Toby

About the Candidate

Profile-

Interests: My main hobbies are sport centred including playing football, and table tennis, with my main sporting interest being playing golf. When I am not actively taking part in sporting events and practice, I enjoy watching The Masters and The Ryder Cup; and during the off season I also enjoy watching rugby and football matches.

Goals: I have many goals that I hope to achieve in order to continuously improve in the work I am doing. One goal of mine is to work at the highest level of excellence and become a valuable asset within the golf industry. I hope to achieve this by seeking every opportunity to learn and develop my knowledge in all areas of golf.

Loch Lomond Golf Club: March 13th-October 31st

In March 2023, I started my seasonal job at Loch Lomond Golf Club. I was initially contracted by the golf operations team to be a member of the service staff, however  I wanted to broaden my knowledge to incorporate greenkeeping as well so took it upon myself to contact the relevant supervisors in order to facilitate this. Following on from this, toward the end of the season I also volunteered to work in the pro shop to gain further experience of how the club operates.

When I first started working at Loch Lomond, my position in the service staff team was to ensure that both members and guests were greeted professionally upon arrival and that their golf clubs were taken to the first tee or driving range. As part of my role in the guest experience,  it was important to me that the short game area and driving range were attended to throughout the day to ensure that high standards were maintained. Additionally, upon finishing their round of golf, I made it a priority to guarantee a seamless transition of players’ golf clubs from the course into their cars or into storage.

Within the greenkeeping team I took it upon myself to improve my knowledge and skills in the following areas: raking the bunkers, hand mowing tee boxes and approaches, using a rotary mower to maintain tee banks and the areas around the green complexes, assisting during the aerification process of the greens and undertaking any other jobs required to ensure that the golf course was presented at the highest level.

During my time in the pro shop, I was trusted to operate the till systems including the organisation and selling of merchandise as well as cashing up at the end of each business day. I also had the opportunity to caddy on a number of occasions which I found to be an enriching experience as it highlighted to me a variety of approaches that can be taken in golf as a sport while still playing at a high level.

Portmore Golf Park

During my A-levels I took a summer job greenkeeping  at Portmore Golf Club, during which time I also joined the waiting staff in the clubhouse when needed; by experiencing both of these aspects I have come to realise that I enjoy different parts of various tasks that I was entrusted with. These included: general upkeep and maintenance of tee boxes and bunkers to a high standard, as well as bar work at large functions including milestone parties and golf competitions. On completing my A-levels, I accepted a full time position with the greenkeeping team (6am-2pm). For the past 3 years, I have also volunteered with the club pro and junior organiser helping with the junior golf access programme. I have found that I have greatly enjoyed these volunteering opportunities as they have improved my knowledge regarding golf coaching and introducing new people to golf.

Since coming home from Loch Lomond, I have returned to work at Portmore Golf Club where I have joined the Front of House team. This customer facing role requires both in-depth golf knowledge including understanding of the TopTracer driving range, as well as more tailored assistance to individual customers when needed.

Adare Manor

In February 2024 I started my seasonal position within the Greenkeeping team at Adare Manor. I was tasked with general setup and maintenance of the award winning course which included but was not limited to: hand mowing greens, tees and approaches; mowing fairways and rough; as well as tasks that required high attention to detail such as edging mulch beds and sprinkler heads.

I developed lasting friendships with both my colleagues and managers and greatly enjoyed working as part of the Adare team. It was important to me to take part in as much as I could while in this position so also participated in the St Patrick’s Day Parade on behalf of Adare Manor in the local town.

About me:

During my time at secondary school I was elected prefect in my final year. This was a role which came with responsibilities that I believe helped me to develop skills in aiding team cohesion. I was put forward for and completed the sports leadership programme due to my significant involvement in a variety of sports. I also represented my school in football, rugby, badminton, tennis and cricket on a number of occasions. Outside of school I played for Barnstaple Rugby Club for 5 years, committing to training multiple times a week. Due to my main sporting interest being golf, I focussed on this after leaving school and completed my A-levels at Exeter college where I was accepted into the golf academy.

My main passion is golf where I play off of a 0.7 handicap. I played for the junior golf team from the age of 12 and went on to be the captain in 2021. This opportunity helped me to enhance my development of skills such as: organisation and leadership. Furthermore, I have been part of the men’s team since I was 16. Moving forward, I want to focus my attention and time on completing the FDSC Professional Golf Studies course.

Education-

GCSE results:

Maths- 8

English language- 7

English literature- 6

Biology-7

Chemistry-8

Physics-7

History-9

Geography-8

PE-9

A level result:

Biology- C

Sports science- B

Environmental science- B

References:

Josh Webber – Director at Portmore Golf Park

Peter Haggarty – Assistant Head Greenkeeper at Loch Lomond Golf Club

Alan MacDonnell – Superintendent at Adare Manor

(Please let me know if you would like contact details for the above)