BALLARAT Golf Club\u2019s Thomas Lyon was recently named the Toro Australian Sports Turf Managers Association Graduate of the Year.<\/p>\n
The young full-time greenskeeper recently completed his sports turf management apprenticeship, mentored by BGC course superintendent Jeff Powell, while he studied at The Gordon TAFE.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful to the ASTMA, Toro Australia, and to Jeff who is a great teacher,\u201d Mr Lyon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJeff treats you how you want to be treated, doesn\u2019t treat you like an apprentice, constantly engages and checks in on you, takes an interest, and is more than happy to help out with schoolwork.\u201d<\/p>\n
Enjoying the opportunity to watch the sun come up at work every morning, Mr Lyon\u2019s day-to-day tasks ensure the course is pristine for the Club\u2019s patrons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s lots of mowing, changing holes, and course set-up. We renovate greens on a regular basis, spray fertilisers and fungicides, we fix anything that goes wrong with irrigation, and do a lot of hand-watering throughout summer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also do any needed wall-to-wall maintenance; tree work, landscaping and planting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Lyon has a life-long love of sports including footy, cricket, soccer, and of course, golf.<\/p>\n
When his apprenticeship role was advertised three-and-a-half years ago, he was excited by the \u201cprestigious\u201d chance to be a crucial part of the historic Club\u2019s team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a business with a good reputation, so I knew it would be great to work here. It\u2019s a cool place to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The greenskeeper became eligible for the Toro Australian Sports Turf Managers Association Graduate of the Year, having previously been named the Victorian Golf Course Superintendent Association Apprentice of the Year.<\/p>\n
Moving into further study, Mr Lyon is now tackling a diploma in sports turf management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BALLARAT Golf Club\u2019s Thomas Lyon was recently named the Toro Australian Sports Turf Managers Association Graduate of the Year. The young full-time greenskeeper recently completed his sports turf management apprenticeship, mentored by BGC course superintendent Jeff Powell, while he studied at The Gordon TAFE. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to the ASTMA, Toro Australia, and to Jeff who […]<\/p>\n