Be curious. That’s the message a leading greenkeeping chief wants club golfers to bear in mind as they look at the condition of their courses.
Speaking on The NCG Golf Podcast, Jim Croxton, chief executive of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, said players should learn more about their courses and why greenkeeping teams made the choices they do.
Croxton was discussing the latest edition of Your Course, which is published by the association and invites golfers to gain a deeper appreciation of what preparing and maintaining a golf course really involves.
This issue looks at the work done to make sure a course gets through the winter in the best possible shape. It also considers the effects of climate change – and the damage being done by coastal erosion – as well as looking at the rise of turf diseases and the benefits a course can bring to the environment.
“If there is one overall message that Your Course is trying to get across it’s ‘be curious’. Be curious about your facility and why they make the choices they do,” Croxton told the podcast.
“Be curious, but remain open-minded. If you don’t like the answer, get involved with the club and gain an understanding of why that direction has been chosen, while offering your own balanced perspective.”
Your Course: ‘We’re asking golfers to be a little more curious’
He explained some of the challenges greenkeepers were facing in the future – urging clubs to develop a water resilience and security plan and stressing its future availability was “probably the clearest climate change related issue that a golf club business is facing right now”.
But he also accentuated the positives of a career in the industry, discussing the association’s First Green initiative which goes into schools and talks to children about becoming greenkeepers.
“Our members tell us it’s the best job in the world,” Croxton explained. “It’s the opportunity to work outdoors and to work in a really enjoyable team.
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“People talk about unsociable hours but being up at that time in the morning and outdoors is stunning.
“There are bad days, but it’s a fantastic job and particularly when a facility has worked hard to ensure there is decent communication between customer and greenkeeper.”
He added: “By issuing Your Course we’re asking golfers to be a little more curious about why their course is what it is. Do they understand their budgets?
“Do they understand their staffing levels? Do they understand the challenges their course faces? I’ve never met a greenkeeper who cared less than passionately about how well the golf course is playing and presented.”
You can read a copy of Your Course in your clubhouse, and you can also read extracts on NCG now and over the coming weeks.
Now listen to The NCG Golf Podcast
BIGGA chief executive Jim Croxton joined Steve Carroll on The NCG Golf Podcast to discuss the new edition of Your Course magazine, the challenges of climate change to the industry, and work that goes into preparing a course for winter. Listen to the episode.
