The Grove has announced two promotions within its greenkeeping team to continue its long-running heritage of developing the golf industry’s stars of the future.
Since opening in 2003 a host of young talent have crafted their skills at the Top 100-ranked venue, under the leadership of Golf Course and Estate Manager Phillip Chiverton, who has been at the forefront of The Grove’s greenkeeping operation for 20 years.
The latest greenkeepers to rise through the ranks of the young team are 27-year-olds Sam Reid and Callum Herbst.
Sam is The Grove’s new Head Greenkeeper, with immediate effect, and Callum is promoted to Deputy Head Greenkeeper. Both joined The Grove in 2012, Herbst as an apprentice, and Reid as a casual worker, while studying at Buckinghamshire University.
Reid’s rise to Head Greenkeeper status has seen him help prepare the championship course for The British Masters in 2016, achieve an R&A Greenkeeper Scholarship in 2018, and work with the course’s world-renowned architect, Kyle Phillips, during an extensive bunker redesign and rebuild project in 2020.
Herbst’s journey has included being a Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year finalist, along with work experience during the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in the USA, and at the French Open at Le Golf National.
Commenting on the promotions, Chiverton said: “In Sam and Callum we have two certain agronomy leaders of tomorrow. The Grove has always invested in young talent and we have a rich history of coaching green-keepers through the early stages of their careers.”
A consistent development programme with scope for continual internal promotion has seen many of The Grove’s young greenkeepers go on to secure senior industry roles at other world-renowned golfing destinations, including Trump International Golf Links in Scotland, Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, San Roque Club in Spain and Abu Dhabi Golf Club, UAE.
“While our day-to-day objectives always remain keeping The Grove in pristine condition all-year-round – something our customers consistently recognise us for – it is also important we offer the next generation of green-keeping stars a platform from which to succeed and prosper. Seeing young talent develop at The Grove and then go on to prosper in all corners of the globe is hugely rewarding.”
The Grove announces greenkeeping promotions
