Round-up of recent greenkeeping appointments

By Alistair May 23, 2021 11:54

Here is a round-up of recent appointments of suppliers to greenkeepers and greenkeepers themselves.

Rotherham Golf Club has announced that Andy Unwin has been appointed as course manager.

Andy replaces Ben Burrell, who moves to Hallamshire.

Andy started his greenkeeping career in 2003 at Rotherham and progressed to be deputy course manager in 2014. He left in 2015 to broaden his experience in course and man-management and was appointed by Sheffield City Trust as head greenkeeper at Birley Wood GC. Earlier this year he moved to Tapton Park GC in Chesterfield also run by Sheffield City Trust.

As a member of Rotherham since 1986 and representing the club at junior and scratch team level Andy is well aware of the exacting standards of the greens, in particular, demanded by members and visitors alike. The club had begun an extensive development programme during lockdown so that the downtime was not wasted. Andy will work now further extend that development and harness the skills of a very experienced greens team who are well known for ‘punching above their weight’

Rob Norton (Greens Director) said: “We’re grateful to Ben for the work he has done over the last few years and the innovation he brought. In Andy, we have the perfect person to build on that, capitalise on the knowledge of a highly qualified team and take the course on to the level we always wanted in our ten-year plan.”

The Els Club Malaysia’s has appointed Sean Kinsley as group director of agronomy having truly embraced the international opportunities working for the leader in golf management brings. Prior to his new role in Malaysia, he previously worked in Australia, USA, Russia, India and the UAE.

Sean joins The Els Club Malaysia from Dubai where he was Cluster Director of Agronomy across Arabian Ranches Golf Club, Dubai Hills Golf Club, and Montgomerie Golf Club Dubai. During his tenure, Dubai Hills Golf Club was awarded ‘World’s Best New Golf Course’ at the 2019 World Golf Awards, a true recognition of the high standards Sean upholds across course conditioning and presentation.

Sean said: “Having personally visited the location on more than one occasion I am delighted to be joining The Els Club Malaysia team. The opportunity to be involved in the management of such a strong group of courses located in such a stunning setting is one that I am eagerly anticipating. Each of the three courses is distinct in terms of style and the role certainly promises to be one that will require a varied approach when it comes to the maintenance of each property.

“Being aware of the growing portfolio of the golf courses and the recent progress made by the Agronomy team, I am very excited at the prospect of consolidating that momentum and continuing to drive and deliver further improvements in course conditioning and international recognition of each club over the years ahead.”

Synthetic bunker edging specialist EcoBunker has made a significant expansion by appointing Hamish Crichton as its new business development manager. Crichton joined EcoBunker from soil surfactant and wetting agent provider Aquatrols.

“I come from a corporate background, but a few years ago I decided I wanted to follow my passion, and work in the golf business,” said Crichton. “Although I don’t have a background in golf, while at Aquatrols I took the Fertiliser Adviser Certification and Training Scheme (FACTS) qualification. It was quite a challenge to go back to school for the first time in years, but it did me a lot of good. I found that I love the science in soil and grass. It’s one of the first jobs where I’ve found myself reading books or watching videos at one in the morning and my wife has nudged me saying ‘Go to sleep’. The thing that astonished me was the number of times I read ‘The answer is not yet known’. It’s almost like a frontier science.”

“I have a lot of sympathy for greenkeepers. On top of dealing with Mother Nature and the curve balls she throws at them, they have members to worry about! For me, I’m keen to expand my knowledge of the whole arena of golf. I got to know about the greenkeeping side of things, but I wanted to expand my knowledge of architecture and construction, and understand the world of the general manager. My previous experience in marketing and business development trained mehow to present a proposition to a general manager or a greens chairman, who are usually from a similar sort of background and that’s going to be a very important part of my role.

“I had a number of different opportunities, but I chose to join EcoBunker because I believe it is a company that has almost limitless potential. When Richard Allen first conceived synthetic revetting, it was to provide a new solution to the erosion of low edge parkland bunkers. He wanted to give golf courses the option of building aesthetically pleasing, more architecturally interesting bunker shapes without the worry of introducing an increased maintenance burden. As it turned out, the product quickly became popular on higher faced links pot bunkers and our challenge now is to change perceptions, demonstrating that the product translates extremely well to all golf course styles. It helps that we now have a wonderful portfolio from the tropics to the tundra, Major venues to municipals, featuring parkland, heathland and desert courses. EcoBunker allows greenkeeping staff to spend less time on their bunkers and get on with maintaining the surfaces that really matter.”

DLF Seeds has announced the appointment of Stuart Yarwood MG. Stuarts role as regional technical sales manager and is working closely with both customers and distributors across the north west of the UK, providing advice and support on the Masterline and Johnsons Sports Seed ranges.

After completing his HND in Golf Course Management at Reaseheath College, Stuart spent two years in Golf Course construction before taking up his first greenkeeping role as Deputy Course Manager at Delamere Forest Golf Club. Following this, he spent 17 years as Course Manager at Lymm Golf Club where he specialised in traditional and sustainable turf management. Along with practical experience, Stuart also achieved his Master Greenkeeper certificate in 2010 and is one of only seven people in the world to have gained the R&A Gold Scholar Award for his role in the facilitation of the R&A Scholars programme.

Stuart’s years of practical experience and technical know-how then went on to set him up for a role in sales, where he provided agronomic support to customers across all sporting disciplines, before further developing this with some time spent in sports turf contracting & consulting. He joined DLF in February 2021. Commenting on his appointment, Stuart said, “Joining DLF was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. My late father always said, ‘If I was to be a car mechanic, be a car mechanic for Rolls Royce’. DLF are the Rolls Royce of the seed world, providing the very best range for natural playing surfaces. I am very passionate about sharing my knowledge and am looking forward to being able to do that in my new role, helping others to deliver the best surfaces possible.”

Amenity Sales & Marketing Manager Derek Smith added, “We are very excited to have someone with Stuart’s level of knowledge, experience and passion joining the technical team. Stuart spent the first few weeks in his role working closely with John Hughes to get a thorough understanding of both the product range and the specific needs of accounts in his territory.”

Stuart lives in Cheshire with his fiancée and three children. In his spare time he enjoys DIY, practicing some admittedly hit and miss magic tricks and exploring nature – which he’s hoping to do with a four-legged companion very soon.

Ben Morgan has joined Rigby Taylor’s northern team as its area technical sales manager for East Yorkshire, Humberside and North Lincolnshire.

Ben is a well-known and highly regarded figure in the industry with over 20 years of experience, including periods at St Andrews Old Course, Whitby, Sandburn Hall and Drax. He also spent time in the US working at Pinehurst GC whilst undertaking an internship at Ohio State University.

With a Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours (Applied to Turf Grass Science) and a Foundation Degree in Turf Grass Management, Ben brings a high level of technical skills to his new role, which he can apply to his wide level of practical experience. Ben also holds a PA1 & PA6 Pesticide Spraying Licence and is FACTs qualified.

His hobbies include: walking, beekeeping, fishing and trials biking.”

Rigby Taylor also introduces Richard Jones to the RT Irrigation department team.

Due to the huge growth in the company’s irrigation product business, strengthening its customer support was a high priority. Richard’s irrigation knowledge and engineering background will assist in helping customers gain maximum benefit from their irrigation systems.

And Shaun Groom, general manager of Merlo UK, has been elected president of the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA).

Since its foundation in 1875 the AEA has represented its member’s interests at a national and international level. The association and its members have weathered many a challenge including world wars, economic recessions, foot and mouth disease, and of course the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Offering a collective and respected voice with the British government and regulatory bodies across the world, the AEA offers members an opportunity to be at the forefront of ever evolving policies and regulations in agriculture machinery.

Upon taking up his tenure as president, Shaun offers his thoughts as to why membership of the AEA has never been more beneficial than it is right now.

“It is in challenging times such as we face now that the industry can draw real value in coming together as members of the AEA. Whether it be dealing with new import or export regulations in a post Brexit transition marketplace or understanding what implications Covid-19 restrictions mean for our industry, the AEA has the expert staff and knowledge in place to support a members business,” comments Shaun.

“In the not so distant future new technical challenges await manufacturers as the pressure to replace fossil fuels with greener alternatives and stiff carbon net zero targets find their way to the sectors our members operate in. As equipment manufacturers harness alternative forms of power, the drafting of new regulations and standards will be required to ensure safety and compliance.

“Working to ensure that future regulations are both workable and valid for the industry and the environment, is a critical role the AEA fulfils. As we all adapt to a digital world the AEA has invested in staff and resources to keep the association at the forefront of those changes.

“I can speak from first-hand experience of how the services, support and representation the AEA provides has proved to be instrumental in my daily work. I would not hesitate to recommend membership to any eligible business in the industry”

Ruth Bailey, CEO of the AEA said: “We are delighted Shaun has accepted the role. His experience will bring a powerful voice to the sector.”