Hosting greenkeepers from across the UK and Ireland for a week has given us a welcome winter boost, writes Ganton course manager Simon Olver
In my 28 years in the golf industry, I’ve had some fantastic opportunities – from cutting greens at major championships to learning from some of the best greenkeepers in the world. I’ve also done plenty of long, cold winters in northern England – so having the chance to bring people to Ganton from clubs near and far, get out on the course and work with them, and bring in experts to talk to us was a brilliant opportunity this winter.
We had some fantastic support for the week – with sponsorship from Agrovista, and we put the guys up in on-site accommodation at the club. The week covered a lot – from irrigation design, assembly, installation and final setup to revetted bunker design, construction and ongoing maintenance. We also got to spend a lot of time together chatting, learning from each other, and taking inspiration from our time with our peers in working and social environments.
We had greenkeepers from Alwoodley, Machrihanish Dunes, Muskerry in Cork, and several other venues. Their feedback has been incredibly positive – with some really experienced guys saying it exceeded their expectations and was the best industry event they’d been to. Others talked about how they enjoyed the mix of hands-on work, classroom sessions, and networking.
The week was also a brilliant one for me and our team. Organising something like this with experienced greenkeepers was new to me, and it was a fantastic opportunity to learn something new and put my knowledge to the test in some of the sessions. Our team also played a huge part in the week – planning and hosting sessions themselves, supporting the classroom elements in their own time after doing their days’ work, and getting involved in the networking during the week and afterwards. There has definitely been a positive boost in morale in the weeks since.
Events like this don’t take too much time to put on, and the rewards are huge when you get them right. Not only did we welcome people from across the UK and Ireland to our club and work with some important industry partners – we also took a lot from the experience ourselves. We’re proud of what we can do in-house, and it was great to see the team show that off, answer questions, listen to feedback, and share what we’ve learned with others.
You don’t necessarily need to go big and have loads of people on-site. Speak to your partners, get the backing of your club, and have a go at welcoming your peers to pay you a visit. It doesn’t need to be multiple days with loads of people; something as simple as a course walk and a game in the afternoon is a great way to get together, chat and learn from each other – and the benefits can be huge. Winters are long in this part of the world and doing something positive for your team and your peers can really brighten them up.
