BIGGA Conference - Northern

Gareth is managing editor of Sporting Life, a sports content website of over 1 million weekly views. He was also sports editor at BBC Radio Leeds.

John Kemp has worked in the golf industry for 18 years and holds a BA in Golf Management, a Professional Diploma for the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, CMDip from Club Managers Association of Europe and is an R&A Greenkeeping Scholar.

As Project Manager - Golf Course 2030 at The R&A he is responsible for leading the industry to develop practical solutions to the key sustainability priorities for golf courses globally.

Dr Marie Athorn represents the partnership between the RSPB and The R&A. The partnership encourages and facilitates habitat creation and management for nature on golf courses.

Contact Sami

With over 30 years experience in the greenkeeping industry working for BIGGA, Sami's role focuses on expanding educational and development opportunities for members. In 2022 she was appointed chief operating officer of the association.

Darren is Golf Course Manager at Bromborough Golf Club, following a 26 year stint at Abergele Golf Club. He is a 3^rd Generation Greenkeeper, an R&A Scholar and is BIGGA’s 46^th Master Greenkeeper; holds a BSc Hons in Sportsturf Science and an MA Masters in Sustainable Golf Course Management. He has been a BIGGA member for 30 years and is a recipient of the Golf Environment Awards Environmental Project of the year and the BIGGA Greenkeeping Project of the year 2020.

 

Craig is known as an innovative thinker who enjoys sharing his passion for turf and people. He has lead a variety of teams across the globe and is currently responsible for the agronomy team at The Gleneagles Hotel and Country Estate. He is a respected mentor who to this day puts his hand up when he needs help!

Mark has worked in the amenity market since 1989 and for 31 years he focussed on research & development in turfgrass plant nutrition and disease management. He specialised in non-pesticidal Microdochium management with Headland Amenity, leading to the development of the 20-20-30 tankmix, Mantle and PPT114. He also worked on disease prediction using Davis weather stations to provide validatory data for the model I developed. In February 2022 he joined Prodata weather systems working on sales, specification and software development for the popular Davis Vantage Pro weather stations.