Winning a Toro student greenkeeper award

30 April 2018 Feature Article
2017 winners Angus Roberts and Nick Machin

2017 Toro Student Greenkeeper awards winners Angus Roberts and Nick Machin

With a European Tour qualifying event taking place at his course, Angus Roberts, 19, had little time to celebrate his Toro Young Student Greenkeeper Award success.

Leaving BIGGA House, he rushed back home to The Roxburghe, near Edinburgh, and jumped on a mower to get the course prepared for the next day’s play.

Angus has been a full-time greenkeeper at The Roxburghe since last September, when he began an apprenticeship that he completed in June.

The son of poultry farmers, Angus is used to working outdoors and for long hours. Ever since he was old enough to ride a lawnmower he has tended the gardens at his family home, and the homes of other residents in the village.

“What I love about greenkeeping is the working outdoors and the opportunity to take ownership in your work,” said Angus. “I know you are given jobs to do, but you can put your own ideas into these tasks and develop them. The jobs I love the most are the ones where you can see a big change as a result of what you’ve done.”

Eager to get as much tournament experience as possible, and a keen golfer who received a scholarship to study in Edinburgh, Angus was a member of the BIGGA Volunteer Support Team that helped out at the British Masters in 2016.
He explained how a chance meeting there set him on the road to Toro Young Student Greenkeeper Award success.

“I had heard about the award and thought I would quite like to do it at some point,” explained Angus. “Then last summer at the British Masters I shared a room with Dan Waring, who won the award last year. I spoke to him about it and he was so enthusiastic. He has been very supportive and has given me quite a few pointers. 

“He made me realise that the judges are not looking for the perfect greenkeeper who knows everything, but they are interested in learning about your attitude towards greenkeeping.”

Inspired by his experience at the British Masters, Angus said he hopes to join the preparation teams at as many tournaments as he is able. 

He added: “I try and do as many tournaments as I can. Waking up that time in a morning, you get a buzz knowing you are setting up a course to be the best it can be. You spend the week meeting amazing people and getting to know them all, while being part of a team.

“I love gaining knowledge from other greenkeepers and the whole industry about how to do things differently. You are learning something every day.

“During my apprenticeship my boss, Ross Ovens, always took the time to teach me new things around the course. I’m constantly chirping in his ear, asking what’s this, what’s that, and I absolutely loved it.

“Amanda Dorans at Dundonald Links is another who has been extremely supportive of me, as have many other people.”

For someone so new to the industry, with just a year’s full-time experience, in addition to three years working as seasonal staff, Angus impressed the judges with his confidence and the breadth of knowledge he had gained in a relatively short time. 

Despite this, Angus said he was nervous about taking part in the final, having not had much opportunity to prepare. He added: “I had done very little work for it, I have been so busy with the European Tour qualifying tournament we are having at home at the moment.

“But I’ve always been quietly confident in my knowledge and I’m always testing myself throughout the year. 

“The grass identification has always been such a weakness for me, but I got them all right and that felt like a bit of an achievement. 

“What I really enjoyed was going out on the course walk with Chris Kennedy and Stuart Green,” Angus said. BIGGA vice president Chris Kennedy is the former estates and courses manager at Wentworth and hosted a huge number of European Tour events. 

“Chris has a lot of experience,” added Angus. “And he told us so many stories. Knowing a guy like that and learning from their experiences is invaluable.

“Talking to the other students too is fantastic. You learn you are not the only one who loves the industry and it gives you the motivation to take back some ideas to your course.

“It’s amazing how big this industry is and how far you can go with it. I plan to get my level three finished before I start travelling. I want to travel about and see other places, such as Australia and a couple of other European countries. There’s so much out there and you never know who you are going to meet. I’m just taking it one step at a time and while I’m young and not tied down I’m trying to do as much as I can.”

If you would like to follow in Nick's footsteps and stand a chance of winning this career-defining prize, apply online now.

Author

Staff Photos 2020-14.JPG
Karl Hansell
BIGGA | Head of Marketing and Communications

Karl has been head of communications for BIGGA since March 2016. His duties include editing the monthly Greenkeeper International magazine, in addition to other communications activities for the association.

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