WEBVTT - Superintendent Series: Sandy Reid of St. Andrews 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.480 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:04.920 When I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:05.880 And when I find my. 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:08.960 Ball in a brid egg Frida egg, the dreaded Frida egg, 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:12.680 Frida egg, fridagg bride egg Lie, I'm about ready to 0:00:12.760 --> 0:00:13.280 run off of. 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:23.240 The hup course. 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.680 Welcome back to another edition of the FRIDAYGG podcast in 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:43.159 our Superintendent series. As always, today's episode is brought to 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:48.720 you by Toro. 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That 0:01:25.959 --> 0:01:28.840 kind of all around performance is what champions are made of. 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:32.080 Follow at Toro Golf on Twitter and reach out to 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:37.720 your local Toro distributor to schedule a demo. Today's episode 0:01:37.840 --> 0:01:41.160 is with Sandy Reid, the director of greenkeeping at Saint 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:44.399 Andrews Links. I met Sandy when I was over for 0:01:44.480 --> 0:01:49.360 the Open this year, and Sandy oversees all the courses 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:53.560 at Saint Andrews so all seven, manages the entire team 0:01:54.000 --> 0:01:57.320 and is a wonderful guy. Before Saint Andrews, he worked 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:58.200 at Carnousti. 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:02.760 So, without further ado, here is Sandy Reed. 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:14.040 All right, Sandy, obviously a crazy year for you. Can 0:02:14.080 --> 0:02:17.600 you can you give us an idea? You know, most people, 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:21.040 I think look at hosting one major tournament, one big 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:24.280 event as a you know, a big year. What's it 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:27.080 like when you're doing too and you have the the 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:31.000 obviously the one hundred and fiftieth Open and the last 0:02:31.160 --> 0:02:33.880 just finishing up last week, the Dunhill. What what's that 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.440 like from a you know, kind of a setup in 0:02:36.480 --> 0:02:39.040 a in a golf course strain perspective? 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.560 Yeah, well, I guess preparing for the Open. I don't 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.520 It doesn't really come any bigger than that, but you know, 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.960 preparations for that they've been you know, they have three 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:52.799 or four years in the making really, so pretty much 0:02:52.840 --> 0:02:57.320 our whole whole priority for the year wars around just 0:02:57.720 --> 0:03:01.200 having the golf course set up for that, which we 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.280 feel we did, you know, reasonably good job. But as 0:03:04.280 --> 0:03:05.480 for the Dunhill. 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:08.239 That what else. 0:03:08.240 --> 0:03:10.959 It's a big DP World Tour event. It's actually pretty 0:03:10.960 --> 0:03:13.320 straightforward for us to prepare for. You know, this time 0:03:13.360 --> 0:03:17.200 of year, the grass is almost stop growing, there's no 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:20.720 rough for anything to marriage. The only thing we're really 0:03:20.720 --> 0:03:22.760 trying to do is make sure there's no disease on 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:26.640 the greens, you know, So Dunhill's relatively straightforward. So but 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:29.760 yet everything that went into preparing for the one hundred 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:33.080 and fiftieth Open, you know that there's a lot of 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:34.920 a lot of stuff goes into that, whether it be 0:03:35.360 --> 0:03:38.280 on the course or infrastructure. And we're quite a complex 0:03:38.360 --> 0:03:40.520 site here with golf courses at either side of the 0:03:40.560 --> 0:03:44.000 old so all the all the tentage and bits and pieces, 0:03:44.040 --> 0:03:46.440 you know, it impacts all the courses here and that's 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.360 where you know that that kept me busy for the 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:50.640 first half of the year, that's for sure. 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:56.360 Yeah, what how long was the infrastructure build out for 0:03:56.440 --> 0:04:01.160 the Open? It was huge and how much time went 0:04:01.240 --> 0:04:02.680 into just putting it up. 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:07.240 So the contractors they came on site in the fourteenth 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:12.920 of March is when they they came on site. The 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.640 build started first Monday in April, when we say Monday 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:18.880 the fourth thereabouts, So yeah, there would be a good 0:04:19.520 --> 0:04:22.640 three full months of of of build. 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:27.479 Now. It was in the early weeks, it was fairly gentle. 0:04:27.520 --> 0:04:31.279 It was manty, mainly grand stands in early early while 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:35.240 the tentage it really ramped up in that last six 0:04:35.360 --> 0:04:39.320 or eight weeks out the tented village that that sits 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:42.000 on our driving range or golf academy, that was a 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:44.880 fairly substantial build, right enough, So we had to close 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:47.000 that down just at the end of April, if I recall. 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.160 So that was fairly complex. 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:53.440 But yeah, I believe it was probably the biggest infrastructure 0:04:53.480 --> 0:04:57.240 there's ever been at the the Open. Open every year 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:01.120 pretty much and worked three cannucially prior to here, but 0:05:01.160 --> 0:05:02.560 you know, different scale altogether. 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:06.760 So you've worked at Carnousty and uh and the saying 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:08.839 Andrew's we're going to take those away. 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:10.480 What what's your favorite? 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:13.480 You just you know, mentioned going to the Open every year, 0:05:13.480 --> 0:05:16.880 what's your favorite venue non Carnousty or the. 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:24.839 I would say Birkdale probably. I've not played them all. 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.400 I've not or I've played Newfield. I've only played I 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:29.479 only played this for them, so I've only played nine 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:33.640 holes if you like half the course. Birkedale's probably my 0:05:33.680 --> 0:05:38.200 favorite out the rest. They're all great in their own way. 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:44.159 I've not played George's and not really got inside the 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:44.760 ropes per se. 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:45.120 It was down. 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.040 It was at the Open there last year, but with 0:05:47.160 --> 0:05:49.360 the COVID restrictions we didn't really get a great chance 0:05:49.360 --> 0:05:52.279 to get inside the ropes to really appreciate the course. 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:54.440 But I would say Birkdale is probably my favorite out 0:05:54.440 --> 0:05:57.120 with the two that have been at. 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:00.400 Back to back to the Danehill and the Open. 0:06:00.600 --> 0:06:04.880 How so did all the infrastructure come down and did 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:06.320 new infrastructure go up? 0:06:06.320 --> 0:06:07.240 How did that work? 0:06:08.120 --> 0:06:11.760 Yep, every single thing came down and all from the opening, 0:06:11.800 --> 0:06:15.080 albeit some of the actual equipment just got stored on 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:17.000 site and then got rebuilt again, just in a slightly 0:06:17.040 --> 0:06:21.359 different location or on a smaller scale. And funny, you know, 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.440 some of the contractors, it was the same guys, you know. 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:27.039 On twenty sixth of August, they officially finished with RNA, 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:29.560 and on the twenty ninth of August they started with 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:33.080 IMG who run the dun Hills. So same guys, using 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:35.640 the same stuff, but just building a slightly different place. 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:37.640 That's funny. 0:06:38.400 --> 0:06:41.160 They just bring it down put it back up three 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:45.039 days later, so you just, uh, it's gonna be like 0:06:45.160 --> 0:06:50.200 what in terms of the turf and like having stuff 0:06:50.240 --> 0:06:52.440 on it for effectively almost a year? 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.640 Now, what what are we What are you. 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:58.320 Looking at in terms of just the the damage done 0:06:58.360 --> 0:07:00.520 to it and and the bounce back from it. 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:06.839 Yeah, it depends what infrastructure was on the turf. Where 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:12.160 there was the grand stands or bleachers, that's pretty that's 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.040 pretty minimum. You know, there was a lot of there 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.040 was still some daylight and air got underneath them where 0:07:17.040 --> 0:07:19.640 the tentage was, and the trackway, you know, the metal 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:23.640 trackway where all the big articulated lorries come in. That's 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:26.400 really where we've lost a lot of grass. So on 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:28.000 top of it being down for so long, we've had 0:07:28.000 --> 0:07:29.840 a very dry year as you would have seen it 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:34.360 the open, and it's actually continued to be a little 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:36.520 bit dryer than average. Perhaps post open, we've had some 0:07:36.560 --> 0:07:39.760 heavy spells of rain but recovery has perhaps been a 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:42.400 little bit slower than we would have perhaps anticipated. We 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:44.120 you know, been doing a lot of variation, a lot 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:48.000 of seeding, a lot of feeding. But it's going to 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:50.200 be well next year before we get full of recovery. 0:07:50.240 --> 0:07:52.600 You know, there's some areas where the hospitality was on 0:07:52.640 --> 0:07:55.160 the on the second hold of the eating, which is 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:57.720 quite bad. Some of the driving rangehere the tented village 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:00.760 was so yeah, it's there's some substains stuff there. But 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:03.200 here we've non stop since they open. The guys have 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:04.920 been working on it, getting seed in the ground. So 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.320 the challenges we've had golf, you know, all this infrastructures 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:11.520 and other golf courses. We've had golf on top of us, 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:13.280 so you know, get an opportunity to get in there 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:15.040 and do the work and have the have the young 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:18.000 grass get some you know, time to itself without getting tramble. 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:19.120 It has been the tough thing for us. 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:23.840 That's I mean, you effectively operate like the the biggest 0:08:23.920 --> 0:08:28.600 municipal facility in the country, and I think, uh, how 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:32.319 hard is it to do course projects at a at 0:08:32.320 --> 0:08:36.000 a public golf course where you don't really have shutdowns? 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:38.720 I think you know, everybody always and I'm one, is 0:08:38.800 --> 0:08:43.720 clamoring for in America at least municipal golf to start 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:46.840 to do some projects. But then, you know, the aspect 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.959 of shutting down the t sheet is a really difficult thing. 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.600 How do you guys, you know, go about doing bigger 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:57.320 projects in this case recovery, uh, from the from the 0:08:57.360 --> 0:08:59.960 tournament while people are you know, playing and you have 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:00.840 pack t sheet. 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:07.080 Yeah, it can be quite tough, that's for sure. In fairness, 0:09:07.600 --> 0:09:10.160 you know, will we have these best part six and 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:13.480 a half thousand ticket holders that play play golf here, 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.680 so you know, we have to communicate well with them. 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:23.600 But you know, generally everyone's been fairly helpful in that regard. 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:25.839 You know, I talked about that hospitality tent on the 0:09:25.880 --> 0:09:27.720 second of the EAD and you know we shortened it 0:09:27.720 --> 0:09:29.880 to par three in advance and we played it for 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:32.959 a par three for a few weeks thereafter. And most 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:36.360 people are pretty understanding. Wintertime, it's sims similar. We have, 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:38.400 you know, have some decent side projects on the go 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:43.000 each wintertime. We have a couple of sort of maintenance 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:46.120 days through the winter that can help us just get 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.480 some of the work done or we just have to 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:50.520 try and move the team markers around the best we can. 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:51.920 The problem is we have got a few of the 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:55.560 clubs they still actually play handicapp count and competitions here too, 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:59.160 so there's challenges with around. 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:01.400 That, but we'll find a way. 0:10:02.040 --> 0:10:05.120 Basically, you know what, We'll work around the golf best 0:10:05.160 --> 0:10:08.000 we can and generally there's not really an issue. 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:12.200 I want to talk a little bit about yourself. Where 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:14.679 did you grow up and and how did you get 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:15.320 into golf. 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.920 So I grew up in you could see the central 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:22.839 Highlands of Scotland, a little village called blair Rathel, so 0:10:22.880 --> 0:10:29.440 maybe for almost halfway between Perth and Inverness. And so 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:32.360 my father was a deer stalker who you know, have 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:34.520 the red deer and grouse on the on the moors. 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:38.559 And I always thought I would be a god follow 0:10:38.640 --> 0:10:40.839 him into gamekeeping. 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:43.880 But I had played golf. 0:10:43.920 --> 0:10:46.600 He he did golf, and so he would take my 0:10:46.600 --> 0:10:48.560 brother and I'm a younger brother and I golfing from 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:50.280 I'm going to see a start when I was around 0:10:50.320 --> 0:10:54.040 about nine maybe if I forget, but a little nine 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:59.280 hole course, yeah, nine hole course at Blairrathel, great little course, 0:10:59.720 --> 0:11:05.200 and we had family friends that were. He was the 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:09.160 head greenkeeper Lockery golf Course, which is another ten minutes 0:11:09.200 --> 0:11:11.840 down the road. So when I when I was fourteen, 0:11:11.840 --> 0:11:14.400 he had asked if I was interested in some holiday work. 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:18.800 So I did jump at that. So for three years 0:11:19.080 --> 0:11:21.120 when I was fourteen fifteen sixteen, I worked at Eastern 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:22.920 and summer holidays at Lockery. 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:25.600 At the end of that, when. 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:27.640 It came time for leaving school, I was never going 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:28.800 to stay on too long at school. 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:29.600 I kind of wanted to leave. 0:11:29.600 --> 0:11:33.079 When I was sixteen, I decided I wanted to give 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:36.520 green keeping a shot. Signed up for a one year 0:11:36.760 --> 0:11:39.319 basic green keeping course at Elmwood College, which is actually 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:41.400 not too far away from Andrews here only fifteen minutes 0:11:41.440 --> 0:11:44.000 away from s Andrews. But yes, signed up as a 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.960 sixteen year old, did one year basic kind of greenkeeping stuff, 0:11:48.040 --> 0:11:51.559 but stayed on site college. Loved it, and then I 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:53.840 guess the fortunate thing for me was I got a 0:11:53.880 --> 0:11:56.079 job at the end of it. You know you, yeah, 0:11:57.360 --> 0:12:01.559 you wrote wrote a pile of letters away or what 0:12:02.000 --> 0:12:04.160 I should say. One of the modules we did at college, 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:07.360 it wasn't just greenkeeping. One was on communications and teaching 0:12:07.360 --> 0:12:10.040 you how to write a letter properly, and so I 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:12.079 remember writing. I'm going to say it was like twenty 0:12:12.080 --> 0:12:16.120 seven or twenty eight letters to golf courses all around 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:19.679 in north and east of Scotland. That was kind of 0:12:19.679 --> 0:12:21.840 where my family were from and where we holiday. I 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:24.040 was more comfortable and knew the golf courses. 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:25.000 So that was the day. 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:27.880 I guess it was typewriters, but I think I would 0:12:27.880 --> 0:12:30.880 have handwritten all these letters. Wrote twenty seven or twenty eight, 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:35.280 and I got one response, and the response was offering 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.240 me a position. And this is where I think, perhaps 0:12:38.280 --> 0:12:41.640 and maybe a little bit of fake good luck whatever 0:12:43.559 --> 0:12:44.960 I had put on the letter that I was from 0:12:44.960 --> 0:12:49.839 a gamekeeping family. So the guy that offered me a job, 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:53.520 he was into his shooting and his dogs, training dogs 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:55.440 and stuff. And I think rather than any of my 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:57.560 greenkeeping qualifications, it was the fact that I said I 0:12:57.600 --> 0:13:00.160 was the son of a gamekeeper that was probably we 0:13:00.320 --> 0:13:03.760 kind of piqued his interest. So and that was a 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:07.280 place called Lethem Grange, which is probably it's sadly closed 0:13:07.320 --> 0:13:09.160 down a couple of years ago, but that's maybe about 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:12.480 ten fifteen minutes away from CARNUSI. So I was three 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:16.120 years there and then fortunately he got an assistant's job 0:13:16.160 --> 0:13:18.839 at at Carnousi. But what before I finished, what I 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.280 should say is that guy that offered me the job 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:24.280 back in ninety four, he's now my father in law. 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:26.840 So no, that's right. 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.120 Yeah I met so he got a job, you got 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.120 a job, and you met your wife. 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:32.880 I met my wife there as well. 0:13:32.960 --> 0:13:35.720 Yet so we're still happily together all these all this 0:13:35.760 --> 0:13:36.200 time later. 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:38.040 Yeah, that's wild. 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:41.600 You know, what an interesting way to get into the business, 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:46.560 but also just you know what an amazing first job, right, yeah, 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:50.800 you know, changing your life really yeah, absolutely, so many ways. Yeah, 0:13:51.000 --> 0:13:54.040 what what you know, what do you start working as 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:57.800 a as a kid in during holiday and you know, 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:02.120 in part time? What wasn't it about the green, about 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.000 the jobs and working on the golf course that you 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:08.560 liked and made you want to do that rather than 0:14:08.880 --> 0:14:11.880 you know, kind of going following in the family footsteps. 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:15.360 Well, I guess it was still an outdoors type thing. 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:21.360 I think I really enjoyed the sense of achievement of 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:23.920 of doing a task and seeing it completed, and you know, 0:14:24.280 --> 0:14:26.120 enjoying the fruits of your labor if you like, you know, 0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:30.600 there was almost a fairly immediate self sense of satisfaction 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.360 from completing a job. And in those days when I 0:14:33.440 --> 0:14:35.640 was at school, I wasn't really on the equipment. It 0:14:35.720 --> 0:14:39.760 was raking bunkers and brushing grass and stuff. But I 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:42.360 think I just enjoyed kind of trying to do a 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:44.240 job and doing it doing it well. I think that's 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:47.160 really the catalyst for getting me into it. 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:51.040 Mm hmm. It's I think about that. 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.960 Like I was out at a golf course this morning, 0:14:54.760 --> 0:14:58.880 you know, shooting some stuff, filming, and I was just 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:03.120 thinking about, like how when you're mowing a green, it's 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.760 just like when you're mowing a yard, but that idea 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:08.320 of like you can see the progress and then you 0:15:08.400 --> 0:15:13.120 finish it, and it's very like kind of it is rewarding. 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:16.800 There is like a nice sense of accomplishment when you 0:15:16.880 --> 0:15:20.480 when you finish these types of things. And so how 0:15:20.480 --> 0:15:22.920 did you get looped in at CARNOUSTI was that? Were 0:15:22.920 --> 0:15:25.960 you just looking for a new place to move up to, 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.200 and and that was you know, how how did that work? 0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:35.720 Know? That was there was an advertisement in the local newspaper. 0:15:36.200 --> 0:15:39.400 I hadn't hadn't been looking for a job, but yeah, 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:44.240 an advertisement came up and I applied for it, and. 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:45.920 Yeah, you just got the job. 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:49.520 It was fairly state forward, what I do remainber but 0:15:49.560 --> 0:15:51.480 I had one of the longest interviews in my life. 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:55.320 So the superintendent at that point was you could see 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:58.320 a legendary grenk keeper in UK circles, a guy called 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:02.120 John Philip, and he had pretty much transformed canusie if 0:16:02.120 --> 0:16:04.120 you like. You know, it was in a pretty sorry 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:06.840 state when he took over eighty five, and he had 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:12.840 turned its fortunes around. It was just a big snowball effect. 0:16:12.840 --> 0:16:14.920 Has it got better, It got more, you know, more visitors, 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:17.200 more incoming. We were able to spend more. But by 0:16:17.200 --> 0:16:19.480 that point, you know, I started there in ninety seven, 0:16:19.520 --> 0:16:22.320 so that point they had already hosted two Scottish opens 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:25.280 in ninety five and ninety six. The open was coming 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:27.400 around the corner of ninety nine, so you know, when 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.120 the advert came up, I had jumped at the chance 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:31.280 of going for it. Had an interview with draw and 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:34.440 that lasted, yeah, two or three hours, and I didn't 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:37.760 do very much talking. I can tell you is John's 0:16:37.760 --> 0:16:39.920 one of the most enthusiastic guys you'll ever meet. 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:43.480 So yeah, but I got the job there, and you know, 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:44.200 just over. 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:46.800 The years kind of managed to work my way up. 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.920 But it's it's a it's a real, real special place, 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:53.360 CANUSI you know, I still hold it fondly in my heart. 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:56.240 You know, you know all the work that we did there. 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:00.720 And how good the turf is, you know, from a 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:02.960 tough manager, and it takes a bit of. 0:17:02.960 --> 0:17:08.240 Beating yeah with you as you describe jan as a 0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:11.400 as a legend. You know when you worked for him, 0:17:11.640 --> 0:17:14.159 what was kind of the biggest thing that you took away? 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:18.080 How do he shape you as an individual? 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:21.919 He was a hard worker. 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.000 I like to think I was a hard worker, but 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:31.880 he you know, I felt you could. He wouldn't say 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:34.119 pat you on the back, but you knew you. I 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:36.680 always thought I was kind of trying to please him, 0:17:37.640 --> 0:17:38.800 put my best foute forward. 0:17:39.400 --> 0:17:44.000 I enjoyed my work too. But he was so enthusiastic about. 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.200 The turf and the game. He's a bit of a historian, 0:17:47.520 --> 0:17:50.400 you know, he really knows his stuff about the game, 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:53.760 especially the open and you know Tom Morris and he 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:58.879 could really talk about the history of Carnousti especially, But 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:01.439 he was such an enthusias asked for for the turf 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:04.840 and you know, and the challenges he would have had 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:07.959 to try and make it better. He he was perhaps 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.440 a little bit more I don't know what. We're not ruthless, 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:13.400 but he he didn't care so much about the golfers. 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:15.439 He just got on and did the work. And you know, 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.199 if there was flak coming his way, he just accepted it, 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:19.879 you know, and just moved on. He he knew he 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:23.440 was doing it for the betterment of the course, so 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:26.399 he you know, there was nothing really stopped him and 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:30.080 in terms of doing what he felt was best for 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:32.760 for the turf, and in terms and turned of course. 0:18:33.160 --> 0:18:37.520 So yeah, real, just an enthusiastic guy about his vacation 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:38.639 and the game. 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:41.320 Name two things I love myself. 0:18:43.880 --> 0:18:46.520 For more than a century, with cutting edge turf equipment 0:18:46.560 --> 0:18:49.840 and irrigation solutions, Toro has had your front nine covered 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.800 and your back nine too. In fact, Toro's always had 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:56.080 your back period. Toro is is committed to your long 0:18:56.160 --> 0:18:59.080 term success as tourer pros are committed to their shot. 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:02.680 That's the top notch customer support from Toro and it's 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:07.200 dedicated local distributors, both of whom are passionate about delivering 0:19:07.280 --> 0:19:11.200 terf equipment and irrigation solutions that solve real world problems. 0:19:12.080 --> 0:19:14.639 Follow at Toro Golf on Twitter and reach out to 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.639 your local Toro distributor today. Now back to Sandy Reid. 0:19:20.040 --> 0:19:21.040 So you worked your. 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:26.720 Way up and and were it became ran essentially the 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:32.040 maintenance UH program at Carnousti over the years. What were 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:36.280 your you know, favorite parts of of Carnusty just as 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.480 a place in general, and how you guys went about 0:19:39.520 --> 0:19:43.119 maintaining it. 0:19:41.760 --> 0:19:41.920 And. 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:45.560 Well, a couple of things you talked to you a little, 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:50.040 you know, just the standards of tough quality, tough presentation there, 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:52.920 and it kind of almost became a little bit addictive 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:56.199 just trying to see how you know, looking how you know, 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:57.800 figuring out ways we could make it better. 0:19:58.359 --> 0:19:59.680 You know, the tentionent to detail. 0:20:00.680 --> 0:20:02.720 It wasn't just in the tough you know, bunker preparation, 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:07.200 the bunker revetments. In my eyes, you'll you'll not see 0:20:07.240 --> 0:20:10.719 bunkers built any better, you know, to a better quality. 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.480 And the golf course, especially the Championship of course, the 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:15.720 three course of fifty four holes at Canusi, you know, 0:20:15.760 --> 0:20:18.720 three supercourses, but the Championship course it's a special place 0:20:18.760 --> 0:20:21.359 you know, it's really you know, it's a test of 0:20:21.359 --> 0:20:24.600 your game for starters, but there's so many different challenges 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:26.600 that it kind of throws out. Yet you know that 0:20:26.640 --> 0:20:29.960 the bunkering, as in the strategic element of the bunkering 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:32.080 around there takes a bit of beating. 0:20:31.840 --> 0:20:32.280 Too, you know. 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:36.400 So and you do know that it's you know, there's 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:41.040 so much history a place as there is here that people, 0:20:41.119 --> 0:20:43.560 loads of people in my shoes before me, had had 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:50.040 similar challenges, more difficult challenges perhaps, But we're. 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:51.160 You know, we're looking after our course. 0:20:51.200 --> 0:20:56.240 Not all all had their left or mark and some 0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:58.920 some way or another, you know, it had all looked 0:20:58.960 --> 0:21:03.679 to make some form of improvements, especially Canoustie, you know, 0:21:03.720 --> 0:21:07.240 there had been quite a few changes there over the years. 0:21:07.240 --> 0:21:09.120 Perhaps a little bit more difficult to achieve that sort 0:21:09.119 --> 0:21:10.560 of thing here in the old course with it. 0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:14.680 What you said about the bunkers, the best built bunkers, 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:17.760 what what makes them so well built? 0:21:18.840 --> 0:21:21.399 I think it's just the the sharpness, if you like, 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:25.080 round the around the you know, how they fit into 0:21:25.119 --> 0:21:29.800 the ground. I guess maybe Kanusti does differ, though a 0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:33.280