Chairman of Green training

Jim Arthur, the  greatest of golf agronomists, always reminded Clubs that the best green committees consist of an uneven number and three is too many!

He added:

a committee of one, gets things done

a committee of three, will wait and see

a committee of nine, wastes endless time

a committee of more, is an endless bore!

I was reminded of these sage words  when I recently visited Luffness New GC, abutting Gullane and located near to Muirfield in East Lothian. It lies  on a coast-line stretch that is said to be the finest piece of golfing land in Britain and, therefore by implication, in the world.

While mentioning this club’s course  I must agree with golf historian John Harris, who is on FineGolf’s Advisory Panel, that the par three, third hole at Luffness New, though seldom feted in golf literature, must be one of the greatest short holes anywhere.  Played up a slight hill, with the famous Gullane hill  behind, to a concave green with subtle but severe bunkering, it is a very fine long iron challenge, normally into the prevailing wind, at 190 yards.

I would now love to suggest that how I played this hole’s beguiling simplicity was typical, having thrashed a one iron somehow onto the green, I sadly three putted for a half!

Luffness New, established in 1894(!),  though being strictly a members’ Club, does not believe in any committees ( Jim Arthur had the highest regard for this club and course!) and the experienced head greenkeeper, David Coull, reports direct to the Secretary. David answered my greenkeeping survey question on the percentage of fine grasses to meadow grasses (poa annua) as being 90%.

This happens to be the highest percentage of any club so far surveyed by FineGolf but, when I played at this gracious club, on their wonderful running course, I couldn’t find a single blade of poa annua anywhere! (It is in the spring when poa annua is most obvious with its propensity to grow seed heads)

That observation could well be down to my amateurish identification skills but I have never seen higher quality golf turf. They do say that if you don’t come off Luffness New’s greens without a good putting stroke, you will never attain one.

Though this report may be a roundabout way of suggesting that greenkeepers should be left to do what they know best (as long as they can efficiently communicate this to their club membership!), nevertheless some clubs do need a Chairman of Green, to help in achieving that communication and overall management of the relationship.

It is to be welcomed therefore that the GTC (Greenkeepers Training Committee: www.the-gtc.co.uk) has organised some training courses for golfers who are contemplating volunteering to be a Chairman of Green at their club. Many prospective green committee members could do a lot worse than to invest some time in taking  GTC advice on how to fulfil their crucial role.