The Sealey Years

Chris Sealey certainly made an impact during his long career in greenkeeping, with many citing him as a mentor and friend. The popular former BIGGA board member reflects on more than half a century in the industry.

It’s all well and good having grand plans and mapping out the life you want, but sometimes things just happen and you go with the flow. For Chris Sealey, who last month called time on a fine 54-year career, his start in greenkeeping came in precisely that fashion.

Back in 1970, just a teenager with little idea of what he wanted to do for work, Chris was caddying at Lansdown Golf Club for a friend of his father’s who happened to be the greens chairman. Not only that, but this was a greens chairman on the lookout for new staff.

“They were thinking of taking on an apprentice,” Chris explained. “I wasn’t too committed to what I wanted to do at that time, so I thought I’d give it a go.” Lansdown provided a bracing introduction to the profession, with the course perched on a hilltop just outside Bath and affording panoramic views but little in the way of protection from the elements. Chris was also going in cold in terms of his understanding of exactly what greenkeeping entailed, and he readily admits to initially thinking, “it was just cutting grass”.

“It took me a good while before I started to understand the job and the depth to it,” he confessed. “I was well into my apprenticeship before I could appreciate the finer details of managing soils, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, pests, diseases, weeds, drainage and so on, as well as cutting the grass of course!” After 12 years at Lansdown, Chris was relieved to be able to shed “about three layers of clothing” when he moved to lower-lying Saltford as deputy, where he was inspired under the tutelage of boss Ian McFarlane to broaden his skill set beyond the agronomic sphere, leading him to what would become a long-standing association with BIGGA.

“Ian sadly passed away a few years ago but he taught me so much,” he said. “This was also around the time I got involved with BIGGA and started going to Harrogate and attending seminars.

“When I joined Saltford I didn’t have much managerial experience and BIGGA was running week-long management training courses at headquarters, which was at Aldwark in those days. They were really good because it was a bit of agronomy, but a lot of it was management techniques, interview techniques, how to deal with staff, how to motivate staff, how to manage a budget. That really helped me learn that side of the job.”

Still, the position of deputy was one Chris enjoyed so much that the offer of a course manager’s role at Chippenham did not immediately persuade him to leave.

“Being deputy is great because you get the best jobs, but you don’t have to deal with the staff on a regular basis, and you don’t have to deal with the directors and the committees,” he said. "I really wasn’t sure about it and I came up a few times to Chippenham before making a decision, and in the end I’m glad I chose to make the move.”

He can’t have known when he arrived in 1990 that the Wiltshire venue would be the place he would see out the rest of his career, let alone the many amazing experiences he would have along the way. Chris’ willingness to embrace opportunities has opened doors to worlds seen by only a few, such as when he travelled to Oakmont as a volunteer at the 2007 US Open for a trip that left him with an envy matched in colour by the verdant putting surfaces.

“I was talking over a coffee one morning with the consultant agronomist and we got to the subject of the budget,” he explained. “I wasn’t asking for a figure because I could only imagine how much it would be, but he told me, ‘JZ [Superintendent John Zimmer] is the only man who can overspend an unlimited budget’.

“On the Wednesday before the tournament, JZ came over and asked what I thought could be done to improve the course and I said, ‘What, apart from putting a roof on it?’. It was just immaculate. The greens were the fastest I’ve ever seen – like putting on a marble staircase.”

Such experiences will live long in the memory for Chris, but his real legacy is in his work with BIGGA – having risen to the position of chairperson in 2014 after many years’ involvement at section, regional and national level – and in the transformative impact he has had at Chippenham. His first task was to bring the greens up to scratch, having inherited surfaces that were “dark green and spongey”. The fact some members liked it that way meant Chris had to cash in on the goodwill sometimes afforded to course managers in their “honeymoon period” as he set about putting things right.

“I came in and ripped everything to bits,” he said. “There were chunks of turf flying all over the place because the greens had never had any hollow tining or deep spiking and it was all shallow-rooted, and just a case of: water, fertiliser, cut. “The members loved them because they were easy to land a ball on and then I came along and stopped watering them, stepped fertilising, did some scarifying and really got to work on them, and of course quite often they were almost yellow to start with. I had to get that work done in my honeymoon period.”

Chris knew that short-term pain would deliver long-term gain, and sure enough Chippenham’s greens flourished, with a programme of sand top-dressing cultivating surfaces that are smooth and consistent and benefit from much-improved drainage, even if members now have to be a little more accurate.
The playing experience and reputation of Chippenham were greatly enhanced during Chris’s tenure as he was also an integral figure in the addition of seven new holes in 2012, something he relished.

“It was wonderful to be a part of that development, transforming 45 acres from a farmer’s field into part of a golf course,” he said. “I was heavily involved on a daily basis from the design to the grow-in and it was a fascinating and incredibly rewarding process.”

Speaking shortly before heading into a hard-earned retirement, Chris shared a vignette of his life as a greenkeeper that serves as a reminder why people can fall in love with the job, even those who in their youth assumed it was little more than cutting grass. “I’ve always loved looking at the golf course, either in the early morning sunshine or the evening as the sun is going down, when the long fescue rough is blowing in the breeze and there’s a golden glow to the landscape – that was my favourite way to see it,” he reflected.

With such comforting memories to take with him, Chris is leaving Chippenham in the safe hands of Nick Perkins and, though he will gladly be on hand to assist his successor if required and has also lined up some consultancy work, he is otherwise looking forward to spending more time with Patricia, his ever-supportive partner of 32 years. “We’re off to India for a month in February,” he said. “We’re going to see the Taj Mahal, and then a few weeks in Sri Lanka.”

On Chris’ return from his last trip to the South Asian island, he was greeted on his first day back at work by a ruptured water main that was coughing up 7,500 litres a minute. He can rest assured that won’t happen this time, or at least if it does, it’ll be someone else’s problem. Meanwhile, Chris will be preoccupied with a new companion of the four-legged variety, who he hopes will keep him active as he contemplates turning 70 next April.

“Because of the hours that I work, I haven’t had a dog for the last 12 years, so I’m going to have a dog again,” he said. “I like to have a beer or two, so having a dog to take for walks will help me counteract that!” GI

What BIGGA means to me

The value that BIGGA has provided to me throughout my career has been enormous. One of the greatest things it provides is networking opportunities. We all have times when we’re down in the dumps or you’re getting criticised, and it can often be things beyond your control – like the weather! But you can always pick up the phone to another BIGGA member, friends you’ve made thanks to that common ground, and you’ll be able to have a good chat and feel better about it. Having been involved with BIGGA at many levels, it’s always been the people who have provided the highlights.

The future's bright

I've been a judge for the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year and been involved with many other initiatives and what I love is seeing the enthusiasm there among the younger generation in this industry. There are some fantastic opportunities out there to engage with if you're prepared to put yourself forward and I would encourage people to do just that. I think a lot of people were terrified when Covid hit that it might be the end for many golf clubs, but in fact many more people have taken up golf and the need is greater than ever for educated, motivated and committed greenkeepers.

 

 

Wholehearted and humble – Jim Croxton

I’ve often heard Chris referred to as ‘the greenkeepers’ greenkeeper’, which I think is the perfect way to sum him up. He’s absolutely had his heart in the industry and the association throughout, but he’s always been a very humble and nice man. He also had exceptionally high standards as a greenkeeper and has been a mentor to many. I’d like to thank Chris for his support and friendship over the years and wish him all the best in retirement.

First a mentor, now a friend – John Keenaghan

In my early years in greenkeeping, Chris was a mentor for me. He got me involved in Section Committee and then Regional Board, and I’m grateful for that. We talk on a regular basis and we go out to dinner with our wives, so it’s more of a big friendship now. Chris has worked so hard at Chippenham to turn it around. I know in retirement he won’t be one for sitting on the beach – he won’t be able to stay away. He’s got a good relationship with Nick, who is coming in as course manager, and Chris will be on hand for him with anything he wants to know. Chris is that type of guy.