One Man Went to Mow

We joined The Grove’s greenkeeping team for a day as they prepared the course for the British Masters.

- Michael Catling 

It’s easy to dismiss someone’s job as a walk in the park. But when you spend your days sprucing up a golf course for a living, being a greenkeeper is guaranteed to leave you open to such accusations. Spend a day shadowing one, however, and you will soon realise there’s a lot more to their job than mowing a glorified lawn. It’s actually a back-breaking job, demanding a wide range of skills and abilities.

During the week of the British Masters, 70 greenkeepers reported for duty at The Grove at 4am each day. People were still rolling out of clubs at that time, and looking in better shape than I did when I was invited to join the greenkeeping team just 15 days before the start of the British Masters.

I was even granted an extra two hours in bed, and yet I still turn up bleary-eyed for my shift at 6am. By the time I’ve found the greenkeeper’s shed, it’s already a hive of activity, inside and out. Duties have been assigned, the morning meeting has just finished and one by one, the staff are making their way out onto the Kyle Phillips-designed golf course.

“It’s a big logistical operation to prepare the course for tournament conditions,” says Phillip Chiverton, golf course manager at The Grove. “We’re now working 12-hour days but come Thursday of the Masters, we’ll be starting at 4am and finishing at 9pm. The two-tee start will mean working in a pattern to avoid creating noise disturbances.”