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What Do Greenkeepers Do?
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Apr 25, 2025
Golf Monthly's Dan Parker gets a very early alarm call to join Jake Field and his team at Edgbaston Golf Club to see what it's like to be a greenkeeper! Dan gets properly hands on for a day, trying out various jobs including changing holes, bunker raking, measuring green speed, mowing approaches and ironing greens to see what it's like but also discover how techniques have become far more modern to ensure courses can be maintained to a high standard.
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0:00
right good morning it is 10 past 5 in the morning we're here at edgbaston golf club in the middle
0:13
of birmingham today i'm going to be experiencing a day in the life as a green keeper hence that
0:18
early start i'm going to get hands on with some of the stuff they do finding out what they do
0:22
why they do it asking all the questions i'm sure you and i have about their day-to-day lives um
0:28
It's early and that's fine. I'm excited to get stuck in. Let's get started
0:44
Right, good morning. I'm here with Jake. Of course, my name's Jake. Nice to meet you, Dave
0:48
Thank you for having us, pal. Yeah, no worries. Bright and early. Just seen the staff heading out onto course
0:53
We're going to be going out in a minute, following them around, seeing some of their stuff, doing some of our own stuff
0:57
what am I going to be getting up to today? So Dan, I think we're going to have you repositioning a pin this morning
1:02
Exciting, that's what I mainly came here for. Going to be ironing a green. Yes
1:06
Mowing an approach and we're going to get you to do some bunker work for us
1:10
Which will hopefully get you sweating a little bit. That's it, I'm here to labour today. But I'm here to find out a lot about how Greenkeeping works
1:16
You're going to be here to tell us the whys and the whats of what you guys do as well as some of the cutting edge technology that you guys use
1:22
to sort of monitor the course and keep it in perfect condition. it is now
1:26
10 to 6 which is fine it's a great time of day to start we're going to let it get
1:31
a little bit lighter I think and then head on to the course awesome let's do it left out
1:36
how do I get like that way so I turn to the left so that yeah
1:40
and that will just send me in that general direction yeah if you hit
1:44
got you yeah got you mate It's a real feel thing isn't it? To get the idea of it. I mean, I've had new guys and it
2:13
takes them quite a while to get used to it. Yeah so especially this time of year Dan
2:19
we're using it for alternative days, so say we cut on a Monday, we'll roll on a Tuesday
2:23
and then work our way through the week like that just to help mitigate some turf stress
2:27
This time of year, during competition, busy schedule times, we generally cut and roll to help promote speed and ball roll
2:34
It's a great bit of kit, especially in the winter months when we're not really cutting so much
2:38
but we still want to present a surface with the members and the visitors. Yeah, it's great for that time
2:44
And so you'll use that on all the greens today instead of cutting. So you'll cut tomorrow? Yeah, absolutely
2:48
And what will you have these guys rolling at today? We'll do a bit of stint reading later, I think
2:52
But what have you got them at today? So day-to-day, I'd say they're probably around nine, nine and a half
2:57
I'm probably playing that safe just in case they're a little bit slower and our members see some of this
3:01
On that day, it actually wasn't, yeah. Right, Jake, my freshly ironed green
3:06
Now time for a stint measurement. And you'll do this every morning once the greens have been ironed
3:11
or cut depending on the day. Yeah, absolutely. So this just gives us an idea where we're at
3:15
Ten's ideal, perfect for our day-to-day membership. Nine's a little bit slow, but we have just raised the height
3:20
of cuts slightly on the greens. So I expect it to be around probably nine, nine and a half
3:25
So what I've done is I've laid a marker down with a T-peg. I'm going to throw, roll three balls this way
3:32
We'll take the middle golf ball out of the three. We'll measure with a measuring tape from this point to there
3:39
And then we'll repeat the process coming back. Take an average of those two readings
3:43
Beautiful. Right, let's do it. Let's see what we're rolling at today. So this device, you just sort of let that rise until the ball drops
3:51
Just sit a ball in the groove on the bar and then just let it roll away like that
3:58
So, where are we at? So, we are at 10.3 in this direction
4:02
So, we'll head back up now, yeah? Should we leave that marker there? There it is
4:10
See, we're a touch uphill here, aren't we? Yeah, slightly uphill. Is this why you do two readings
4:15
Yeah, it's just so it can take an average. There it goes
4:24
Can you get a read there? That is not quite straight. There we go
4:32
Eight. Eight on the dot. So there if we were 10.3, so we're around, what, 9.1
4:38
9.1 in the middle there. Kind of what I thought. Pretty much what you said, Deb. Coach, as I said, it's time to replace a hole
4:47
I think this is the most exciting part. I really enjoy this job
4:52
setting up the golf course for the day you know we've put the club have actually posted
4:55
some stuff on social media before and the amount of comments people love this stuff interaction we've got yeah
5:00
golfers seem to find it really satisfying I'm going to give the people what they want today
5:03
but before we actually get into the practical side of it talk me through how you figure out
5:08
where a pin's going to be on a green are there a certain amount of possible options
5:12
where can they go where can't they go let us know yeah so we always sit there sort of six feet
5:16
in from the edge of a green day to day we try and go for There's six pins at the front, six pins in the middle and six pins at the back
5:24
They keep things relatively easy if you're day-to-day golf. How many options would you say there are on a green of this size
5:30
So I'd say around here, this is a decent size green. So we've probably got anywhere between 15 and 20 positions on here
5:37
Right then, so we're back right today. Here's the equipment. Talk me through it and I going to give this a bash So this blackboard here you can see that the cutting board this is stop sort of footprints and things like that the greens are pretty firm at the minute so you shouldn have any issues anywhere it also help stop when you come
5:55
to lift the plug out it'll stop that hole crowning a little bit uh we paint our holes daily oh good
6:01
yeah just a nice little touch for the members that they like do you want to crack on let's just do it
6:07
yeah let's have a go let's let's get it done so if you come and pick this up dan then you put it in
6:12
in that gap there stand on there yep you see this pin here
6:16
I do so pull that out and then slightly turn it sort of
6:20
roll it round and it should catch on a notch there like that
6:24
oh I got you yeah got you and then if you lift up and like use a hammer motion
6:28
gee whiz yeah yeah keep going and you'll feel it when it hits the board
6:34
shoot on to the gym hello Luna and that's perfect that's in there okay
6:43
and then next go back to that pin yeah put it back into the other
6:48
back in there and then if you spin the handles round keep going
6:54
oh I can feel that give it maybe two or three and then just lift her up now
7:03
so lift her up towards your chin and then pop it on the side of the board beautiful
7:09
Perfect. Hey, there we go. That was quite satisfying, wasn't it? So what have I got in here now
7:13
So you've got the plug where the new cup's going to go
7:17
and then we'll go and replace that now into the old hole. Yeah. There you go
7:22
Yeah, there it is. Awesome. So I've got the hole there. And then just take it to the side of the grain, Dan
7:26
and give it a tap with the metal just to clear any mud off it
7:32
And then if you want to put that in there, Dan. Oh, I see. So this is filling that back up there
7:37
just literally as I see it it's not anything special so I pop it back in
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give it a bit of a wiggle round in sort of a circular motion give it a tap
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there you go and then if you pull this lever out so push
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and then it should pop out there you go and then if you wind it round
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there's a that way yeah no other way that's it alright there you go
8:04
keep going that's perfect and then roll that keep going and tuck it back behind
8:14
perfect so if you have a look here yeah you might see some little straggly bits of turf oh wow yeah
8:20
so if you just give them a clip so clear the hole and then if you swap those yeah if you put the
8:30
the hole in. Just leave it sort of halfway proud. About there? Yeah
8:36
And then we have a depth set area, so just make sure we get the correct depth every time. Oh, okay
8:41
So this should set it an inch. Yeah. So if you pop that on top of the cup, Yeah
8:46
Stamp it down. Just put your foot on it, it should slide in. Yep
8:50
And then give it a spin a couple of times. And then just lift it off. Perfect
8:55
Hey, beautiful. Easy buddy. So final touches then, Jake. Yeah. That's the paint
9:00
That's the paint. So this is... Some clubs do this, some clubs don't
9:04
Like I said earlier, we find it's a nice touch for the members. I think so
9:08
I think you always notice when a hole's painted, you go, oh, that's a classy club. Yeah
9:12
So if you take this... So this stops the paint getting into the actual hole cup
9:17
and keeps it from sort of building up around the edge. And we're just painting this sort of soiled edge here
9:22
It'll sit on top of the cup, that will. Like that there. Yeah
9:26
And then the painting board here has a lip on it as well
9:30
to sort of stop anything coming on this area of the turf around the edge
9:35
So I'll place that down for you there, Dan. And then we'll get you some paint
9:42
Yeah, and the best thing to remember when you're painting holes is little is more
9:47
So if you put loads on, it tends to crack and peel away, so a light layer seems to work a lot better
9:52
Okay, right. Oh, I see. I can have a look at that
10:05
I don't want to overcook it That's perfect Beautiful Easy money Well
10:09
It's quite a process actually isn't it I thought it would be an easy in and out But
10:13
This is an important job Very satisfying job I would agree Yeah Thank you
10:17
Yeah no worries So if I cut in You go into the tartars
10:26
I like how they've got Animals that show the speed Yeah. It's like they knew what was coming
10:31
So your revs need to be on full. Okay. So when you come to cut your first line, get a little bit on
10:38
just be front to your cutting units. Yeah. And then tap that down and your units will drop then
10:43
And then when you get to the end, pull it back towards you. Okay. Yeah, so I think we'll start from the tee and work up, Dan
10:50
Sounds good. So our tee and surfaces are cut 8mm in the summer
10:56
We mow those three times a week. Wow. So it's Monday, Wednesday, Friday
11:00
Approaches are the same. So they're Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and they're also cut at 8mm
11:04
Keep going, a bit. At Fairways, they're cut at 13mm. Keep going
11:08
Three times a week. Semi-rough is at 22mm. That is cut twice a week
11:16
Our rough is at 2.5 inches, which is where we're stood now. Quite nice to juice it this morning as well, isn't it
11:21
Yeah, that wet winter. Punitive. The golfers have had a bit of a moan this year
11:25
but the weather's sort of taking it out of our control. Greens are currently sitting at three and a half mil Yeah and so is mowing the most sort of labour intensive part of a green keeper life You have to sort of keep on top of the most as it were Yeah I say mowing is but bunkers is also a big big labour cost I know we going
11:43
to touch on that later. But yeah, besides the greens, bunkers are our biggest labour cost
11:56
And why is that? Just the maintenance of them? Yeah, and during heavy rain events
12:01
we used to have to get three or four guys out here and fix the washouts
12:05
So it's manpower as much as the actual physical part of it as well. Yeah, so the club looked at installing a liner
12:11
So it's a rubber crumb liner. What that does is it prevents sand contamination
12:16
weeds coming through the surface. It also helps us during those rain events with washouts
12:22
From a playability point of view, it's great for the golfers and it should last us for a good 20, 25 years now
12:29
While I've got you, I've got to ask, when I end up in a bunker and I come out of that
12:34
and I'm playing with my mates and I've got to rake it quickly, how should I be raking it
12:37
How do you want to see it raked by us, by golfers, when we're out on the course
12:41
Yeah, so I mean, typically, you know, when golfers come into a bunker, they either, you know
12:47
some clubs don't have members that rake the bunkers after themselves, you know, we've all seen it
12:52
But we always see a pull in motion. Really, we need what we need to see
12:55
working in a pushing motion, pushing away like that. And then I leave a nice area
13:03
if anybody was still on there after yourself. And where should I leave the range
13:08
Is this club by club or what? It's an opinion. It is an opinion. What's your opinion
13:12
I like to see them in the bunker. Just all in? In the bunker, yeah
13:17
If they're outside the bunker and a ball hits it, it could rest up behind it
13:21
Don't want that. Interesting what you said about the pushing motion. I'm certainly, when I'm busy raking it, after I play, I pull
13:30
And so does that gather the sand up and that's not what you want? So generally we find, you know, if you have complaints about bunkers
13:38
it's about the sand depth. You know, there's not enough sand in there. That's what I ought, yes
13:41
And when we go and spend some time checking where all the sand's gone, because it doesn't disappear that quickly, we find it all built up on the back edge
13:47
Yeah. And how long does sand last in a bunker? Are you having to come in and replace these very often
13:54
With the new tech and, you know, with the liner, we're finding a lot less blowout
13:58
And this type of sand is quite coarse sand, so it doesn't splash or blow out quite as bad
14:04
So it allows you to stay there a bit longer. What type of sand is this? So this is China clear sand, it's called
14:09
And is that just something that you guys chose that you wanted at this course? Yeah. There's different options, right
14:13
Yeah, it works quite well with the liner as well. Yeah. So with it being quite coarse, it packs very well
14:20
I'll keep prepping it. Press it down to drop it
14:33
and then when you get to the end I'll point up Right then Jake, aeration
14:55
I think maybe one of the biggest bugbears of members, but what we're going to chat about here is what it is
15:01
and most importantly, why it's so important. So should we start with that
15:05
Why do you do aeration when you do it? Yeah, so we typically aerate heavily during August
15:13
Based on what we're doing by aerating is we're allowing the plant to take up nutrients, get gas and air in and around the roots
15:20
and break up some compaction in the soil. If you can imagine, you know, we've got mowers
15:24
turf irons rolling, you know, going over the turf all the time. We do get quite compact greens
15:30
And when the soil structure is compact, it makes the roots unable to spread
15:35
And that stops growth? Yeah, it stops growth. The plant gets really unhealthy, prone to disease
15:40
So by aerating, we get a better grass plant. The reason we do it in August is because, you know
15:48
we just want the quick recovery. Yeah. We want the quick recovery. We do ours not long after club championships, you know
15:53
we get all the applauded to club championships, and then, you know, the members turn up on a Monday morning
15:58
We do try and communicate the best we can to them, so they know it's coming. As you said, you've done them already
16:03
We were filming in late August, but you've allowed me to have a little go on the chipping area today
16:07
which is great. Talk us through this machine, then. Is it just, it looks kind of like a torture device
16:11
Yeah, so this is a Toro Pro car. It's a pedestrian machine, so when we use this
16:17
the guys walk around the golf course tying all the greens it leaves a great finish afterwards
16:22
but yeah it's it's a very very good piece of machinery this so for our main aeration which
16:28
we do twice a year we'd be bigger tying size yeah than this uh this is quite a small time so
16:34
generally through the season we'll run these once a month or once once every six weeks roughly so
16:39
we use sand for two things really so it's for dilution of organic matter which is uh thatch
16:45
people maybe know it as um so we're trying to break down that organic matter uh to allow for
16:50
a firmer surface which will obviously allow for better putting surfaces um can also use sand to
16:56
try and make sand channels into pipe drainage which is below the surface so if we can get our percolation rates up it allows the greens again to be drier and firmer
17:05
uh especially through the winter that's what we want right jake we're doing a lot of sort of things i think a lot of people see green keep us doing
17:14
with the equipment, mowing, greens, but I want to talk technology now
17:17
sort of the cutting edge stuff that you guys are using to help you better maintain a golf course really Now I didn hear about this before we spoke a couple days ago about it but it it sensors underneath the greens now talk me through what they are and what they help you guys do so what maia does it a under soil sensor
17:36
it feeds me data on soil temperature moisture salinity and various other things but where it
17:44
it was really sort of crucial for me is the disease forecasting
17:49
Okay. So how it works is if we see a small outbreak of disease
17:54
I can send a WhatsApp message to Maya. And using AI, basically, it builds data from throughout the year
18:02
and it allows it to predict disease outbreaks. Wow. So I'll get a notification on my phone if, you know
18:10
the weather conditions are all lining for a disease outbreak. and it just gives me that few days ahead of an outbreak
18:17
So we want to be preventative rather than curative. So as you can see here, we've got a graph chart
18:23
So that's given me the last four days and it's predicting the next 24 hours
18:28
So if I see a spike on this graph here of a value over 40, I know we need to go and apply a product
18:34
So at the minute we have had a slight bit of anthracnose activity. So you can see that sort of spike in the graph
18:41
Yeah. And this must be just a godsend for you. What was the sort of process before you had this information
18:46
Was it a lot of guesswork? Was it a lot of presumption? Now with some data behind you, you can confidently go out and do what you're doing
18:52
and use your labour more efficiently. Yeah, absolutely. So before, we were looking at just the weather forecasts
19:01
Just in the old vet office. Yeah, which is so unpredictable. So yeah, having been able to track it all on here manually
19:08
rather than the old paper diary is fantastic. Yeah, much more efficient, I'm sure
19:13
And I guess this is where it all happens, isn't it? This is the heartbeat of Edgbaston's greenkeeping
19:19
It's brilliant. We love it. Jake, now this is one I've not heard of before
19:26
Green firmness. And we talk about green firmness kind of anecdotally. All those greens are a bit firm today or soft or whatever
19:32
Here's a device that can give you an actual number. Yeah, yeah. How does this work
19:36
So, yeah, normally, you know, we take readings across the green and take an average. Yeah. you'll see these
19:40
used quite frequently at the Open British Open Lynx courses obviously have a tendency
19:45
of getting almost too firm I guess they don't want it where there's ball it's windy especially
19:49
and that ball starts oscillating a bit yeah so the R&A are using this quite a lot
19:53
the club's been Edgbaston Golf Club has been using it probably three or four years now
19:57
and what's the actual unit of measurement so we're measuring in a unit called gravities
20:02
never heard of that before yeah so there's a ballpark figure I think
20:07
sort of day to day through the summer I'm going to wear it aiming for 100 to 110 gravities
20:12
Okay. Let's have a little go with it then, shall we? So you showed me this before off camera, blue pizza style
20:18
but I'm going to hold this sort of, what would you call that? A plunger? Probe
20:22
Probe. Good. Yeah, don't mind that. So hold it about level to there
20:26
Keep going higher. Yeah. There you go. And then just let go. Yeah
20:31
There we go. 99. So we're saying that's about right for you. We did 111 earlier just off camera
20:36
but you do this on different points around the green. Yeah. take an average and that would be the same presumably for all 18 grains
20:42
Yeah we generally, so what we'll do is we'll do six grains a week and we'll continue monitoring
20:47
those grains throughout the week and then move on to another six and then and do it on the cycle
20:51
over three weeks. Brilliant and gravity is a brand new unit of measurement I've never heard of
20:55
Lastly then we're going to do moisture. Talk us through this sort of contraption you've got here
20:59
and why you guys are using it at the minute. Yeah so this probe here will give us quick data on
21:06
and what the soil's doing underneath in terms of moisture content. Gone are the days where we have a lot of disposable water
21:12
Golf clubs are trying to now be more sustainable and prevent overwatering and things like that
21:17
This year's been exceptionally wet, so we've not had much need to use water
21:22
But this moisture probe will allow me to apply water to areas
21:26
specific areas with a hose, rather than running a sprinkler, which isn't as accurate
21:31
Let's have a little look at this then, just to see what sort of data this gives us. I'm sure it's pretty self-explanatory
21:35
So yeah, if you just stab it into the ground and press read, it'll give you a reading
21:42
So we've got on there 33.0. Yep, a little bit too high
21:47
Yeah, it's quite high, it's quite wet. What sort of number are you looking at for like a neutral
21:51
I'm happy with that. Between 20% and 25%. We did have a bit of rain last night
21:56
So yeah, we're a little bit higher than we'd like to be, but that number will drop over the coming days
22:05
Well, there we go, Jake. I think we're about done for the day. Really appreciate you showing the ropes
22:10
I want to thank Bigger for setting this opportunity up to sort of teach you guys a little bit about what
22:14
greenkeepers like Jake up and down the country, across the world, are up to
22:19
I've enjoyed it, Jake. Do you enjoy this sort of lifestyle you've been living, looking after this beautiful golf course
22:24
Yeah, I think it's a fantastic career, Dan. You get the beauty of being outdoors all day
22:30
although the weather can be bad at times. Days like today make it worth it, really
22:34
yeah I think there's a huge misconception isn't there that green stuff all they do is more grass
22:38
you know I've heard it a few times from people outside of the industry
22:42
you know I kind of laugh I wish I did only just cut grass it made my life a lot easier
22:48
but yeah no there's a lot more to green keeping than the way technology is moving now
22:53
it's definitely going to become more and more of a thing well it's Jake thank you for having us really appreciate it got a beautiful golf course here
23:00
Hopefully you've learnt a little bit about what Jake and his crew and teams up and down the country across the world get up to
23:05
Thank you for watching, hope you enjoyed it and coffee I think
23:09
Yeah, absolutely
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