30 THE ROYAL AND ANCIENT GOLF CLUB OF ST ANDREWS
A short apprenticeship
COLUMNS JOHN NEYLAN PETER MCMAUGH AM JOHN FORREST KATE TORGERSEN BEN GIBSON
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54 Contributors to Australian Turfgrass Management Journal Volume 23.4 (July-August 2021): AirSwing Media; Shane Baker (CSTM, GCSAWA); Nathan Bennett (CSTM, SAGCSA); Nathan Bradbury (CSTM, NSWGCSA); Matthew Cairns (Blacktown International Sports Park); John Flaherty (NSW Bowling Greenkeepers Association); John Forrest (Forrest and Forrest Horticultural Consultancy Services); Ben Gibson (The Toolbox Team); Shane Greenhill (VGCSA); Karl Hansell (BIGGA); Paul McLean (CSTM, GCSAQ); Peter McMaugh AM (Turfgrass Scientific Services); Craig Molloy (Oaks Cypress Lakes Resort); John Neylan (SportEng); Jason Perkins (NZGCSA); Kate Torgersen (Environmental Golf Solutions); STA Victoria; STA WA; Mark Unwin (ASTMA).
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ome articles stick in the memory bank more than others, and this was one of them. A dozen years or so ago, Australian Golf Digest (where I’ve spent all but five of the past 21 years on the editorial staff) published an article that put forward the question: Who has the most important role at a golf club? As a sidebar to the main article, we asked our editors and contributing writers for their opinion and – incredibly and completely independently of each other – all six people came back with a different response. “The general manager,” wrote one before elaborating his case. “The head professional,” opined another. Other responses covered the club captain, president and possibly even the bar manager. I’m proud to say that I was the one who voted for the course superintendent, and I stand by that choice today. Why? With no golf course there is no golf club. And, by extension, a substandard golf course leads to a substandard experience. Sure, you could quite rightly argue that each of the roles is vital (otherwise, why would they exist?) but to me, the super’s job stood out then and it still does today. I’ve long admired the dedication to the craft of our course superintendents, greenkeeping staff and all turf professionals. You literally get your hands dirty (more on that in a moment) for the betterment of our sport and make the arenas of our chosen recreational pastime a more enjoyable environment in which to spend our leisure hours. In the same breath I would also say: golf-course staff – along with course architects – rank among my favourite people in the industry to talk with. I am a lifelong golf ‘nut’ and, sure, every facet of the game intrigues me, from instruction to equipment and through to the tournament realm. Yet there’s something special about speaking with the professionals whose work directly enriches the playing experience. Through the years I’ve sat in dusty course-maintenance vehicles and been chauffeured across all manner of terrain by dedicated turf professionals who were more than happy to go beyond their normal scope of duties to explain or demonstrate an aspect of their work. I’ve picked the brains of others to get my head around grass types and listened intently to theories about the benefits of one strain over another amid the vagaries of a volatile Australian climate. In all instances, the overriding takeaway as the listener was: there’s a universal passion here. Another far less serious course superintendent-related memory comes from a long-time super who is sadly no longer working in the industry. A group of us were on the Gold Coast for an industry event and enjoyed a night out with him one of the evenings. There were five of us, and when it came time for his shout, he returned from the bar carrying five beers. That’s no easy task, unless you carry them using five fingertips from one hand. That’s right – the five beer bottles were delivered to us with our super friend’s fingers embedded into the throat of each one as we plucked them off in the same fashion a dairy farmer might remove the milking machines from the udders of his herd. Now, in their time these hands had seen some labour and quite likely an assortment of mechanical lubricants, to say nothing of chemicals. One of my colleagues in particular, a noted germophobe, went ash white when he realised how his beverage was being delivered. But ultimately the moment was a source of a few laughs and now a story that lives on to this day. Those of us gathered there that night recognised that a super’s work stays with him long after the sun sets. Which, I suppose, is my way of giving acknowledgement and saying a hearty ‘thank you’ to all of Australia’s turf professionals from someone who normally sits in a slightly different corner of the golf media. Brett Robinson unfortunately had to sit out most of this issue to take care of some important family matters, and I offered to step into the chair temporarily and help get this issue to the printers. He’ll be back from next issue, but in the meantime I’m sure he won’t mind me saying: Enjoy the read…
Steve Keipert JULY-AUGUST 2021
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