From time to time,Course Manager Ryan McCulloch is offered the opportunity to serve as a volunteer on the greenkeeping staff at a professional golf tournament. The event organisers get a seasoned hand to assist the core on-site team. And Ryan gets exposed to new ideas and techniques that he can bring back to the benefit of all who play their golf at Goswick.
Such was the case in early November when Ryan was one of nearly 150 greenkeepers, including 21 from overseas clubs, who assisted with the set up and maintenance of Yas Links in Abu Dhabi for the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Make no mistake: this was no holiday. Ryan typically started each day by waking up at 2 am and boarding a bus for Yas Links to attend a staff meeting at 3:30 am. All on hand were allocated their jobs and dispersed onto the course to implement the set-up for the day’s golf. Except for brief breaks, the team worked virtually non-stop on practice days tending to such tasks as mowing and divotting fairways, mowing and ironing greens to even turfing walkways (for which he had plenty of hands-on experience at Goswick!).
“It was a lot of work,”says Ryan. “But the practice days were pretty relaxed when it came to the players. It was a bit surreal to stand on the tee next to the world’s best pros who more than happy to chat with the greenkeepers.”
Once the competition began, Ryan’s daily duties were primarily to help mow the fairways first thing in the morning and then again at the end of the day after the completion of the round. An evening meal was served each night, followed by transportation back to the staff accommodation around 7 pm to recharge for the next day.
“It was a tremendous experience,” says Ryan. “Temperatures in the 30s and the extreme humidity took some getting used to. But I gained a lot of knowledge, in particular the different greenkeeping skills that are needed when working with cold or warm season grasses. I appreciate Goswick’s support in allowing me to take advantage of these opportunities when they come up. They really do help build on my capabilities as a Course Manager.”