Remembering Jack McMillan, a founding father of BIGGA
With a neatly-trimmed moustache, a military precision instilled when serving in the Scots Guards and the unwaivering support of his wife, Rita, Jack McMillan built a legacy that extends far beyond the five sons who joined him in the greenkeeping industry.
Those who knew him well described Jack as a canny Scot, unflappable and philosophical but with both feet planted firmly on the ground. Across a career spanning seven decades, he was forthright in his belief that better education would advance the greenkeeping profession and, crucially, he was willing to do something about it.
Born in 1932, Jack was too young to serve in World War Two but contributed to the war effort by working part-time on a farm near his home in Newton Mearns, near Glasgow. That set him up well for a career in greenkeeping and he joined East Renfrewshire Golf Club when he left school in 1946.
Speaking in 2008, Jack said: “That first year, 1946-47, was one of the severest winters I’ve ever known. We were under snow for four months but, like a lot of the kids who worked on farms, we were used to hard work and had an affinity with the land. I found out I was comfortable with that and loved the golf course.”
Although there was a team of five to maintain the moorland course, greenkeeping practices were very basic. A 16-inch push mower was used on greens and tees and all steep banks were hand cut with scythes, which were set by the local blacksmith. Bunkers were only raked on a Saturday morning and water for hot drinks was collected from a stream.
In a 1986 article for Greenkeeper, Jack recalled those early days, saying: “It was accepted that most of the work required a certain amount of sweat and toil. Manual labour was more plentiful and jobs were filled by convenience without particular regard for qualifications beyond the need for physical stamina. Our knowledge was acquired by observation, asking questions, listening and gleaning what information we could from older and more experienced men. Job improvement evolved largely through ingenuity and the need for less laborious methods – there was little opportunity for educational improvement.”
In 1950 Jack was called up for National Service and joined the Scots Guard, where he served in Cyprus and Egypt. He enlisted for a further three years and served as a physical training instructor, even becoming the 1st Battalion’s light heavyweight boxing champion.
Jack returned to civilian life in 1954, rejoining East Renfrewshire before becoming an estate worker in Ayrshire. Five years later he became head greenkeeper at Elderslie in Paisley.
Speaking to Laurence Pithie MG for Greenkeeper International in 2022 on the occasion of his 90th birthday, Jack said: “One of my first memories from there is attending a greens committee meeting, but being told by the captain that I would have to sit outside the room on the veranda and to remain there to answer any questions that may arise. Needless to say, I did not take too kindly to sitting on a cold veranda and I went home. All future greens meetings included my full participation!”
Having served with distinction in the Army, Jack wasn’t going to stand being treated as a second class citizen and throughout his career he strove to ensure that none of his peers would have to suffer the same ignominy.
In 1964, Jack moved to Cardross, where he spent 10 years before moving to Bush Hill Park in North London in 1974. The move meant uprooting Rita and his six children, but it proved a key moment in Jack’s career. Four years later he moved to Effingham in Surrey and after another two years, aged 48, he was invited to apply for the top role at Sunningdale, replacing Hugh McGilvray. Jack later recalled that although the greens chairperson had hardly understood a word he had said during the interview, he also believed Jack was the right person for the job.
During his time at Sunningdale, Jack prepared the course for six European Opens, the Walker Cup, the Brabazon Trophy and the Golf Vase. Speaking in 2008 of that period, Jack said: “The philosophy in those days was that presentation wasn’t as important as it is now. What was all important was playing conditions on tees, fairways, greens. The objective was good firm tees, good firm fairways and good firm greens. Everything else was incidental.”
Jack had been a member of the Scottish and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (SIGGA) since the 1960s but took an increasingly-active role when he moved south. He served on the London and Surrey sections of the British Golf Greenkeepers Association (BGGA) but grew frustrated at the lack of educational opportunities. Forthright and willing to act on his beliefs, Jack played a key role in the formation of the short-lived English and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (EIGGA), serving as its first president in 1983.
However, three fragmented associations were not conducive to building a stronger greenkeeping industry and in 1987 the EIGGA, BGGA and SIGGA amalgamated to form BIGGA. Walter Woods was elected the first chairperson with Jack acting as deputy and taking up the senior role a year later.
As far back as 1988, Jack spoke of his belief that if the industry was to thrive, golf courses should return to the practices of the past with fewer inputs, raised heights of cut and less frequent mowing. With sustainability at the forefront of our thoughts today, Jack’s thinking was ahead of its time.
In a 1990 article for Greenkeeping Management, Jack also wrote about the stress that greenkeepers were placed under by golfers who couldn’t understand why increased levels of play, particularly during the winter, inevitably led to poorer playing conditions. He was particularly scathing of those who caused trouble when greenkeepers attempted to repair this damage through practices such as aeration.
Jack wrote: “Might I suggest that every club choose a green and apply the programme the membership would like – no aeration, no topdress, plenty of water in drought, plant cover scoured off to find pace and bags of fertiliser to make it green. This green could be called the ‘members’ green’. By the end of this year, we would have one green in every club that would be a disaster area. Hopefully then members might just appreciate what their greenkeepers do for them. I am fed up listening to young greenkeepers who are being given a life of hell for doing a good job.”
While Jack was pleased that greenkeeping had moved away from the backbreaking work of his youth, he was saddened that the physical strain had been replaced by mental stress. With greenkeepers across the country struggling under the weight of growing expectations, the annual gathering at BTME was a welcome respite. Jack often said he was most comfortable in the company of other greenkeepers and he would attend BTME long after his retirement.
“Who could explain the communication [greenkeepers] find at Harrogate?” Jack wrote in 1997. “There we see the greenkeeper at his best. He is among his peers, they share a common bond one with the other, they are comfortable and the pressure of work is for a brief period left behind. I am sure they all come away from Harrogate having enjoyed each other’s company with their batteries charged and ready for another challenging year ahead.”
That love for the industry was passed on to his children, with all of his sons and several grandchildren following him into greenkeeping. Jack estimated that over 40 of his former staff members became course managers and in 2008 both he and Walter Woods received lifetime achievement awards.
But his proudest moment came in 1993, when Jack received an MBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in recognition of his lifelong commitment to advancing the greenkeeping profession. He later commented that Rita knew about it for six months before he did, but that if someone had told him back in 1946 that he’d receive an MBE for services to the golf course industry, he would never have believed it.
Rita’s own agronomic knowledge is renowned across the industry and in 1983, John Campbell wrote of the couple: “Jack has shared all his trials and tribulations in greenkeeping with his bonny, understanding wife Rita, who is a first class cook and in whose capable hands the destiny of the McMillan family has been directed with maternal shrewdness, kindness and compassion.”
Rita would stay with him right until the end and was with Jack when he died on Monday 17 February 2025. Jack is survived by four sons, 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by daughter Heather and son Ian.
We'd love to hear your tributes and stories about Jack. Please send them to [email protected] and we'll look to publish them in a future edition of Greenkeeper International.
BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton pays tribute to "a fantastic gentleman"
Jack was a giant in the industry and in BIGGA. He was hugely influential in the formation of the association and in raising the profile of greenkeepers. He was also a fantastic gentleman, seemingly always accompanied by his remarkable wife, Rita,
In the days before BIGGA, all the work done for greenkeeper associations was voluntary and these members - with their wives also often playing an active role - gave huge amounts of their time to ensure the profession was appropriately represented. We owe them a debt of gratitude we can never repay.
For my part, spending time with our founding fathers - Jack, Walter Woods BEM, George Brown, Cecil George and many others - was one of the great honours of my career. They all retained a love for the association long after their retirements and I vividly remember the feeling of pride and nerves when I took to the AGM stage and saw these giants of our industry looking on.
Jack's passing marks the end of an era for BIGGA and our love and condolences go out to all his family.
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