Greens staff make most of lockdown
ALDERLEY Edge Golf Club professional Charles Le Sueur is delighted with the work done by the green staff during the recent lockdown.
Charles said: “I am pleased to say that the good weather is definitely benefiting the course. Unlike a lot of other courses, we have all of our greens staff working hard making some great improvements.
“All fairways and rough is now being cut which will be ongoing from now.
“The rough has been swept across the course where debris from winter (leaves and twigs) were left and the practice area has been transformed with the green doubling in size and another practice bunker being added to help you to vary your practice down there.”
Ben Johnson is the new England Golf Club Support Officer for Cheshire and Derbyshire, succeeding Sean Hammill and Alison Lysons who had done a great job in the role before it was revised last year.
Ben has plenty of expertise and knowledge in golf and business and is looking forward to helping clubs in many ways as they now experience very difficult times.
Ben outlined his career to date and what he is looking to offer in his role: “I started working in golf at the age of 19 (now 32) when I moved to Cambridgeshire to work for Acushnet Europe Ltd (Titleist & FootJoy).
“After four years split between the sales department and custom clubs team, I left in order to go to University.
“After graduating with a degree in Business Management, I started a job with a new start-up golf travel company as the Sales & Marketing Manager.
“I spent two years with this company when the Club Support Officer role in Staffordshire became available with England Golf. I began this role in June 2016 and have since moved to cover the counties of Cheshire and Derbyshire from April 2019.
“During my time with England Golf, I have also completed the Level 1 ‘Management Development Programme’ (MDP 1) with the Club Managers’ Association of Europe (CMAE) and, in my own time, a Master’s degree in Global Media and Management.
“In my role, I aim to help golf clubs grow their business with support that’s tailored to their individual needs.
“Specifically, I can provide support and guidance around recruitment and retention, governance, business planning, marketing and social media, market segmentation, safeguarding and child protection including the SafeGolf accreditation, the World Handicap System, junior golf including club-school links and, where available, funding opportunities.
“The club support network comprises of 20 Club Support Officers and 5 Partnership Managers, all who have specific counties and regions which they cover.
“Since the area which I cover comprises of over 125 clubs, it is difficult to visit clubs as regularly as I would perhaps like, therefore, I must commend the work that clubs do following the guidance and support they receive, particularly with the SafeGolf accreditation.
“Additionally, the County bodies across both of the counties which I cover and supporting partners such as the PGA and The Golf Foundation provide exceptionally valuable resources and guidance which further adds to the support available to clubs.
“I regularly play golf in my spare time and currently play off a (questionable) 11 handicap.and my contact details are 07702 555564 and email ben. johnson@ englandgolf. org.”