Tag Archive for: Pays

Change of careers pays off

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Change of careers pays off: A dramatic change of careers paid off for SRUC student Ben Matthews, after his tutors unanimously named him the winner of this year’s HNC Golf Course Management Student of the Year Award, sponsored by John Deere and Scottish turf dealer Double A.

Born in London, but raised in Canada from the age of three, Ben moved to Scotland in 2014. He worked in health and social care in both Canada and Scotland for 20 years in total before realising it was time for a change.

Change of careers pays off

Change of careers pays off

“Since moving back to Scotland I had been helping children in crisis situations as an advocate, ensuring they had a voice,” Ben says. “It was amazing work and I loved it, but I started to burn out – I couldn’t switch off from worrying about the children I was working with.”

Initially Ben studied for a master’s degree in Sustainable Resource Management at the University of Edinburgh.

“If I could, I decided I wanted to turn the degree into a job where I could work outdoors while protecting the environment,” he explains.

It was a chance sighting while passing the SRUC campus one day that led to him pursuing a career in golf course management.

“I’ve always been a fan of golf and although I’ve never been any good, I do enjoy playing it,” he says.

“I was driving past the SRUC Elmwood campus one day and they had a big banner outside which read ‘have you thought about a career in greenkeeping?’.

“I ended up calling them and going to see Paul Miller, the course programme leader, and everything he told me about it ticked all the boxes.”

Ben enjoyed the variety of subjects taught on the course, even those he initially assumed would be less interesting, such as soil science.

“I thought it would be dry, but Dr Miller made it really interesting, teaching us everything we would need to know as a turf manager,” he says. “I also loved learning about design and construction.

“I’ve been to a few universities and colleges, and this was by far my best experience – the tutors are all phenomenal.”

Ben has since secured a position as a seasonal greenkeeper for the St Andrews Links Trust.

“I only live 25 minutes away so it seemed silly not to try for a position at the home of golf,” he says.

“I’m lucky enough to be working on the old course, where golf has been played for 600 years, so every day is like Christmas Day for me at the moment!”

Ben is enjoying focusing on the practical side of greenkeeping and looks forward to building up his experience and skills.

“I’ve been absolutely blown away by the greenkeeping community – everyone is so supportive and welcoming,” he says. “It’s the type of industry where if you’re having a problem, you can call someone at another golf course and they will lend you equipment or recommend a product. It’s such a tightly knit and positive community. I’m so happy to be in it.”

Ben is currently busy preparing the famous St Andrews’ course for the 150th Open this summer.

“I don’t think I could be in a better place to start my career and I’m so grateful to SRUC and so happy to have won this award,” he says. “Finding out I had won really cemented that I’d done the right thing in changing careers and that all my hard work has paid off.”

Course Tutor Ian Butcher says: “Ben has been a very positive member of the faculty throughout a period of change and transformation, and all the staff welcome his contribution to our classes whether they are online or on campus.

“Ben has, like many of our HND cohorts, decided to change career, from the Health and Social Care sector and he also previously completed an MSc Degree in Sustainable Resource Management. This provided Ben with a strong foundation for our own curriculum as we address the challenges golf faces in the 21st century.

“He has very strong team building background and has also shown strong communication skills with industry professionals, as well as adaptability to new situations. In 2021 he was awarded the R&A Greenkeeping Scholarship, which again adds to his perspective on the golf world as a whole.

“Without doubt his keenness to learn and enthusiasm for golf course management leads to the consistently high standard of submissions and capacity to explore new ideas. We look forward to supporting his new career as it continues with the St Andrews Links Trust in the Open Championship year of 2022.”

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Technology pays off for Gleneagles

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Technology pays off for Gleneagles: As Gleneagles enters the fifth year of its partnership agreement with John Deere, its adoption of the latest precision spraying and mowing technology is paying off across the estate’s world-famous championship courses, The King’s, Queen’s and PGA Centenary, plus the 9-hole Wee Course.

The award-winning luxury destination in Perthshire holds a unique position in golf as the first European venue to have hosted both The Ryder Cup (in 2014) and Solheim Cup (in 2019). John Deere was the official golf course and turf maintenance equipment supplier to Gleneagles for the latter event, with tournament support provided by local supplying dealer Double A at Cupar.

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

The next professional tournament scheduled at Gleneagles takes place in July 2022, when The King’s Course will host The Senior Open Presented by Rolex for the first time. This will be Europe’s only Senior Major Championship next year.

Gleneagles Director of Agronomy and Estates Scott Fenwick says: “We’re anticipating a great tournament next summer, particularly as The King’s Course also hosted what was then the Bells Scottish Open from 1987 to 1994. Hopefully a lot of the big-name golfers from that era will be able to play the course again, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Gleneagles.”

Scott Fenwick recently took delivery of the latest additions to Gleneagles’ extensive John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet, including the ProGator-based GPS PrecisionSprayer, WAM 1600T and 9009A TerrainCut rotary rough and finishing mowers, plus nine TS & TX Series Gator utility vehicles.

“We were the first UK golf course to receive a prototype of the GPS PrecisionSprayer for assessment, from the start of the John Deere contract,” says Scott.  “We were able to do a lot of testing with it over three seasons, to help John Deere evaluate the machine in true commercial conditions.

“Accuracy is key for everything we do at Gleneagles. We were also one of the first golf venues in the UK to achieve GEO Certified status, and the environmental credentials of our business are very important to us. To be able to spray only target areas is obviously much better from an environmental point of view. We are now able to apply around 12 to 14 per cent less chemical at lower total volumes of water, which also means lower costs, so it’s a big win all round.

“Although autonomous technology is well established in agriculture, it’s new to our side of the industry. Once you get used to not having to steer the machine and allowing it to do everything automatically, it’s very operator friendly. Testing the sprayer over an extended period meant we could be sure that it did what it was supposed to do and have full confidence in the results.”

Precision is a feature of the A model mowers that Gleneagles uses, with the machines set up using the TechControl system so that they mow and turn at exact speeds. This helps give a consistent finish across all courses.

“This is particularly important on a big site like ours, with a 50-plus strong greenkeeping and gardens team and a lot of equipment,” Scott adds. “Every operator has a slightly different approach and feel, but with so many mowers being used by different people every day, we need to achieve consistency.

“Since joining Gleneagles three years ago our Golf Courses Manager, Craig Haldane, has been instrumental in bringing the golf and gardens staff together to operate as one team across all the courses and grounds. This has meant we can manage and direct operations and the equipment fleet much more efficiently, and it has also improved communications and the use of resources.

“Overall the new John Deere fleet is now in a really good place. It’s also been great for morale that even though the hotel had to close during lockdown, the business has continued to invest in the new machinery we need to maintain the courses to the highest standards.”

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New Pitch Investment Pays Off

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New Pitch Investment Pays Off: For years the quality of the Memorial Stadium pitch was criticised by managers both home and away as it cut up badly.

Former Gas manager Darrell Clarke used to lambaste it at regular intervals.

Which makes today’s announcement that Bristol Rovers have been named Grounds Team of the Season in League One all the more significant.

At this point last season the club had already ripped up the turf at the Memorial Stadium to correct a problem with the incorrect sand laid under the grass and lay a new fibre pitch.

What the fibre does is reinforce the turf meaning it does not come up in clumps.

Clarke, who departed as manager at the Gas in December, revealed over the summer that groundsman Daryle Sullivan had even slept at the stadium during the summer to ensure the pitch developed perfectly.

Anyone who has visited to Mem this season will no doubt have noticed the vast improvement to the playing surface.

The awards recognise the importance of the quality of pitches for professional football and acknowledge the clubs and their ground staff who consistently produce the best playing surfaces in the EFL.

Bristol Rovers’ ground staff take top honours for the excellent surface at the Memorial Stadium in League One with Doncaster Rovers, Sunderland and Wycombe Wanderers highly commended.

In the Championship, Swansea City won the award for producing a perfect pitch at the Liberty Stadium this season. Aston Villa and Middlesbrough are both highly commended.

The award for Grounds Team of the Season in League Two this year goes to Swindon Town, while the ground staff of Carlisle United and MK Dons are highly commended.

The EFL’s Grounds Team of the Season Awards are determined initially using marks from referees and away managers for each Sky Bet EFL game and are then followed by detailed pitch inspections and a review of management operations.

These visits were carried out by Dr Stephen Baker, Head of Sports Surface Technology at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI).

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Enduring Pays Off

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Enduring Pays Off: A mostly sunny weekend at Champs Park, Kettering on the 12th/13th May saw the start of the Polaris British Enduro Championship, following delays after the bad weather. The track preparation went well and the venue did benefit from a good downpour after the completion of the Youth racing on the Saturday. Specifically aimed at those racers who are still too young to compete in the Short Circuit and Enduro Championships, SXS Racing introduced the Polaris Youth Championship Series in 2017.  And it was the youngsters who stole the show in a good turnout on day one with some new faces around the paddock. Racing Polaris ACE single seat ORVs, names to note for the future were Lewis Scotney and the unknown Rio Longdon, with Scotney throwing down an early marker in qualifying with clear intentions to dominate from the front and never look back. For many this was their first taste of competitive motorsport. In races one, two and three Lewis Scotney again showed his mettle and broke clean away. By Race 3 Rio Longdon in his ACE 570 battled to keep in touch at the front and the result for Round 1 of the British Youth Championship saw him take overall second to Lewis Scotney, who was also Clerks’ Driver of The Day.

The Polaris British Enduro Championship was established in 2016. It was created to meet the demand for a different kind of racing and is open to all manufacturers, with Expert and Rookie classes. These events are always fiercely competitive and Round 1 was no different. Driver Tom Fletcher charged to the front of the field in his Polaris RZR 1000 and once there he set the fastest lap of the day in the 1000 Expert Class. He took first place from Richard Avis whose fastest lap time was only one second apart from Fletcher’s, which shows how close the racing can be. In the Rookie Class picking a winner was never going to be easy and the race saw some near misses and retirements, but Mark Rushton in his RZR 1000 Turbo pumped in consistent lap times and experience helped him secure top spot on the podium. Another exciting weekend in the championships and Polaris and the race organisers, SXS Racing, extend their special thanks to Jamie Courtney from Champs Park. Next in the series is the Polaris British Short Circuit Championship.

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Volunteering Pays Off

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Volunteering Pays Off: Amazing, incredible, life changing… they are just a few of the words used by British and Irish greenkeepers since 2015 to summarise their time on the John Deere TPC Sawgrass Volunteer Programme, arranged annually in partnership with the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Ireland (GCSAI).

Held at the legendary TPC Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, THE PLAYERS Championship is considered by many to be golf’s fifth major. As such it presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for BIGGA and GCSAI members to network, learn and gain a huge amount of invaluable experience.

Volunteering Pays Off

THE PLAYERS is made possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of a course preparation force of over 90 volunteer greenkeepers from 14 different countries, who join the home team in getting and keeping the course in shape. Following the final day’s play, the greenkeepers also get the chance to attempt to hit the 17th hole’s intimidating island green.

For the first time this year, the programme has been expanded with John Deere’s support to allow a seventh member to take part, from BIGGA’s International Region. The six successful BIGGA members who have been selected to join the course preparation team at the 2018 tournament, which takes place from May 10 to 13, are:

  • Scottish Region – Paul Armour, course manager at Dunbar Golf Club, East Lothian;
  • Northern Region – Joe Barnes, deputy head greenkeeper at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lancashire;
  • Central England Region – Nicholas Thorley, greenkeeper at Little Aston Golf Club, West Midlands;
  • South West and South Wales Region – Jamie Blake, head greenkeeper at Broadway Golf Club, Worcestershire;
  • South East Region – Antony Kirwan, deputy course manager at Aldeburgh Golf Club, Suffolk;
  • International – Craig Cameron, superintendent at Golf Club St Leon-Rot, Baden-Württemberg in Germany.

They will be joined by GCSAI member Jonathan Kelly, head greenkeeper at Ballyhaunis Golf Club, Co Mayo in Ireland. This is the fourth such UK & Irish group to travel to the US with the John Deere Limited sponsored programme, which started in 2015.

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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