'Becoming a greenkeeper was the best decision I made'

This article was featured in the Autumn 2018 edition of Your Course magazine

We spoke to two turf professionals about how they got into the industry and how they’ve kept developing.

“I was at university, dropped out and was going through life not really knowing what to do and moving from job to job,” said Nick Machin, who was 29 when he saw an advert for an apprentice greenkeeper at Royal Cinque Ports.

He had no experience, aside from having undertaken a turn as a caddie in his youth. He was handed a seasonal job at the prestigious Deal course and it was the vital foot in the door he needed.

It was small steps and at first he raked bunkers every day. Gradually he found his way onto machinery, mowing a green here or a tee there.

After six months, he'd done enough to be taken on full time. After a year, it was time to go back to school.

“I was put forward for qualifications, and I completed my NVQ Level 2 in Golf Greenkeeping a few months ago,” he said. “In the environment I am in, you are always exposed to things that are absolutely mind blowing. Greenkeeping is so much more scientific than I ever imagined it would be. I have learnt a lot of things I never thought I would, such as the chemistry that goes into the soil.”

Nick was nominated for the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award, which he won in September 2017. Part of his prize was a placement on the prestigious winter turf school at the University of Massachusetts.

“I went to America to study for six weeks,” explained Nick. “I studied a whole array of things, pathology, entomology, soil science, weed science, fertility and irrigation. You never stop learning.”

Gemma St John, meanwhile, has been around Brokenhurst Manor most of her life. Her dad is a member at the Hampshire club and she'd been gardening since she was a child.

“I played golf and I went up to the club, met the course manager at the time, and that was it,” she said. “I loved it.”

For five years, Gemma immersed herself in the life of a greenkeeper and undertook as much training as possible. Then, in 2005 she took a break to start a family, returning to the profession three years ago.

In her time in the job, she's done everything from chainsaw and spraying courses to industrial first aid, now working through her NVQ Level 3 in amenity horticulture while trying to juggle the demands of childcare.

She likened the course and practical work to a degree: “I'm doing the online version, but it takes up a lot of my time. Most time is spent at home, trying to do it while trying to run a family. There's quite a lot of pressure.

“There is a lot involved in greenkeeping and more than you might actually think. As an apprentice, you're doing the basics, from raking bunkers to cleaning out ditches. And then you get a little bit more confident, the cost manager sees that and you go through different stages and start using the machinery.

“You have to get signed off on a certain machine before you can move to the next one. It's a learning process and it takes time to get the confidence to do that.

“Take the chainsaw course that I did, it was held over a week and you start right at the beginning. At the end of the week, you sit an exam in front of people and cut and make sure you are doing it the right way and wearing the right protective clothing.

“The spraying course is the hardest of them all. You do a whole week's training and then you go away to your workplace and practice for a while. You have a theory test, and then an exam on the knapsack sprayer, and then an exam on the tractor mounted sprayer.

“There's a lot of maths that come into that, which is not my strong point. I had to do some maths with the college work so I could learn to do calibrations.”

What do these two stories tell us? It's that if you thought all your greenkeeper did was cut grass, it is time to think again. Nick thinks that that attitude in clubs is changing quickly, with members starting to get more and more curious about what it is the greens team are doing out on their course and how they got into the job. Both he and Gemma believe that communication is becoming an ever-increasing part of the role, giving them the chance to remove some of the mystique that surrounds the profession and some of the barriers that have traditionally existed between greenkeepers and members.

“I'm a member at Brokenhurst and play with the ladies section quite a lot,” sa Gemma. “It's interesting to hear the responses when you discuss something as simple as striping up a fairway. They thought it was just a pretty pattern. You say that there is actually a reason why we cut in different directions. It's something so simple to me, but they didn't understand it.

“It's quite nice to talk to them. They didn't realise we can do qualifications. They just thought grass grew and we cut it.”

Nick added: ”More and more are interested in what you are doing and how you achieve the results. I've only done the level NVQ Level 2, so for me to keep furthering my career and step up the ladder, I will look to take my Level 3 soon.

“You can constantly keep learning all the way to Master's degree level. That's what I love about the industry. There is always an opportunity to further your knowledge and progress yourself if you want it. I think golfers appreciate those who put the effort in. I will always keep trying to educate myself as much as I can. The more I can learn about the job, the better I can do it.”

Add in the early starts – Gemma routinely begins work at 4:30am – and the vagaries of the weather and you've got a job that's constantly challenging and demanding, but you won't hear her or any of the greenkeepers complaining about the pressures of learning.

She ended: “What it does give me is the best job in the world. It is worth every minute of those times, scratching my head, not knowing what I'm doing. It's great.”