GREENKEEPING the winter to clean up the woodlands and remove the gorse and broom . We basically cut everything that ’ s not on the maintained grass areas . We cut every blade of grass during the winter , so it ’ s very versatile and mobile for getting in amongst the trees . As I said previously , it ’ s very good at removing brash , gorse and broom .
“ It came with a rear three-point linkage kit , which is brilliant . We bought a small sprayer with hand lance that hooks up on the back of it and we also have a terra rake , which we use a lot during winter projects , especially if we ’ ve got soil that just needs a tilth-up before we re-turf . It ’ s brilliant and such a light footprint , it just glides over the surface .
“ The options are endless ; we ’ ve demoed the stump grinder and blower . We ’ ve got a rear-mounted blower on a tractor , and perhaps it ’ s just my age , but I find looking out the back for a period of time is very uncomfortable . The seating position on the Ventrac is very comfortable and the out-front blower makes it much more userfriendly . We ’ ve had nothing in the way of breakdowns , servicing has been fine , one little repair on the deck and it ’ s hardly missed a beat .”
Grant began his career at Gleneagles in 1999 , working under Peter Pattenden , and six years later went to New Zealand for a year , before returning to Gleneagles at a time when the renovations for the Ryder Cup were taking place , remodelling the PGA Centenary course . This led to construction work at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club near Dublin followed by a spell in Sweden constructing the PGA of Sweden National Golf Course near Malmo .
Returning to the UK , he was appointed deputy course manager at Gwest , where a new championship course was being built next door to Gleneagles . Gwest never materialised into the great golf course and property that it could have been , so he took up his first course manager ’ s job at The Roxburghe in the Scottish Borders . Three and half years later he returned to
Gwest as course manager , with a commitment from the owners that it would be completed . Covid struck and , and unfortunately , progress with the development stalled , so in 2021 he applied for , and was successful in securing , the vacant course manager ’ s position at Ladybank .
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