The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
KEEPERS OF THE GREEN
Ahead of The 150th Open Championship, Michael Alexander speaks to greenkeepers from St Andrews Links Trust about their efforts to keep the world famous Old Course in top condition
It’s 162 years since early golf pioneer “Old” Tom Morris played in The 1st Open Championship at Prestwick in 1860 with a field of just eight players. One hundred and forty-nine Opens later, as St Andrews prepares to host the 150th Open, golf has transformed beyond all recognition, with the world’s best players among the field of 156 trying to capture the Claret Jug. But as record 290,000 crowds head for the world’s most famous links, the ties to the past have not been forgotten by the unsung greenkeepers who nurture the Old Course all year round.
St Andrews-born “Old” Tom Morris, who won The Open four times, is credited with bringing in changes that were nothing short of revolution on the Old Course.
Staying in post as Keeper of the Greens at St Andrews until 1903, during which time he designed or redesigned over 100 courses, he widened the fairways, enlarged the greens, changed the direction of play and applied greenkeeping techniques he had developed at Prestwick, building two new greens (on holes 1 and 18), and “managing” the hazards.
It was during this time that workmen opening up the ground to create the now 18th green of the Old Course temporarily downed tools after uncovering a cholera pit.
As far as today’s Old Course manager Gordon McKie is concerned, however, the work he and his team of greenkeepers do in the modern era is a continuation of everything that Morris was doing 150 years ago.
“I’m only the ninth person since ‘Old’ Tom Morris to manage the Old Course,” says Gordon who has been in charge for 14 years, and who has worked at four previous Opens, including two in charge of Old Course management. .
“I see myself as a custodian of the Links as he was. He was nurturing it, moving it on each time, and passing it on to the next person.
“It’s a very historical place and we’ll never radically change it. We’ll tweak it, make it better, we’ll work with what is now the modern era, using tools that are available.
“It’s quite a privilege to work a piece of ground like this, because it’s held in such high esteem by so many people from around the world.”
Born in the west of Scotland, Gordon, 54, moved to Tain aged 14. As someone who enjoyed working with his hands outdoors, he started a greenkeeping apprenticeship at Tain Golf Club where he was a junior member.
Attending greenkeeping classes at Elmwood College in Cupar, he remembers the “buzz” of visiting St Andrews – never imagining that one day he could work there, let alone become Old Course manager.
But when the opportunity arose in 1996 to move from being depute course manager at Tain to become depute course manager at the St Andrews Eden Course – going on to become course manager on the Eden and the New, then manager of the Old from 2008 – he also started becoming involved in Open championships.
“I’d describe my job as fulfilling the expectations of all golfers – locals and visitors,” he says.
“It’s a very visitor-oriented location here in St Andrews. People come from all around the world with expectations very high.
“The aim is to basically present the golf course in its best condition every single day. To provide that same level of experience no matter where you come from. Day-to-day responsibilities include cutting the fairways and greens, cutting the pins.
“We are involved in slight tweaks to the golf course – bunker construction and all that sort of thing. It’s an enjoyable job because you are making people happy – putting a smile on their face.
“But then obviously we also become involved in prep ahead of The Open.”
With an average 51,000 rounds of golf on the Old Course each year, the course is closed to the public at the time of this interview as it’s being “rested” for the Open.
After a very dry spring, work is being carried out to repair and re-grass, and the priority is reconditioning.
“It’s all about timing”, says Gordon, adding that the aim is to get hard fastrunning fairways and firm greens. “You
work back from the Open Championship – get application of fertiliser etc on at the right time so that the week of the tournament we actually peak the best we can.”
The biggest variable, of course, is the weather. Gordon has experienced a windy Open, a wet Open and thinks he deserves a dry one this year! There were dramatic scenes in 2015 when downpours saw play suspended.
Longer term, however, a big challenge is the impact of climate change.
According to recent research, erosion and flood risk are “real and growing threats” to the St Andrews Links.
Under a worst case “do nothing” coastal management strategy, the Out Head section of West Sands at St Andrews will “retreat into the links by up to 240m in the next 30 years and up to 750m by 2100”.
“There’s predictions that in 50 years the Old Course will be under the sea,” he says.
“I would say that’s not true because we are working hard with the coast and protection agencies. For example, we are recharging the dune systems frequently. But the challenges are certainly the climate and the wetter climate we are getting now.”
During Open week, Gordon will be out on the course.
Greenkeeping shifts start at 4am. Briefed staff will head out at 4.30am ahead of the first tee-offs around 6.30am. By the tournament proper, it’s about “fine tuning the machine”, he says, because all the hard work has been done.
With The 150th Open billed as the biggest tournament in golf yet, however, he’ll be interested to see what impact 290,000 people has on the course.
While a lot of the tents and infrastructure is generally “off the course”, it’ll take 12 to 18 months afterwards to get the grass back to how it was.
“It has the feel of a much bigger tournament this year,” he says, adding that there are more hospitality and spectator viewing areas than ever.
“I’ve been involved in a few and everybody is saying this is the biggest thing that’s ever happened in terms of golf on the planet. It certainly has that feel to it!”
With 60 permanent greenkeepers working across all seven St Andrews Links Trust courses, the 14 working on the Old are complemented each summer by seasonal staff from colleges and abroad.
His own son Ross is one of the greenkeeping apprentices being “thrown in” to gain experience during The Open.
It’s experience that can open up employment opportunities on courses worldwide.
Since Covid-19, however, recruitment has “become a bit of a struggle”, and he’s keen to promote greenkeeping as an exciting vocation.
The work is hard and the hours are antisocial and long. With many employees having to commute in to St Andrews, there’s also concern about rising transport and living costs.
But there’s no doubt the greenkeepers on the course feel a “buzz” to be out there presenting the course for some of the world’s elite sportsmen.
One long-serving greenkeeper incredibly excited about the return of The Open is born and bred St Andrean William Nicol.
Now in his 40th year as a greenkeeper, this will be his eighth St Andrews Open working on the course.
As an apprentice greenkeeper at his first
in 1984, he has fond memories of cutting the 18th green of the Old Course not long before Seve Ballesteros famously won the Claret Jug.
He’s since helped prepare the course for the 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 St Andrews Opens.
His second favourite Open after 1984 was 2000 when “Tiger mania” gripped the championship. “The atmosphere was electric,” he recalls.
But as a keen golfer who lived and breathed the game as a youngster, his memories of The Open go back even further to a time when he was too young to appreciate it.
“I played golf as a youngster, and I always wanted to work on the golf course as a young bloke,” says the now 56-year-old, who studied greenkeeping at Elmwood College in Cupar straight from school before starting work on the St Andrews links, where he’s been working since.
Spending just a few minutes in the company of William is enough to appreciate his love for the town, the course and the history that goes with it.
He describes the 14th championship tee on the Old Course as the “best tee in the whole of St Andrews”.
“I don’t care what anyone says: when you see that view, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been born and bred here – that is the view people from all over the world would like to see!” he says.
As a young member of St Andrews Golf Club, he remembers seeing Jack Nicklaus,
I’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN A FEW AND EVERYBODY IS SAYING THIS IS THE BIGGEST THING THAT’S EVER HAPPENED IN TERMS OF GOLF ON THE PLANET. IT CERTAINLY HAS THAT FEEL TO IT!
Palmer and Greg Norman playing there. But William’s earliest memories of The Open actually predate his employment.
In 1978, he went on holiday to Morecambe with his mum, dad and three sisters.
The golf was on TV and his dad said “that’s our town”.
“With our town on TV, I always thought it must be something, eh?” he says.
“But I realise as I’m getting older what this place means to people.
“When you are young you get on with your job and wonder what all these people are doing coming here?
“As you get older you realise what a historic and absolutely beautiful place it is.”
With the weather scorching during The Courier’s visit, it’s easy to see why William and his colleagues wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
But after rain and wind events hampering play at previous St Andrews Opens, William hopes the weather omens for this year will be good.
“It’s the uniqueness of St Andrews that gets me,” he adds.
“It’s a public course where you’ll see women pushing prams on the fairway or students playing rugby on the first and 18th fairways. “It is what it is.
“Whatever happens I hope it’s a great tournament and that the weather plays ball, because Gordon’s had a few very unlucky Opens with the weather.
“Whatever happens with play, it’ll be a great buzz! The winner will go down in history. It’ll be fantastic!”
Amongst the seasonal greenkeepers plying their trade on the Old Course is 26-year-old Colin Coleman from South Australia, who is commuting to St Andrews from Dundee.
The keen golfer did his apprenticeship at the Grange Golf Club before moving to Melbourne and working out of Sorrento Golf Club.
While those experiences were “awesome”, when the opportunity arose to come over to St Andrews for The Open, it was too good an opportunity to miss.
Leaving Australia on April 14 and starting work on April 18, he’s been “loving it” ever since.
“I was here nine years ago,” he says, “when I got to play the St Andrews Boys and the British Boys Amateur. That was pretty cool.
“I thought I might come back here one day. So when the opportunity came up I thought why not!
“Here I am! Nine years later and working on the Old Course!”
Someone else taking advantage of the course being closed to fill in divots on the fairway ahead of The Open is 44-year-old Canadian-Scot, Ben Matthews.
A career changer now based in Auchtermuchty, he decided to become a greenkeeper a few years ago after driving past Elmwood College in Cupar and seeing a sign which read: “Have you ever thought about greenkeeping?”
“I hadn’t, but I have now!” he laughs. Ben says the best thing about the job is being outdoors. And he doesn’t find the hours too antisocial. In fact he relishes it.
“When you see the sun coming up, deer running across the fairway – it’s beautiful,” he says.
“And once you are up you are up. It’s quite manageable in my opinion. You are up early, you get going, and then you’ve got all afternoon!
“Doing this job you can get your Links ticket as well. If I finish at 1.30pm or 2pm I can get a round in. It’s perfect!”
Q
What are you looking forward to the most at the Tayside Climate Beacon event?
A I love that it is bringing together our local community activists and creatives working to inspire people around climate action and climate justice – I’m looking forward to making new connections and maybe finding new collaborators too.
Q
How did the idea for Scottish Communities Climate Action Network’s 1000 Better Stories podcast and blog come about?
A SCCAN has worked with Scottish communities taking climate action for many years and we saw lots of examples of how communities can make a difference now, and yet very few of these local action stories were known more widely. 1000 Better Stories projects our way of amplifying these stories, firing everyone’s imagination and aspirations about a better future.
Q What advice would you give to people who want to learn more about climate justice?
A Climate justice is about addressing inequalities in the impact of, and the responsibilities for, the climate crisis, especially between the rich, developed countries of the global North and the poorer ones in the global South. But it also applies to countries like Scotland.
Q How important is storytelling to you and your work?
A It turns out that rather than pure facts and figures, people best learn and make decisions through telling and sharing stories. So to really connect us to the abstract issues of the climate crisis and to fire up our imaginations about what’s possible, we must dip into the age-old human tradition of storytelling. I now think that better stories are more important than facts or technology in making the change happen.
Q Where is your favourite place to visit and explore in Scotland?
A Celtic rainforests on the west coast of Scotland. Taynish NNR in May is truly magical with carpets of bluebells underfoot, moss and ferns covering branches of the oaks, and their delicate young leaves unfolding overhead.
Q What is the biggest challenge you encounter in your work?
A I’ve been involved in climate action in my own community for seven years now, as a member of People Learning About Nature (Plant), a part of Tayport Community Trust. So I knew there was amazing work being done by groups at the grassroots level. But nothing prepared me for the scale of what’s happening nationwide and which I’ve been discovering since I started as SCCAN story weaver last summer. The biggest challenge at the moment is finding ways we can amplify all of these different stories to do them justice.
Q How important is community for climate justice?
A I believe that communities are central to the urgency of climate action, including acting on climate justice. As Rob Hopkins, one of the founders of the Transition movement, says: “If we wait for governments, it will be too late. If we act as individuals, it will be too little. But if we act as communities, it might just be enough, and it might just be in time.”
Q What music would you listen to the most?
A Anything I can dance to – from Abba to Boots for Dancing.
Q What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever had?
A To make a story unforgettable, you need to find “the gleaming detail” – one thing that captures both the emotion and idea of the story. A detail which will connect with the audience in one “Aha!” moment. It’s what makes a story unforgettable. The advice came from SCCAN’s first story weaver, Paul Bristow, who borrowed the idea from Bobette Buster’s book Do Story.
Q Do you have a personal motto?
A In my climate storytelling work I try to live up to Raymond Williams’ challenge: “To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing”
Q
Who or what are you most proud of?
A Last year, during the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, I organised people in my community to come together and create our vision of Tayport in 2030.
Tayside Climate Beacon: DUNDEE is taking place today from 4-6pm at the V&A Dundee