MAGAZINE 2025-26
No matter how many years you’ve been an early riser, it never gets any easier. I am extremely fortunate however, as my office is just a couple of steps away from my front door.
I jump straight in the shower. I’m not quite physically and mentally prepared at this age to have a cold one, no matter how bracing it’s supposed to be, so a nice hot douse is the order of the early day.
Like many Greenkeepers I suffer from a bad back caused by years of raking, repairing pitchmarks, and lifting sodden, wet revetting turf. My dogs love to clamber all over me, and often have a stretch too which I find rather amusing.
A coffee always sets me up for the day – flat white, latte or cappuccino.
I check the plan is as relevant as it was when made the previous night. Has the weather changed anything? Do I have the correct number of staff? I make sure I am settled on this before my management team comes in before 6am.
A typical daily plan on a Friday for example would have two members of staff raking bunkers, two cutting greens, three cutting tees, three cutting fairways and one changing holes. There is generally someone off on holiday so the plan is also constructed around that.
Around a year ago I met Craig Stoba from Husqvarna at a trade show in Harrogate. He mentioned he walked his dogs past Royal Liverpool and would like to bring some robots in for a demonstration. I am very open minded to new technology and anything taking the course to the next level, and the more I thought about it the more it made sense.
The demo was an absolute game changer, and a year down the line we have three. We’ve named our autonomous mowers Trevor, Cilla and Robochop, and other suggestions from a Star Wars fan included Par-3PO and R2-Tee2. They are used on the lawns, the kids’ course and turf nursery and, most importantly, on the range - we’re able to cut while balls are being hit and without disruption. Turf quality has also increased ten fold due to the constant cutting.
The first thing I do in the morning is confirm they’ve had a successful night and are where they should be. The robots are extremely reliable, and any adjustments help us get the very best from them. The excellent Fleet Services app lets me know how long they spend cutting, charging, and are parked - so I can utilise them as efficiently as possible.
We discuss the day ahead, and often the plan is tweaked as they may have seen a more efficient way to carry out certain tasks or wish to re-prioritise jobs.
I sit down with the team on Monday morning and communicate the plan for the week. We check in and make sure everyone is happy and if there are any issues to be resolved. We then discuss jobs in detail and occasionally the football results, which are sometimes the reason why members of staff are reminded of the Boomtown Rats’ I Don’t Like Mondays.
Sometimes on a Monday, we top-dress which can be stressful when the weather doesn’t play ball and there are targets to meet. All the best laid plans can be ruined by a bogus weather prediction, so I tend to look at several apps and pick the most optimistic! Low winds and moisture ruin topdressing applications and can make Mondays very stressful. If the sunrise is nice, I sometimes put the drone up for a photo.
The team embarks on our cutting regime. Greens are almost always cut daily during summer months, and then there’s general course set up. All bunkers are raked daily, and there are always repair jobs and ‘snagging’ works to be completed - like turfing, seeding and fine detail bunker work.
Topdressing, spraying, aerating and fertilising are less frequent but still part of our daily routine.
After a check-in with our mechanic, I head out to the course to ensure everything is running according to plan. Sometimes I will rake bunkers, set up the range, or do some cutting. I try to prioritise jobs that can carry on should I be pulled away to do something else. My morning consists of making sure all the jobs are going according to plan, and I often take pictures and make notes about tasks or ‘snag jobs’ that need to be tackled in the afternoon. My management team is tasked with making notes of any of these before they are written up on a white board to be actioned in the afternoons.
I always have a lot of emails which I try to deal with ASAP so I don’t forget them. I also return to my whiteboard during the day to make sure the plan is set for the rest of the week.
The remainder of the day is filled with meetings, budget accounting, reports, rep visits, and planning. Lately, I have been collecting honey with our lovely neighbour, Kate Benc, and we sell ‘Hoylake Honey’ behind the bar for charity. This all came about when Kate approached me to ask if the Club would be interested in having some hives on our side of her fence. We now have four hives and queen bees with names: Beeyonce, Cardi-Bee, Sting and Grumblebee. It’s been a great learning opportunity for us, and the honey sells like hot cakes. We produced 100 jars last year and honey was also used by our then Head Chef Jason in some desserts. Because of all the beautiful wildflowers growing in the rough, the bees have plenty of resources close by, and we’re looking forward to a long relationship with these important - and threatened - pollinators.
I love to see the headlights on the autonomous mowers as they start their night shift. It’s also good to see any irrigation working away before bed so I can rest easy. Sometimes if there is a nice sunset, I get the drone airborne again to capture some images for the Club’s social media channels. The dogs sometimes like to get involved too!
Some people may think living on-site isn’t for them, but when the success of the golf course means so much, I can solve problems faster and easier being on site. This reduces any stress because issues are dealt with there and then and very rarely taken to bed.
And frankly it’s amazing to have such a beautiful and special green space right on our doorstep.
