A greenkeeper’s way to handsome greenbacks

The scenic landscape of a golf course resembles a work of art. The perfectly manicured fairways punctuated with intentionally unkempt grass, trees, water bodies, brown pockets of bunkers, velvety greens... And, not to forget, a variety of birds, insects and animals wandering about the vast expanse add to its beauty. But all this charm in a sport that is often mistaken to be a ‘walk in the park’, requires an army of men and women to constantly maintain and upgrade to cater to the demands of a growing golfing community.  

And at the helm of taking care of its well-being, spread over acres of land, is a golf course manager/ superintendent or a greenkeeper - a person with an almost round-the-clock job. Dealing with nature’s unpredictability, managing skilled/unskilled labourers, operating/ repairing machinery and accepting praise and critique of members/ players equally are some of the core challenges of the profession. 

'New Zealand's Ben McLean, the golf superintendent at the Prestige Golfshire on Nandi Hills road in Devanahalli, Bengaluru'

“Golf course management is primarily agriculture fine-tuned,” offers Ben McLean, the golf course superintendent at the Prestige Golfshire on the Nandi Hills road in Devanahalli. “Agriculture is practiced to get yield, whereas on a golf course you want to keep the grass alive while regulating the speed at which it grows,” adds the 30-year-old from New Zealand. 

“From monitoring the moisture on the greens regularly to maintain its texture, spotting and getting rid of turf disease, reducing water/ pesticide usage, changing the tee and pin positions are some of my responsibilities.”  Born in Pahiatua, a small town of around 3,000 people in the south-eastern part of North Island of the nation, McLean was a golfer himself when an opportunity to become a greenkeeper came by at the local club he played in his hometown. Taking it up part-time, the then 16-year-old McLean fell completely in love with the job of maintaining a golf course. After working at courses in Australia and the United Kingdom where he also assisted in course construction with JCB excavators and builders, the Kiwi landed at Delhi Golf Club (DGC) in November 2020.

“At DGC, we started work at 4.00 am because golfers tee off at 4:45 am. Even if the sun isn’t up, people play with torches on and glow-in-the-dark golf balls (laughs). But here we start preparing the course at 5.00 am, which is an-hour-and-a-half before the first group tees off, so I wake up at 4.00 am,” says McLean who came to Bengaluru in December 2022.  

“It seems like routine work but there are days when things are thrown at us out of the blue such as a major irrigation leak or the mowers refuse to start. So you have to be a problem solver capable of making quick decisions. And obviously mother nature is the ultimate beast who controls everything.” 

His team at Golfshire consists of 45 members that include greenkeepers (manual labourers), workshop members (mechanics), irrigation department, one person assigned to take care of 80 golf carts and administrators. 

“It’s a relatively small team here but at DGC there were about 130 members. That’s a more common number in most clubs in India. We operate high end machines that cost Rs 80 lakh each or more. And these are the guys who do not have any formal education on turf management. But they do a fantastic job. I have a few in my team here who are far superior than the ones I have worked abroad,” he states. 

If golf turf specific products are hard to find in the market, no institution offering certified courses in India is hampering the growth of the craft that is known to be quite rewarding monetarily. Well aware of such shortcomings, McLean took the initiative of encouraging and guiding those interested in his team to think beyond their limitations. 

“For example, being a golf course mechanic is a very specialised job and they are extremely difficult to find worldwide. Because 0.2 or 0.1 mm difference in cutting the green makes a huge impact in its behaviour. A conversation with two such mechanics sparked their enthusiasm and they have now taken up jobs abroad,” he says. 

Golf is growing exponentially in the country. More players and very few golf courses mean a superintendent’s job requires one to be a multi-tasker besides being proficient in multiple skill sets. Out of all its multifaceted characteristics, people management is the most crucial of roles, according to McLean. 

“Building a team culture is probably my biggest achievement,” he gushes.

“When I arrived in Delhi, there were some leaving early, a few wouldn’t turn up for 10 days or randomly take leaves. Guys were grumpy and fighting with each other. It was terrible. By the time I left all that completely flipped. The 130 people began working as a unit with some kicking around a football at the end of a day’s work.”

What did he do to bring about a change in the mindset? Especially when language becomes the biggest barrier while training and communicating with the ground staff, who mostly belong to the areas around a golf course.

“Communication was a barrier. So I learnt a bit of Hindi. It was a baptism by fire. Everything I want them to do, I first do it myself to educate them. I buy lunch once a month and thank them for their efforts so it boosts the morale of the team,” he says. 

“Professionalism at Golfshire is much better. Doing these small things for them is appreciated and a way of gaining respect too. I’m learning Kannada which I find a lot more difficult than Hindi. “Being a superintendent in India is unique because there are challenges you don’t face in any other country in the world. Stressful, sometimes, but fun,” signs off McLean.