Practical GreenKeeping

Practical Greenkeeping

by Jim Arthur

Publisher’s Foreword

No one knows more about golf greenkeeping than Jim Arthur, who with a career spanning six decades has given priceless guidance and advice to over 550 golf clubs throughout the U.K. and Europe, while also acting as consultant agronomist to the Championship Committee of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.  Now, in Practical Greenkeeping, Jim Arthur reveals how golf courses can flourish by following traditional methods, which the reader will soon discover are not only the most simple but also the most effective.

Nothing is missed as Jim Arthur leads us through every step from tee to green and beyond, while his text is peppered with delightful personal anecdotes and brims with absolute common sense, all penned in his inimitable tell-it-the-way-it-is language.

What really sets Jim Arthur apart is his refusal to paper over the joints; to join the cosy consultant assembly where every golf course is seen as a beautifully kept jewel.  If a golf course is in dire need of attention – or indeed is just dire – he’ll say so.  He believes in telling people what is really happening, or what will happen with certainty if they continue to follow faulty practices, as opposed to telling them what they want him to say; that everything in the garden is lovely.

For the new generation of student and trainee greenkeepers, Practical Greenkeeping will be indispensable, providing a valuable insight into the nuts and bolts of traditional golf course management, while it should be required reading for all golfers who seek a greater understanding of what goes on behind the scenes.  Seasoned golf course managers also will be inspired by Jim Arthur’s championing of their cause, while prizing the confirmation that they are firmly on the right lines; his words their finest ally.

Finally, every chairman and member of a golf club green committee, clutching their copy of Practical Greenkeeping, should beat a path down Jim Arthur’s well-proven route.  It could well lead to the salvation of their golf courses, while making them look awfully clever into the bargain!

2^nd Edition published 2003 with addenda. Republished 2014

Published by Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. available from R&A online shop

ISBN 0-907583-12-1