Fertilizer giant, Simplot, working in conjunction with Asian Golf Business, will be launching a programme that will seek out and identify six of Asia’s best green-keepers this year.
“The time has come for us in the turf industry to help elevate the status of golf course green-keepers in Asia”, declared John Matheson, director for Simplot Asia Pacific.
“Unlike markets like North America, Europe and Australia, where green-keepers are at the top of the heap, in many parts of Asia, green-keepers do not enjoy the same status. Put bluntly, a good many of them are treated no different to a gardener.
2The green-keeper or green superintendent is a vital person to the successful operation of a golf course. He is the man who is a trained professional who understands how to care for the hybrid grass that covers most golf courses in Asia.
“There needs to be a realisation that the culture, care and maintenance of grass is a science and for a golf course to have perfect turf and playing conditions, a green-keeper has to be empowered to act – he needs to be part of a club’s management team”, explained Matheson.
In Asia, most golf clubs keep their green-keepers out of the management loop and this puts them at a severe disadvantage.
“Through this recognition programme, we hope to elevate the status of the green-keeper in Asia and to make golf club owners and operators understand that these are the people who can make the difference between success and failure of a club”, stressed Mike Sebastian, publisher of Asian Golf Business.
“We hope that this recognition programme will serve as a wake-up call for Asia to sit up and recognise green-keepers for the important role that they have to perform”, Mike added.
The recognition programme will involve the selection of one green-keeper every two months to be celebrated for his work. The successful candidate will have a special feature on him and his work in Asian Golf Business and he will receive a special plaque and a crystal award from Simplot certifying him as an “Asian Hero of the Greens”.
For this year, Simplot will select six candidates for this award. From these six winners, one candidate will be honoured as “Asia’s Best Green-Keeper” at the end of the year at the Asia Pacific Golf Development Summit 2008 to be held at Mission Hills, China, on 2-4 December.
This programme marks the start of an industry movement to recognise the role and importance of a green-keeper in Asia.
Nominations by developers, owners or operators of a golf club in Asia should send the details to e-mail: mike.sebstian@asiangolfbusiness.com