John Deere's £5k gift to BIGGA at Slaley Hall
Posted on Friday, 5th October 2012
John Deere kindly donated £5,000 to BIGGA at their latest Team Championship amid the spectacular surroundings of Slaley Hall in Northumberland.
Richard Johnson, John Deere Limited managing director, presented the cheque to BIGGA Chief Executive Jim Croxton.
John Deere, a BIGGA Gold Key member, works closely with BIGGA to support its educational activities. Team championship donations at previous tournaments amount to over £50,000.
The Slaley Hall final was the culmination of 24 regional finals held around the UK and Ireland that were supported by local John Deere dealers. Teams of three consisting of the Course Manager or Head Greenkeeper along with two further senior members of the club management compete in a texas scramble format to reach the final. They are then joined by a dealer representative making a team of four.
The teams battled it out and after a wet start, the skies cleared for a glorious afternoon of golf on the superb course, expertly prepared by Course Manager Steve Cram and his team.
The format proved popular and after a highly competitive day’s golf, the winners with a net score of 58 were West Lancashire Golf Club.
The team were greens chairman Nick Jones, Kevin Pickering of Turner Groundscare, first assistant greenkeeper Jamie Whittle (a late substitute for course manager John Muir) and committee member Ian Kearney. The team (with John) now have the fabulous opportunity to compete in the World Championship at Myrtle Beach, South California in November.
Second on countback with 59 were Royal North Devon Golf Club followed by Selby Golf Club.
Jim said: "We are very grateful for this generous donation from John Deere who are great supporters of our association and our membership. The funds will be utilised to improve our lending library service and to kickstart a new 'Careers in Greenkeeping' project which we hope will provide a great service to prospective and current greenkeepers.
“It was a privilege to attend the John Deere Team Championship and witness so many golf clubs competing to win the remarkable opportunity to go forward to the Myrtle Beach Grand Final. The format of the Team Championship is superb as it encourages teamwork and communication between the senior management of golf clubs, John Deere are to be congratulated on their support of the event."