Meet the 2023 winners of the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards
Cheshire's Carden Park played host to a glittering ceremony as Ormskirk and Farleigh greenkeepers earn prestigious student awards.
Two talented greenkeepers took home prestigious prizes at the 34th Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards.
Michael Russell, assistant greenkeeper at Ormskirk Golf Club in West Lancashire, claimed the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award, while Daniel Martin, first assistant greenkeeper at Farleigh Golf Club in Surrey, secured the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award.
BIGGA, Toro and Reesink UK partnered to present the awards at a glittering ceremony following a day of judging in the historic surroundings of Cheshire's Carden Park.
With finalists representing eight education providers from across the UK, the awards also provide the finalists with the opportunity to build upon their knowledge by expanding their professional network.
The nomination period for the 2024 Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards will begin at the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition in January 2024.
Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year: Michael Russell
Michael Russell swapped the Home Office for the golf course in 2019 and has enjoyed a tremendous start to his new career.The former civil servant, now at Ormskirk Golf Club, took home the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award.
Michael is the first finalist to ever score full marks in the multiple-choice stage of the examination.
What's your reaction to winning the award?
It was a little bit of a shock, but I know how much preparation I'd done coming into the finals. I think you can always underestimate yourself, seeing those around you and how much experience they have and their passion for the industry. I was absolutely delighted to win and I know in terms of the rewards that are available as part of the event and just networking has been a brilliant opportunity.
How did your family react to you winning?
As soon as it got announced, I messaged my wife to tell her I'd won it. She's seen firsthand the amount of time that I've put into this preparation over the last couple of months and she was delighted for me.
After that, I messaged my mum and dad, and my mum was nearly in tears. I probably bore them to death with talking about greenkeeping when I go and see them, but they know exactly why I've gone through this career change, even if they didn't necessarily four years ago.
What did you learn from being a finalist in 2021?
I was only two years into greenkeeping at that point, so there was always going to be gaps in my knowledge. Since then, I've moved on to a different golf club to get a different perspective on golf courses and working with different people.
I also had an inkling of what to expect from the event itself, for example grass and seed identification, which I was able to prepare for. I've put myself forward for different initiatives and just tried to gain that little bit of confidence with different things that I've done. The knowledge has come in the last couple of years through working with different people, working on different golf courses.
Why did you decide to change careers?
I was in a career in which I was progressing well, but it was whether I wanted to do that for the next 35 or 40 years. It gave me great opportunities, but I needed to think about what I wanted to do with my life.
Fortunately, I know someone in the industry who was a course manager at the time and they took a shot on me for a couple of morning shifts – four weeks later, I handed my notice in at the Home Office and started there. I haven't looked back since.
What is appealing about greenkeeping?
One of the things I said in the interview was that I had worked at Royal St David's for the Welsh Women's Open, and I was only three months into greenkeeping then. When you've got Harlech Castle to the right of you and you've got Snowdon in the background and you're hand-cutting greens, it was obviously a massive change.
I think from a mental health perspective, outdoor working and being outside in general can be a huge uplift in your mood. I think it's vitally important that, even if you do work in an office, you spend as much time outside as possible.
How has your course manager at Ormskirk supported you?
I know that I probably frustrate him a little bit when I'm saying, 'I've got this going on and I've got this coming up,' because he's got to have a balance of managing a golf course, especially over the summertime when it's busy. But I've had that support from him and especially the deputy over there. My team have been quite interested in what I'm doing and so has my tutor.
Different people within the industry have been supportive as well, like my mentor from FTMI this year, and that network has been really useful. They all understand it'll be a really busy year ahead, but they also know what I'll bring back to the golf course and how much I want to progress.
How is BIGGA helping you progress?
I went for my ICL scholarship and having that on my CV and to be able to say that was an initiative I'd gone through has helped. I've attended BTME each year and to be involved in that education and making sure you're keeping up to date with the industry and improving your knowledge where possible, that obviously goes a long way.
Most recently I've gone on to do the Future Turf Managers Initiative, which has been a fantastic opportunity. It's given me experience with things like public speaking, going to committees, and aspects you don't necessarily look at until you get into that position of course manager, like budgeting. Being able to go through that stuff at an earlier stage is vitally important.
What's next for you?
Winning the award comes with lots of things, but going to the University of Massachusetts and doing winter turf school is a really exciting prospect. Going to America, seeing the Toro headquarters and furthering my learning and development – that's probably the next year for me.
Looking beyond that, I want to progress my career and it's about balancing that with family life as well. Having a young one and another little one on the way, it's obviously difficult, so it's about moving forward in my career in the way I want to, but also thinking about family life as well.
I know that I'll get there and I'll keep putting everything into the industry that I have done so far.
Will your daughter be a greenkeeper?
I think it's certainly an industry you can get a lot out of. With the First Green initiative and the focus on STEM education, there's a willingness to utilise golf courses and show kids the career opportunities on offer.
I know she'll choose her own path, whether that be coming into greenkeeping or she goes down a different route. As long as she's as happy and as passionate in her career as I am, that's perfect for me.
What would you say to BIGGA and Reesink UK?
A huge, huge thank you. What they put on here this weekend – and have done for the last 34 years now – is incredible.
You see some of the people who've won it previously and it has been a platform for their career. The benefit you get from being able to network with people who've got that same passion for the industry, it's just amazing.
Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year: Daniel Martin
Daniel Martin was the proud winner of the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award. The first assistant at Farleigh Golf Club is studying for his level 3 at Hadlow College in Kent.
A keen rock climber, Daniel has wasted no time in scaling new heights in his burgeoning greenkeeping career.
What is your reaction to winning the award?
It's a really good recognition of all the work that you have put into your career and studying to gain the extra knowledge to differentiate yourself from everyone else, so I felt satisfaction in the recognition of that work.
For me, if I've achieved something well, then it's satisfaction of a job well done and on to the next one.
What was it like having your grandparents present?
They just came up to be able to sit in on the award ceremony. I didn't know that I was going to be the winner of the award, so it was a nice surprise to be able to have them in in the room for that moment.
They know how hard I've worked and the hours that we do in this job, and it's really good to be able to have something to show for that.
What is the significance of these awards?
There's a certain perception of the industry that you're just grasscutter – having these events and BIGGA as an institution helps change that perception.
It's not just a job where you're going to turn up every day and just sit on a mower; there's so much more that goes on behind the scenes that most people don't get to see.
Why did you enter the awards?
My college tutor recommended it to me as being a good opportunity. Initially, it was just something that potentially I could put into my level 3 or give me some experience moving forwards.
Having an opportunity like this can put you in really good stead, and even if you don't progress further up in the competition, just having that extra bit of interview experience and engaging with some of the more senior members in the greenkeeping community can give you those useful connections.
How much effort did you put in to prepare?
I put in a lot, but lots of the stuff that you learn in this job isn't a case of sitting down and studying a textbook; it's going into your job every morning and taking that bit of extra interest in what you're doing.
It's not just going, 'We're going to go out and spray this tank-mix', but actually, looking at what you're mixing up and thinking, 'Why are we doing this? What impact are we trying to have?'. Absorbing all that knowledge puts you in good stead for something like this without having to sit over a textbook and just read pages and pages of information.
How does your club support you?
They've been really good in recognising those times where I need to go away or, say in the winter, when the lads might be out working, I'm going to be sat down on a laptop doing my college work, or doing work outside of that.
It's nice to have the support of the lads and recognising that need. The course manager has been really great in giving us opportunities to be able to come to events like this and go on all the extra events that BIGGA put on – to go to environmental talks and course walks to gain that extra knowledge.
How has your tutor helped you prepare?
We had a little bit coming up to the final events where we knew what the itinerary was going to be, so you see grass identification on that sheet and you know you want to brush up on that.
It's nice to having a tutor in college where you can tell them what you need and they can point you to the right resources, like the BIGGA field reference guide for identifying grass species, and then some resources produced by Barenbrug and others in the industry.
What would you say to BIGGA and Reesink UK?
Just a massive thanks to them for putting on a great event for us.
It's been a fantastic opportunity to learn and expand your knowledge network with greenkeepers and the top and the best of us that have been picked out across the country.
I hope they continue to support this event into the future and give others a chance to be able to experience what I have here.
About the awards
The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award was introduced in 1989, with the 'Young' category added in 2016.
Previous winners and finalists have gone on to become some of the most influential characters in the greenkeeping industry, helping shape the sport of golf in the UK and further afield.
The awards offer greenkeepers of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels a chance to excel, with winners afforded once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to further their career and network with influential industry leaders.
The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year winner's benefits include enrolment in an internationally recognised 10-week turf management remote study course, The Winter Turf School at the University of Massachusetts, and a two-week work placement at a prestigious European golf course.
The Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award can look forward to a two-week, all expenses paid work experience placement at the exclusive Vidauban Golf Club in the South of France, plus a trip to Continue to Learn at BTME and a Toro training voucher for a course of their choice.
Author
