Watching golfers teeing off on the Old Course the other day, witnessing their sheer enjoyment and excitement about what was awaiting them, made me reflect on the greenkeepers real reason for existence, and his ultimate relationship with the end user of all his hard work. I now look back with horror at my attitude towards the golfer when I was Head Greenkeeper at Kelso GC. It resulted from my training and education really; at my first club I worked at, all golfers were regarded openly as pests, and the phrase "they pay your wages" was treated with ridicule and contempt, (though privately I never understood why); at my college, club committees were caricatured as ignorant, whining snobs (I was in England) and by the time I was in charge at Kelso, fear and loathing had well and truly set in. I avoided the 1st tee and practice green like they were cursed, and never showed any interest in the members games. Every Committee meeting, which I dreaded, my attitude was don't let the b@@@@@@s win the argument, though in reality the Committee were only ever trying to give me some feedback, often positive, on how my efforts were being appreciated. But by this time I could only see their comments through a haze of suspicion and mistrust. If I had listened to their comments openly and with trust I would have made a better greenkeeper. But I was on a greenkeeping mission; my root systems were being developed, my thatch was being diluted, my top-dressing was being brushed, not dragged, and my fertiliser program would have made Jim Arthur sing with joy; (well almost). What would a golfer possibly understand of pH, ET and CEC's? Understandable as it was because of the working cultures I had learnt my trade in, I now realize, by mixing with a wider range of people involved in golf provision, that my outlook was sadly misguided. Because greenkeeping isn't about agronomic triumphs; it is instead most crucially about the providing for the enjoyment of the game itself. Appreciating this notion, I believe will not only provide more day to day job satisfaction in the workplace, but will have beneficial consequences in decision making on turf maintenance. Let us just imagine that one beautiful day all the greenkeepers work just clicks in, and the golf course is in perfect, rosy, glorious condition. The gorse and heather swoon, the trees bow, birds fall out of the sky. You know its is only a matter of 24 hours before the weather screws it up, your staff shortages let it falter, machinery breaks down on you. You may as well be chasing rainbows. But on days of disappointment, if you are wise enough to stop and smell the flowers, as you should, do you also have the breadth of mind to listen to the golfers enjoying themselves. Because it is a fact they don't care about roots, thatch and poa; they just want to enjoy some golf with friends. And they do, time and again.
Remember to Stop & Smell the Golfer
By Ian Butcher, lecturer Elmwood College.
