A day in the life: Carl Crocher

By Alistair November 2, 2021 09:13

The course manager at Caldy Golf Club, the 6,714-yard course situated at the end of the Wirral Peninsula, alongside the River Dee, takes us through his average day.

What time do you arrive at the club?

I arrive at 5:50ish, first thing is a cup of tea in my flask cup. After we all clock in at 06:00, we go through the whiteboard which is usually populated the night before based on what needs doing and the weather forecast.

Can you describe your morning routine?

After delegating tasks and discussing how any golf may impact our work, we sign out the machinery (safety checks) and begin our jobs for the morning. Today that has been greens mowing and ironing, setting markers on tees for the mid-week Stableford, scarifying and cutting surrounds, fairways, semi and extended surrounds.

How many people are there in your team and is it a fair number for your collective workload?

We are a team of seven full time, and we usually have access to a part-time summer casual who works up to 20 hours a week. During normal conditions we have enough manpower.

Do you share tasks?

Ideally, all of our staff members should be able to complete up to 80 percent of the tasks required within two years of starting with us. We have a permanent mechanic / greenkeeper, but encourage all staff to clean, maintain and reset machinery they’ve used on a daily basis. We have a spray technician, but we have just lost our back-up for him so someone else will need to fill those shoes. My deputy (Ian) looks after our irrigation system, though we do have a maintenance contract for opening and closing down of the system. Other members are expected to learn repairs and manual operations, while Ian does all of the electrical repairs.

How do you motivate your colleagues?

Leading from the front is my style, show that I am more than capable of any task I ask them to carry out. I always clean the toilets, even when someone else has cleaned the messroom, we have a rota which I’m also part of. After that, training, instilling pride in their work, praising good work and initiative. Dealing with poor output with a chat, mostly to find out why they may have thought it would be acceptable. I don’t miss much, but what I do ask from the team is that if they see something that’s been forgotten, or done wrong, make the responsible team member aware so they can put it right. Don’t come to me with it.

What’s your favourite season of the year and why?

Autumn is my favourite season. After the hectic, early mornings of the summer it’s great to take on the more physical tasks, like renovations, tee alterations, drainage and so on. These course improvements are tangible and allow us to work together in groups. Starting later is also a bonus … we work shorter hours in the winter, slightly longer in the summer.

What aspects / functions of your job gives you the greatest satisfaction?

Teaching new staff is quite rewarding, moulding them before they take on too many bad habits. Encouraging them to think for themselves, use initiative and provide solutions to their own problems. Listening to ideas that may make jobs better and easier, ways to improve presentation and having the ‘eye’ for when something doesn’t look right – or does for that matter!

And what part of it gives you the least satisfaction?

Disruptive club politics, which over the course of 42 years I’ve seen my share of.

Have you attended any courses recently?

We have been regular attendees at BTME and local BIGGA events over the years, many of which I have been involved with the organisation of. STRI live and company sponsored events, golf and networking days, anything really where I thought I could learn something useful. Covid has disrupted all of this, but it will be good to be among peers, learning and questioning again.

What seed mixtures and / or cultivars do you use for your greens, tees, fairways and roughs?

Fescue and bent separately for greens overseeding, mixed on tees, surrounds and fairways, with some added ultrafine ryes on traffic sensitive areas. We try to look for the best cultivars that match our site and that we can afford at the time.

How would you improve the greenkeeping industry?

Encourage more interaction on a local basis, it can feel lonely at times.

Has a golfer ever deliberately directed a ball at you?

In a word, no, but played towards where we were when they shouldn’t have, yes. I quietly ask if they would have played if we were golfers, then ask for at least the same courtesy. We have right of way at all times.

Have you ever had any mishaps with lakes on the course or had to undertake a rescue of a daft golfer?

Fortunately not. We’ve seen a couple of remote-controlled trolleys get beyond the controllable distance and at least one has ended up going over our coastal cliff edge, but thankfully no injuries. We did have a very drunk individual decide to try and take a short cut across the course for home, after a club dinner. Unfortunately, the access they were trying to use had been closed for over 30 years and it ended with their car abandoned precariously on the path by our most elevated tee.

What is the most interesting animal you have seen on your course and how do you do support wildlife?

Chough, crossbills, snipe and barn owls among many others, the estuary we border is a major passage for winter and summer migrants. We have raptor and barn owl boxes and we manage much of our roughs, hedgerows and woodland areas to encourage wildlife. We have beehives by our maintenance complex, beside the first fully enclosed reedbed system for our washdown area water recycling. We collect rainwater from the roofs to clean machinery with and the rest is added to our irrigation storage. We’ve built woodpiles, areas for amphibians to overwinter, a bug hotel, bat boxes and so on, and as a reward for our efforts, we won the ‘Environmental Award’ in 2008.

Are you seeing any evidence of climate change?

Climate changes all of the time, its extremes that are difficult to deal with. We need insurance policies in place such as a good drainage system, well maintained irrigation and choosing the right products to help surfaces through the stressful times.

What advice would you give to a young greenkeeper starting out today?

Learn, every day, from experience and from the right mentors. Aim high, understand what you’re worth and give your best and take pride in all you do. Search for stimulus in the mundane tasks … you have to take the rough with the smooth.

How do you spend your leisure time?

Golf, walking, rowing workouts and reading. Good TV and movies, travelling and spending quality time with family and friends.