MANAGING A GOLF COURSE DURING COVID-19 // 2021: THE YEAR OF GOLF #3

*Any views or opinions expressed in this article belong to those who feature within it, and do not represent the views of my employer*

2021: THE YEAR OF GOLF // ARTICLE #3

Imagine stacking the shelves of a supermarket not knowing when people would walk those aisles again, or rehearsing a play for a run in a theatre not knowing if anyone will take their place in the auditorium. Now imagine having to work through all four seasons of the year, maintaining a Golf Course for no Golfers, and any lapses of concentration or motivation could unravel years – if not decades – of hard work.

Our Course Managers and Greenkeepers have had a crazy year. At the time of this article being published, we have just passed the anniversary of the first lockdown in March 2020; giving many Greenkeepers – no matter how experienced - a time to reflect on the most challenging year of their careers. To provide an insight from the front line, over the last couple of months, I have asked four Greenkeepers in the South of England to share their challenges and successes from 2020 and provide a moment of hope for better playing surfaces in 2021.

Sam Evans is Course Manager at North Hants Golf Club in Fleet, Hampshire – the childhood Golfing home of Justin Rose. I have been a big fan of Sam’s work for a number of years and first had the pleasure of experiencing Sam’s playing surfaces at Fulwell Golf Club, near Twickenham. Sam’s work at Fulwell resulted in the Middlesex members club having some of the best playing surfaces in all of the London boroughs, and provided a brilliant reference for his new employers down the M3 motorway.

To extend the Hampshire theme, Matt Plested is Course Manager at Stoneham Golf Club. I met Matt whilst I was a member at Muswell Hill Golf Club, where he was the Course Manager. Matt made the move back down to Hampshire to champion the exceptional layout at Stoneham and has managed one of the most ambitious Golfing projects during the pandemic; but more on that later.

After putting Ealing Golf Club on the map with some of the slickest greens in the UK, Greg Evans works with a number of Golf Clubs across the South East of England as a Consultant Agronomist; advising Greens Committees, General Managers and Course Managers on how they can achieve their agronomic goals. Greg’s insight into how different clubs and Course Managers handled the pandemic gives a unique perspective and certainly provides plenty of value to us and this article.

Finally, I could not share stories of managing a Golf Course during COVID-19 if I did not share the experiences of my colleagues, Phillip Chiverton, Golf Course & Estates Manager and Jonathan Taylor, Head Greenkeeper at The Grove in Hertfordshire. I work with Phillip and Jonathan every day and, for those who might not be familiar with The Grove, the challenges do differ slightly to other Greenkeeping teams across the UK. The Grove does not have any members and is a true Pay and Play Golf Course. However, where The Grove lacks in recognisable member-led committees, it makes up in dozens (if not hundreds) of high and unique expectations every day.

Enough of my personal references, let’s meet our contributors and learn more about their day-to-day challenges pre-pandemic to give us some perspective on how their lives were all about to change.

[GE] “Hi everyone, my name is Greg Evans, I’m a Consultant Agronomist and I work for around 40-odd clubs predominantly in the South-East of England. The challenge that I see Golf Courses face, or turf managers face, on a day-to-day basis - whether that's pre-COVID or after COVID - is Golf; Golf is that challenge because, ultimately, Course Managers are trying to find that balance between performance and how the Golf Course plays & feels and the enjoyment for the Golfer, and agronomy making sure that everything is sustainable and carries on year on year".

Albeit not related, Sam and Greg Evans have worked together during Sam’s tenure at Fulwell Golf Club and Sam sings to a similar tune.

[SE] “My name is Sam Evans and I am Course Manager at North Hants Golf Club, based in Fleet. Golf is always a constant pressure whether that's early tee times, whether that’s two tee starts, whether that’s competitions then you, sort of, tie that in with growth as well in the season I think it's a big balancing act. When I go around a Golf Course, whether it's here or whether it was where I was previously, you’re always looking for areas for improvement and, as we all know, our workloads are very much dictated by the Golf Course and the Golf Course sort of decides what it is we do and when we do it”.

[MP] "My name is Matt Plested, I’m the Course Manager of Stoneham Golf Club. We’re are the same as most clubs, the day-to-day challenges tend to be just getting ahead of the Golf. Before COVID came along that was our biggest aim, get the team in, team briefings, make sure everything is set up the day before so we can get a quick start. Every minute seems to count because Golf gets faster and faster, especially 2 balls. Just staying ahead of Golf has always been our big challenge to make sure we present the Golf Course as good as we can".

In recent weeks, Phillip Chiverton celebrated his 20th anniversary at The Grove; for context, The Grove has only been open for 18 years. In 2001 Phillip was employed to lay the foundations of the Kyle Phillips Golf Course we play today, and his loyalty and mastery has provided us with some of the most high-performing – and consistent - playing surfaces in the UK. In that time, Phillip has supported the development of some of the UK’s finest emerging Greenkeepers. In 2016, on the relative eve of hosting the European Tour’s British Masters, Jonathan Taylor joined The Grove after spells at Quail Hollow, and then most recently as Assistant Superintendent at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, in America

[JT] "My name is Jonathan Taylor, I’m the Head Greenkeeper at The Grove, in Hertfordshire. I think Pre-COVID was kind of setting up for an ever-changing resort Golf Course, being willing to adapt to changes on the day with our corporate events, changes in tee times and earlier players going off and just general goings on around the property. We’ve got a football pitch here, as well as a really busy estate with trails, Segway trails and walking trails so it's quite a diverse role for the team; there's lots going on other than just the Golf Course".

In the days leading up to 23rd March 2020, the first day of the UK Lockdown, there was much uncertainty. I remember my last day in the office, I remember saying goodbye to my colleagues - believing we would see each other again in a months time – and I remember my last round of Golf, not knowing I would not hit a Golf ball again for two months. Fast-forward to Sunday 10th May 2020, Boris Johnson and the UK Government announced that Golf Clubs could reopen again from 13th May 2020; giving Course Managers, effectively, two days to make their Courses ready for play and kickstart the “Golfing Boom”.

[SE] “It's been the busiest I've ever been. We had the first lockdown and then after that Golf just boomed. I think it was really tough to get on Golf Courses, Golf Courses were rammed dawn till dusk, and you know that made our window of opportunity for work even smaller”.

That was Sam Evans speaking to the challenges due to the increased volume of Golf played coming out of lockdown but, like many people, the way in which people would work was changing. Those who have been exposed to the life of a Greenkeeper will know that the hours are unsocial, the weather conditions can often be tough and it’s the camaraderie between Greenkeepers that can often make the job bearable. Matt Plested shares those challenges:

[MP] “The level of Golf was probably our biggest challenge; every single tee time booked up weeks in advance, every minute, every daylight hour there was people on the Golf Course. The way the staff would run changed massively; the way that you set the team up now you’re having to use WhatsApp groups instead of team briefings, like you would before. I find that really hard, not having everyone in the same place every morning, not talking about the weather, looking at the tee sheet, you have to do it all the night before on the phone and I find that hard.”

It is undeniable that, if it’s permitted to identify any positives as a result of this clearly tragic pandemic, the Golf industry has experienced a monumental boom. Data shows in September 2020, according to GolfNow, the number of rounds booked increased by 97% compared to the previous year. I can certainly validate that level of increase by the number of rounds that were booked at The Grove last year. However, I can also speak to the experiences of a Golf Club member. When Golf returned only 2-balls were permitted and, although the experience of playing at your local club may have been compromised by following a very deliberate one-way system and not being able to enjoy a post-round drink, the community feel of my Golf Club accelerated last year. Greg Evans has been a member at Ealing Golf Club, in West London, since his Junior days and speaks to a very similar experience.

[GE] "My home club Ealing had a 49% play increase during the months of May until the end of October. The Golf clubs that did reasonably well in 2020 were the ones that value their products, really, because the main thing that I saw come back was that community spirit, the Golfers really want to go and play the game and feel part of a Golf Club again; because a lot of Golf clubs stopped using visitors to come and play their Course, so it became very much a members-only facility, and that really brought home a community spirit. So, I think the Golf clubs that were well prepared for that, the ones that had been valuing their products over a number of years, and then - when this pandemic came - it wasn't so much of a shock for them. I think the flip-side to that, the Golf clubs that were really, sort of, in the middle market - and then this pandemic came - and then you had the boom in Golf, what I'm hoping is that they now realise that actually the core members, the core Golfer that plays, are the ones that we look after because I think, sometimes, we always worry about new members and forget about retention and looking after existing members"

Managing the day-to-day challenges of a Golf Course, I assume, is tough. Managing and motivating a team during the hard times, I assume again, is not a walk in the park. Now imagine starting a new job, being introduced to a new team whilst being handed a bible of new working regulations as a result of COVID-19. These were the circumstances of Sam Evans who joined the team at North Hants Golf Club in May 2020, days before Golf's return.

[SE] "I think for me personally, my biggest challenge was the fact that I’d walked into a team of 10 guys that I didn't know at all and I hadn't really had the opportunity to create a relationship outside of work. The ability to just take the team or the Department for a meal or a pint or just to build that rapport with the team; and even colleagues at the Golf Club you know other HODs, the bar staff, the GM, the assistant GM just anyone at the club; it was really difficult to create any sort of social rapport with anyone".

"With regards to the actual role itself, the first lockdown gave me the opportunity to get a really decent irrigation audit done and, due to there being no Golf, I made it a bit of a family job and at weekends and evenings we'd head out onto the Course with the kids and the wife and I go round to each head put them up, I'd measure the arcs and see what condition the heads are in and write down a bit of an action plan; so we made it a little bit of family time, if you like, while I was still auditing the irrigation. I think from that point of view, it really gave me an opportunity to take stock and really focus on the irrigation because I think, if we had been open and we’d have had competitions and presentation would have been important, I don't think I would have had the opportunity to spend so much time focused on one area I think"

Although no one could complain about the overnight thirst for Golf, doubling the number of Golfers on your Golf Course doubles the number of pitch-marks, doubles the number of divots and doubles the amount of wear and tear on the walk-on/walk-off areas. The team at The Grove have regularly prepared the Golf Course for a full tee-sheet pre-pandemic, but the challenges of 2020 were like nothing they have had to manage before.

[JT] "Post-COVID, it's obviously had a huge impact on the business and the way we conduct ourselves. Last year and this year, probably moving forward, such challenges we've never had in the past. We're now setting up for more residential and individual tee times, as opposed to our large corporate day shotguns and Two Tees; we've got smaller crews on the Course, working split shifts, guys having to work more efficiently – as, you know, we've got a smaller crew – and making compromises as to what’s really essential day-to-day and not so much of a “nice to do”; making sure those essential bits is really making the most of the guys’ time and is going to make an impact on our guest journey. Expectations on the Golf Course still being as high as they would typically have been so it's trying to be more resourceful and working in a different manner as to not affect surface condition or presentation".

In most years, Course Managers across the world would schedule a week or two of essential maintenance works to support the Golf Course during its busiest spells, as well as preparing the surfaces for the turbulent British winters. However, how do you tell Golfers with the bit between their teeth - and General Managers who are trying to make up club sustaining revenues – that the Golf Course will have to shut, or the Golfer experience compromised, as a consequence of needing to work on the Golf Course when you’ve just had a couple of months of the Golf Course to yourselves. It is all about balance, and something Sam Evans has had to find quickly at North Hants.

[SE] "I think, from an agronomy point of view, it just does go to show that it is a living, breathing, evolving beast and it is flexible. Maybe previously I've got into a bit of a routine of, well this week we do that, next week we do that and the following month we do that, whereas this year has really taught me that it can be flexible. Don’t get me wrong, it all still needs doing but normally I like to do a renovation week in the first and second weeks of March on greens, tees and approaches; however, hopefully, we’re potentially looking at reopening sometime around early to mid-March, so we don't want to be doing renovations when Golf comes back so we're going to bring it forward to February".

[MP] "We let the greens rest a little bit during the first lockdown, we raised the height of cut up, we've done a bit of aeration work, took advantage of the weather and got lots of topdressing on. We put granular feed on, which is something I don't really do at that time of year, but they looked really healthy for a long time because of that. I was really pleased with the amount of bent grass that came through during lockdown, I couldn't believe how much bent we got on the greens, it really did thrive when there was no one around. I was really surprised actually, it took me back a little bit of how quickly it came in - I've always thought it would take years and years and years - but I suppose with no Golf, and doing the right things, it thrived".

That was Matt from Stoneham Golf Club sharing the importance of carrying out effective work during forced Course closures. If, like me, you’re an avid weekend Golfer, you have probably braved the elements and attempted to shoot within 10 shots of your handicap on a wet and bitter Saturday morning in January. I’m not sure any Golfer can say they genuinely enjoy their Golfing experience, whilst wearing six swing-restricting layers, but for some reason it doesn’t stop us from playing, squelching with every step and possibly damaging our precious links. If the pandemic has opened our eyes to anything, it might be to how important rest is to the long-term condition of our Golf Courses, especially during the wet and cold months of winter. Greg Evans has many cases to reference the importance of rest and he’s able to provide an interesting perspective on the issue.

[GE] "What I found really good, now this could be seen bad from a business point of view but good from a Golf point of view, is that in Golf we don't have a down season. So, Cricket you have a shut season and you can do your renovations, then go and play cricket, same with football, same with rugby but, in Golf, we’re playing 52 weeks of the year, 365 days a year and we switch from seasons without any downtime. Again, without Golf, it became very productive and, the number I’ve worked out is, productivity is affected by about 40% with Golf - so that's a huge difference and really allows teams during these, hopefully if it is in the future, short periods to do their renovations, do any small project works and then you can flip from one season to the other".

The comparisons to other sports that also rely on sound agronomy is interesting. Albeit we can play Golf in every season, are we compromising our experiences during the peak Golfing months by not protecting our surfaces when they need rest most? There are some famous examples of Golf Clubs deciding to close during the winter - or a couple of months - and often this is a direct consequence of the local climate, but if the business model changed to allow for a Course or Club closure in January, for example, would the Golfer get better playing surfaces and/or better value in the long-term?

Greg mentions the Course closures enabling Course Managers to complete small projects, but no one could have foreseen that the timing of the lockdown would be so perfect to actually accelerate a project’s recovery. Well, these were the circumstances of Phillip and Jonathan who oversaw one of the biggest renovation projects in The Grove’s modest history.

[JT] “We started in January 2020 to do a full bunker reconstruction; removing our current grass lines, reshaping, rebuilding and then re-grassing every bunker on the Golf Course; softening some of the noses on the bunkers and making them more visible from the tee in some places and just completely reshaping others. We were doing this with Kyle Phillips, the Golf Course designer, and MJ Abbott so the works for the bunker project really allowed them to settle in. We turfed the entirety of the bunkers so, play going in and out then was always going to be a bit of a challenge, so not having any Golf for a few months really helped that turf to root in and solidify itself. We also did a 200 square metre putting green extension, that probably wouldn’t have been in play for when we first would have had Golf back in, finishing the project, so again that really allowed that to bed in. We used turf from our nursery there so it wasn't a case of trying to grow that in, so it allow us to settle with that, and get it to the same standard as the greens, so as Golfers came back it was a new green compared to what they have seen before. We also extended our 5th tee, connected our pro tee up to the normal gold tee, we started to build a hydroponics tee down on the 5th as well, which hopefully we'll have in play for the start of this year but it kind of allowed us to get around the site - without disturbing play - and get some of these projects over the line.”

In 2017, Stoneham Golf Club devised plans to introduce a new Driving Range, Short-Game area and internal teaching facility to cement its status as a premier UK venue. After a staggering start, the project was due to conclude in 2020 but, you may have guessed by now, that Project Manager Matt could not have foreseen the project-derailing hurdles that COVID-19 presented.

 [MP] "The driving range project has been a massive project for the club, huge project. We did get a letter from the Secretary of State telling us to continue working during lockdown, which we did, and the project had stay live because most of it was coming from government sites, like motorway extensions, for the fill. Unfortunately - with the lockdowns and the way the industry moved - our amount of lorries slowed right down; we went from in 2019 was an average of 75 lorries a day down to about 40-45 lorries, which is a huge difference, and we lost probably 7 weeks and, as anyone knows, losing seven weeks going into the winter period you just can't catch that up. So, we stopped the project in October, just because the 227mm of rain just slowed the project right up, and it's now on hold till April; annoyingly, very-very close to the finish line. The range building is being built as we speak, so that’s what’s going to be ready when the members come back - obviously we can't use it yet till the range is fully finished and grown in - but it's been an amazing project".

So, despite Golf Courses experiencing high traffic in 2020, by the time Golf returns in England on the 29th March 2021 our Golf Courses will have been closed, in total over the last year, for five to six months. With all those opportunities for renovation and priming the surfaces for Spring, surely, I can expect every Golf Course to be in the purest condition they have ever been?!

[SE] "Will playing services be better in 2021? I think greens and approaches, I think I'd like to think they're all good anyway but, I'd like to think they are going to be where we want them. With Golfers knowing that there hasn't been Golf on the Golf Courses for a certain period of time it's going to be difficult not for them to expect perfect conditions. But, I think, what everyone's got to consider is that the soil still gets saturated from rainfall, frosts and even this year we've had a bit of snow".

One of the main messages Greenkeepers are keen to get out to the everyday Golfer, ahead of Golf’s return in England on the 29th March, is YES Greenkeepers have managed to invigorate and prepare playing surfaces in a way that hasn’t been possible for many years but, ultimately, the Great British Winter hasn’t disappointed in providing tough and unrelenting weather conditions that do not support grass growth and many other key presentation and playability factors. Speaking in February, Matt Plested and Jonathan Taylor share the realities of preparing a Golf course during the winter months.

[MP] “If Golf Courses open tomorrow in the middle of February, they won't be perfect; it's still winter, it’s still wet, it's not pretty out there yet. It will be, and I think that avoiding the amount of damage that we've saved through this winter period is huge. But if you’re ever going to have a lockdown period, now is the time to have it. If, in life, you had to choose a moment when the Golf Course should be empty, it's the moment when it probably would be closed".

[JT] "Even despite the pretty shocking weather we've had, we’ve had an opportunity to renovate, in some cases, and protect the surfaces at an ideal time of year and there's very little recovery. Currently we sit at 3 growth degree days year to date; that with 80 Golfers a day and resulting in some pretty heavy wear across the Golf Course, on tee boxes and greens and walk-on/walk-offs, so to be able to protect those areas through the last few months, with the November closure as well, has been quite key".

[GE] "On whether Golfers can expect to find better playing services in 2021, I think absolutely yes. Right up until Lockdown #3, Golf Courses were - even for one month of play, obviously you had October and then we had lockdown two in November, and then we had one month play in December, and by the end of December with the weather - Golf Courses were just churned up. So, this period - January and February - and what we're hoping is middle of March that we get Golf back out there, I've seen a change in the way Golf Courses are looking from the end of December to where they are looking now, in the first week of February. So, I would expect a good playing season in 2021".

The last 12 months has certainly reignited my desire to play more Golf. Not just for the sport but for the community, the camaraderie and the challenge, but also to see our Golf Courses again. The vaccine does seem to be our way out of this nightmare and, although we still have a long way to go in living with this disease, a life resembling something close to normal does appear to be closer than ever. Executives within the Golf industry have had a topsy-turvy time of it over the last twelve months, but the work of our Greenkeepers should be hailed upon Golf’s return and the four experts that have joined us today are looking forward to a simpler 2021.

[JT] "Well, I hope I talk on behalf of all my colleagues here at The Grove but, we're hoping for a really busy year; hopefully no further restrictions, that will result in us having full tee-sheets, the sun shining and hopefully a return to our corporate Golf offerings as the restrictions are eased. 2020 this was just a real challenge for everyone and it's great to see how people have come together - not only personally but on a business level as well. The industry has probably gone from strength-to-strength this year; more people using social media and connecting online, more roadshows from BIGGA, GCSAA and Turf Care offering these free seminars to people so they can continue learning as they’re stuck at home. We’ve got some new apprentices to start on their level twos, couple of our assistants to start on their level threes and some spraying qualifications to do. If we can have everyone back in and we can get back to our everyday jobs, less restrictions and hopefully get out and do some team visits and Golf days as well - when we are super busy on the Golf Course - so I'm hoping 2021 will be very similar to 2019".

[GE] "The ambitions I see for 2021, for Golf Clubs, is to have a good product. I think it's going to be full on for Greenkeeping teams and that's what I'm saying to a lot of teams at the moment is, actually enjoy this period because it's a quiet period; get everything prepped up, don't overstretch yourselves, because once Golfers go back out there - we're hoping with the vaccine programme and the better weather obviously the pressure on the virus reduces - we should have a good period of Golf".

[SE] "Knowing that Golfers and members haven't had their Golf Course available to them for a certain period of months - in the past 12 months - I think it's important to remember that, and 2021 should really be a year where we offer as much Golf as we can to the highest standard we can. Everyone is going to be keen to play Golf in 2021 and hopefully, fingers crossed, it will be quite a Golfing boom".

[MP] "I do feel lucky and blessed that I was able to get out, for my own mental health, be outside and on the Golf Course and have space and have some kind of normal structure, even though it was different; small teams and different start times and different lunches and things like that. At the same time, I also feel quite guilty that I didn't get to spend as much time with my family as others have; I’ve seen friends of mine that have been on furlough and they've been able to do amazing things with their children every day, because they've had that opportunity - which they probably never will get in their lifetime again - to spend a lot of time with their children and be paid for it. When your child asks you “why are you not home like the rest of the Dads”, it’s quite heart breaking. Maybe, if I look back, I would have done things slightly different; maybe I would have worked more early and got away earlier but, at the same time, it was really nice to not have the pressures of getting up at 4am/5am every morning, so it's swings and roundabouts".

I think Matt really brings it home there. Many of us have benefitted from a forced sabbatical during this pandemic but there are many more people who have suffered from the mental fatigue of losing a job, not working since last March or being overworked. I don’t get the impression from any of these men that they do not love what they do and it is that persistent quest for “better” that drives and focuses our Course Managers and their teams to commit to the taming their “living, breathing and evolving beasts”, as Sam Evans puts it, for your enjoyment.

So, the next time you are on the Golf Course, either as a dew-sweeper or chasing the vanishing twilight, there’s a high chance you will come into contact with one of your Greenkeepers and it might not hurt to throw a wave their way or step aside for a chat to thank them for preserving your much-loved Golf Course whilst you’ve been away. As a Golfer, you join a timeless community made up of people of varying skills and abilities, but our Greenkeepers are the true artists of our industry. Thank you, to you all.

**** To follow the journeys and goings-on of our Greenkeepers, they can be found via their Social Media channels: SAM EVANS: IG @SAMEVANSMG // TW @SAMEVANSMG --- GREG EVANS: IG @GREGEVANSMG // TW @GREGEVANSMG --- JONATHAN TAYLOR: IG @JDTAYLOR_ // TW @JDTAYLOR --- MATT PLESTED: TW @PLESTEE ****

***********

Hello, my name is Elliot and thank you for taking an interest in my latest article. My mission is to inspire people to invest in Golf, whether that is through participating in the sport or contributing to the financial ecosystem of the industry, and I hope 'The Year of Golf' articles will shine a light on everything that is good within our game. I am Golf Events Manager at The Grove, in Hertfordshire - United Kingdom, and I work with our Corporate and Social clients to help them realise their commercial and sporting ambitions through Golf.