PODCAST: Phil Helmn MG discusses the Festival of Speed at Goodwood

 

 

In this week's podcast Karl Hansell heads to the south coast to visit Phil Helm MG at Goodwood.

Karl spoke to Phil at the halfway house of Goodwood’s Downs Course. You’d imagine that such a place, on a gorgeous summer’s day on the South Downs, would be peaceful.

But this weekend at Goodwood is the Festival of Speed, where Ferrari, McLaren, racing drivers, celebrities and 70,000 other speed fans head to the estate for a celebration of everything on four and two wheels.

In charge of overseeing maintenance of the estate’s two golf courses, farmland, horse racing track, airport and gardens is Phil Helmn, a Master Greenkeeper originally from Morecambe who moved to Goodwood five years ago.

If you’ve ever wondered how wide and varied the sports turf industry can be, and where golf greenkeeping can take you, Phil is the man to speak to.

So apologies that every now and then a helicopter or private aircraft flies past, but that’s what happens when you’re in a millionaire’s playground!

This week, the podcast also tells you about a new partnership between BIGGA and Campey Turf Care Systems. 

This has seen BIGGA launch a brand new set of awards, available to  members and with an incredible prize up for grabs. There are three awards available.

The first is called New Media and looks at digital ways of connecting with customers to raise awareness of what you’re doing out on the course. Perhaps you host a podcast like this one, your write a monthly blog or you’ve had success on social media. We’re on the lookout for innovative digital ways of communicating with golfers and others in the industry.

The second award is titled ‘Outreach’ and we’re looking to hear about schemes where the greenkeeping team have got out into the community to build relationships. It can be a scheme with schools or a local group, with the intention of helping raise awareness of the good work that’s taking place at the golf club. For both of these awards there’s a £450 first prize, with the winners due to be announced at BTME 2020.

The final award is entitled Innovation and Thought Leadership and requires BIGGA members to submit articles for inclusion in Greenkeeper International. Articles can be about greenkeeping or any other topic relevant to life on the golf course. Each month we’ll select an article for inclusion in Greenkeeper International, with the monthly winner getting a £100 Continue to Learn education voucher. Then at BTME 2020 we’ll announce an overall winner, who will receive a £750 first prize and a money=-can’t-buy week in Florida, where you’ll visit TPC Sawgrass, the home stadium of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Daytona Beach Speedway and the Air2G2 factory. It’s an incredible prize and we’re thankful to our friends at Campey Turf Care Systems for their generosity.

The Green Room Golf Course Podcast is produced by Karl Hansell on behalf of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association.

For questions, comments or concerns, you can get in touch by emailing [email protected].

You can also join the conversation on social media using @GreenRoomBIGGAon Twitter we’ve also got a Facebook page where all the latest notices, news releases and information from BIGGA can be found. We’re also on Instagram using @BIGGA_HQ.

Subscribe and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. The more people know about the sports turf industry, the more understanding they will have about the hard work of BIGGA members and other greenkeepers.

If you’d like to get in contact about any other aspect of your BIGGA membership, including member benefits, support, or learning and development, call 01347 833800 or email [email protected]