TIME marches on. In fact, it marches with such merciless purpose, it just about tramples us into the ground. Take technology, for instance. Some cutting edge contraption you bought just two or three years ago now looks so old-fangled it may as well be housed in a museum next to such antiquities as the turnspit dog and hand-cranked mangle.
In the world of greenkeeping, meanwhile, things have developed at such a rate, Old Tom Morris, that pioneering golf course custodian of yore, would probably have choked on his own hand scythe with excitement had he been around to witness the advances.
At the sharp end of the industry, far removed from a flock of sheep chomping away at clumps of lush rough, smart phones can control irrigation and sprayers, autonomous mowers can trim merrily away themselves while hidden sensors under greens keep an eye on moisture and nutrients and feed soil data back to a centralised hub. The gee-whiz gadgetry knows no bounds.
“This is a message we are trying to get out there to youngsters,” said Karl Hansell of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers’ Association (BIGGA). “It’s not just about mowing a green. Look at the amount of exciting technology that’s now available. It’s a wonderful industry to be in.”
Encouraging a new generation of greenkeepers into this particular industry is one of BIGGA’s key objectives. In an age when everything, from the Government, the climate and the cost of living, comes with the word ‘crisis’ attached to it, the greenkeeping business has its own challenges to confront and combat. The startling results from a survey commissioned by BIGGA earlier in the season raised more eyebrows than a cosmetic surgeon and illustrated some of the harsh realities of life at the mower blade.
“Growing anecdotal evidence told us that golf clubs had been struggling to recruit quality staff and we wanted to understand the scale of the challenge,” said Hansell. “We received more than 1300 responses and the data we gathered was pretty shocking.
“Many – more than a third – said they were actively looking for a job outside the greenkeeping industry. Half told us they were unhappy working in the profession. Is it any wonder that 84 per cent told us they struggle to recruit staff?
“For the first time, the survey results presented us with hard data that we could present to the wider golfing industry. Were all those unhappy greenkeepers to leave the industry, the sport would find itself in dire straits.”
According to recent statistics, Hansell noted that 53 per cent of golf clubs currently have green-keeping vacancies. “We are not blessed with thousands of people coming into the industry and much work needs to be done to improve the visibility of the profession,” he added. “A full-time member of staff averages around 2000 hours on-course work per year. It isn’t difficult to imagine the impact on a golf course of staff shortages. Some clubs are struggling to get even the basics of course management and presentation done, let alone all the project and development work necessary for a course to maintain its position and reputation.”
As a body that provides support and a unified voice for the greenkeeping profession, BIGGA is urging the wider golf industry not to stand idly by and let, well, the grass grow under its feet. “BIGGA is actively undertaking initiatives that will raise awareness of the profession, but golf must face up to its responsibilities with regards staff wellbeing and support,” said Hansell.
“Only 20 per cent of clubs, for instance, provide single sex changing rooms, while 30 per cent don’t even provide an office or kitchen facilities. For things to change, golf clubs must offer working conditions and salaries to suit the modern workforce and we’re working with golf’s governing bodies to push the industry towards that goal. We need to put in place structures at clubs that respects and rewards these professionals.
“We want to highlight that the entire golf industry is only possible due to the hard work of those who prepare golf courses and yet they largely feel overlooked and unappreciated. Unless strong action is taken, then we will see a reduction in course quality, which is likely to impact on golfer enjoyment and therefore the sport as a whole. Long term, this will bring into question the viability of the sport.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel