I’m looking forward to sharing my knowledge and giving you a look at what’s happening at The Longhirst Club, writes Longhirst course manager John Scurfield
The last year has been pretty interesting, and having started a new job at The Longhirst Club as the business moves into an exciting new chapter, I’ve now got the chance to take on the role of Northern Golfer’s On Course columnist.
Having worked for Simon Olver at Whitley Bay many years ago, and become good friends in the years since, it’s great to be able to take up the mantle after his 13 years writing the column.
My career has taken me to a few different places, both in greenkeeping and outside of the industry. I’ve played golf throughout, having started when I was 10 years old, hitting balls on a field in Stakeford in Northumberland.
I went on to play out of a few clubs locally as a junior, and played for the county as a boy while doing a few small greenkeeping jobs at Swarland Hall Golf Club. I then left school at 15 and got a job with the greenkeeping team at Morpeth Golf Club. After three seasons, I left the industry and ended up running my own plastering business. While this went really well, and I grew up a lot while learning how to run a business and ended up working all over the country, I always wanted to come back to greenkeeping in the North East.
That led me into a few small jobs before I got a role working for Simon at Whitley Bay. While Simon went on to Ganton, I went back to Morpeth and did seven seasons as course manager. I then made the move to Alnmouth Village, which I loved and learned a lot from as I worked on my own a lot more at one of the most interesting clubs in the region.
Throughout my second stint in the industry, I’ve followed the Longhirst story and been fascinated by what the team has created in the heart of the Northumberland countryside. When the opportunity came up to join the team and play a big part in the future of the business as it transitioned into a member-focused club with one 18-hole golf course, I had to take it.
I joined the team in February and I’ve loved every minute so far.
One of the most enjoyable parts of the job has been the team atmosphere. The management team is fantastic to work with, and the work ethic in the greenkeeping team is awesome with some great characters and a real passion for presenting a top-quality product.
The importance of building a great team around you is something I saw while I did some shadowing at Royal Cinque Ports years ago. I learned so much there, but the biggest takeaway was how the team all pulled together. The relationship between the general manager and course manager was excellent, and the way the whole staff went about their business – how they interacted, built friendships, and built on each other’s positivity – really stuck with me. To build a team like that is always one of my biggest goals.
On the greenkeeping side, which I’ll really get into in the months ahead, there has been some hard work to do this year.
While I wanted to get to grips with the site, and understanding there’s a delicate balance between agronomy and business goals, we had to get the organic matter in the greens down. To that end, we’ve already put 200 tonnes of sand into the putting surfaces, and this has been done without too much disruption to golf. The support from the members on this has been great, and we have a lot more to achieve on the golf course in the months and years ahead.
I’m looking forward to sharing what we’re doing at Longhirst, and shining the spotlight on the great work being done by other greenkeepers across the region as well. See you next time.
