From homemade cricket pitch to golf course greenkeeper
Being a greenkeeper wasn’t always the plan that 19-year-old Sam Musty had for himself, but after he made a homemade cricket pitch during the covid lockdown period and received public media attention, he knew it was something he wanted to do.
Sam has now been with the Hamilton Golf Club for over a year as an apprentice and has loved the experience he has gained working with Course Superintendent Grant Saunders and his team of four on one of the most prestigious courses in the Waikato region.
There are a range of jobs that greenkeepers do daily, most of it is around mowing fairways, the rough and greens but there are other things that they do from, cleaning paths, to cleaning and fuelling up the vehicles and irrigation.
“Working with Grant and the other 4 guys has been awesome; I have learnt so much stuff from each of them. Like everyone has great camaraderie and work well together while having fun, but when it is time to get serious, we buckle down and get the job done”.
Sam Musty
The greenkeeping team at the Hamilton Golf Club are currently working upwards of 12-hour days now, as the course is hosting the New Zealand Amateur Championship for both men and women at the start of November. A tournament that the course had to bid for a couple of years prior.
“We knew about the tournament happening here a while ago, all the preparation we have had over the last year has been a lead up to this tournament, it’s a big opportunity for the club to have here and we are putting in the work to make the course look pristine”.
So, for the next time when you are on the Hamilton Golf Course for your next round of golf, just make sure to look after the course whenever you take that massive chunk out of the ground from that wayward iron shot.
