A day in the life: James Williams

By Alistair May 5, 2020 08:10 Updated

The course manager at Oake Manor Golf Club in Somerset, a venue that offers an 18-hole course, a nine-hole course and a practice area, takes us through his average day.

What time do you arrive at the club?

I usually arrive at the club at 6:15am, just before the lads turn up and my first job is to put the kettle on!

Can you describe your morning routine?

Our morning routine is fairly simple. First off, we check the rain gauge to see how much rain we have had, if any, and record it for the Met Office. Then it’s a quick walk out to the 18th green to assess course conditions before heading back into the office to update the course status on the computer, to show any conditions and / or restrictions. Hopefully by then all the lads are in and the teas are made, so we sit down and talk about the day ahead – what’s on golf wise and hand out the jobs for the morning’s work. We are a very busy golf course and the golfers use a tee booking system, so are on the tee ready to tee off at 7:30am, with it constant after that – three or four balls, every eight minutes.

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

We have a team of six here – four greenkeepers, one deputy and me. Some started here as apprentices and have been taken on, while others have come from local golf courses. We have a fairly young team, with ages varying between 20 and 35, but with an old head at the helm. I feel six is an ideal number of staff because it’s enough to get all of those extra jobs done, say verticutting or tining, without compromising the rest of the course maintenance.

Do you share tasks?

We always share the tasks. This not only keeps the lads motivated, but also ensures that everybody can do all the jobs and operate all of the various types of machinery we have. This then gives us cover for when people are on holiday or sickness.

How do you motivate your colleagues?

Motivation is a juggling act with staff; trying to keep all members of staff happy is a difficult job so firstly, all jobs are shared to prevent the monotony of doing the same task day in, day out. I also feel that if there’s a task I’m not prepared to do then I can’t ask my staff to do it, so you will see me leading by example, out cutting the greens and raking bunkers, and so on.

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

My favourite season is the autumn – hopefully after you have enjoyed a great summer with excellent course conditions. It’s the time of the year when the course begins to slow down and you can start on the many projects that you have planned.

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

Seeing all the hard work that the staff have put into the course coming together, when you are working towards your biggest competition of the year, is very satisfying. Also, getting feedback from the pro players that the course was set up well and played superbly – that makes all the hard work worth it.

And what part of it gives you the least satisfaction?

We all moan about pitch marks on the greens. We have a very busy golf course, but there is no excuse for golfers not to repair pitch marks. I study members out on the course and I find the worst culprits are the senior section. We have a very active seniors’ section, these guys can be playing four times a week and watching them play the course if they hit the front of the green and the ball rolls to the back they very rarely go to look for their pitch mark, which is very frustrating. I do speak to them to try to educate them as to why we do repair them, but it’s an ongoing process.

Have you attended any courses recently?

Being the Devon and Cornwall section BIGGA secretary, I organise events and seminars at various venues throughout Devon and Cornwall; golf days and seminars from building fertiliser plans to machinery workshops. You’re always learning and picking up tips and ideas from these days, even as course managers. I attend BTME in Harrogate every year and take a different member of my staff with me, to go to the seminars there too. We also send guys on courses such as PA 2/6 to get qualified when required.

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

We overseed our greens with 100 per cent bent seed twice a year. In recent years we’ve used Johnsons Sports Seed J All Bent mixture, which contains top rated cultivars and has performed very well on the greens. When we divot the tees we use Johnsons J Tee mix – this also has the advantage of having Tetraploid Rye in it that is very rapid to establish, even at cooler temperatures. Both of these mixtures are coated with DLF’s GroMax treatment, which helps the seed to establish.

How would you improve the greenkeeping industry?

I feel we need more recognition for the job that we do. We are all professionals in what we do and while we try to educate golfers as much as possible, I feel that they just think we cut grass like they do in their back garden without understanding that there is a lot more involved.

Has a golfer ever deliberately directed a ball at you?

I would hope not deliberately! But saying that, I have been hit a few times and have had a few near misses … they are usually very apologetic or say ‘I never saw you’!

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

We have rescued many a golfers’ electric trolleys and bags that have gone on auto pilot straight into a lake. We’ve also had to rescue a couple of golfers after trying to retrieve their bags and they’d gone in too – funny!

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

We have many birds around the lakes on the course from ducks to our 10 resident swans.

We have herons, egrets and kingfishers all adding to the beauty of the course aesthetics.

Are you seeing any evidence of climate change?

We are definitely experiencing climate change with the four seasons now rolling into three.

With the wetter weather patterns we are experiencing throughout the year, it’s definitely making our lives more difficult to get golfers out on the course, having an enjoyable round, without too many restrictions.

Our course can look superb in the summer with all the lakes coming into play, but in the winter the lakes can become over full, causing issues with getting rainwater to drain away.

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

Gain as much experience as you can and if you have the opportunity to go and work abroad, go for it!

How do you spend your leisure time?

I try to keep fit by playing a lot of squash and racketball when my body allows.