GREENKEEPERS GRANTED ACCESS TO TOP LEVEL TRAINING

PICTURED ABOVE: Members of last year's FTMI class with mentor John McLoughlin

BIGGA and Jacobsen have revealed the 20 association members who will form the Future Turf Managers Initiative (FTMI) Class of 2023.
 
Each year the two FTMI co-founders invite 20 up-and-coming grenkeepers to participate in the intensive training programme, which the Association says has been credited with developing some of the greenkeeping industry’s most influential course managers and head greenkeepers.
 
FTMI was first hosted in 2013 as a two-day education event and since then has expanded around the world, with similar schemes being introduced in Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand. The event is aimed at up-and-coming greenkeepers who are not yet in course manager or head greenkeeper positions. Focusing on personal and professional development, rather than agronomy-based subjects, FTMI utilises the expertise of leading course managers, dynamic trainers and industry experts to mentor and educate the next generation of industry leaders.
 
The members of the FTMI Class of 2023 are:

• Jack Ashall, Knowle Golf Club
• Will Barnes, The Berkshire Golf Club
• Kevin Butcher, Walton Heath Golf Club
• Dan Fisher, North Foreland Golf Club
• Jack Hall, Northampton Golf Club
• Oliver Kirk, Bury St Edmunds Golf Club
• Stephen Mancini, Prestwick Golf Club
• Christopher Naughton, The Gleneagles Hotel
• George Nock, Enville Golf Club
• Scott Patrick, R&A Lethamhill Golf Course
• Aaron Peacock, Horsham Golf & Fitness
• Levi Pethick, Stoneham Golf Club
• Samuel Richards, Sherborne Golf Club
• Michael Sparke, King’s Hill Golf Club
• Shane Stannard, Aldeburgh Golf Club
• Craig Swindells, Chipping Sodbury Golf Club
• Nicholas Thorley, Saunton Golf Club
• James Walker, St Andrews Links Trust
• Jack Wellings, JCB Golf and Country Club
• Bradley White, Wentworth Club

Sam Evans MG was previously an FTMI graduate and now mentors on the initiative. The course manager at North Hants Golf Club, he said, “FTMI is a great way of proving to the industry that you want to kick on and that you realise it’s not going to be put on a plate for you. Everyone wants to help each other out and that’s one of the reasons I enjoy being a mentor. Hopefully, a few years down the line some of these guys will be mentors themselves.”
 
Adam Underwood, international marketing manager for Jacobsen, said: “Jacobsen values the Future Turf Managers Initiative as the pinnacle of our commitment to the industry. We understand the challenges our customers face and to support them with learning and development on training outside of agronomy is very important to us. Our thanks go to BIGGA and the team, without whom the FTMI would not be possible.”