however it doesn’t like the heat.

‘‘So over here you had to watch it every day or it would die, and if it died well that was it.

‘‘Then they changed over to a couch grass called Tifdwarf, which came in from America. The grass gives a much quicker bowl which meant the bowls had to be changed as well, but the most important thing was that we could sleep at night knowing the grass won’t die.

‘‘One tournament at the Deni Bowling Club over a long weekend in January we would go back to water the greens at 2am to 3am in the morning and then we would have to be back there to mow it at 5am; that went on for about a week. So a lot of things have changed in my time,’’ he said.

Now with more time on his hands Mr Maw said his first plans are to enjoy some sleep-ins, along with some travelling with his wife Chris and then trying to get his golf handicap down.

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