After flying 22 hours from Sydney I arrived in Dublin. The first thing I noticed was the harsh difference in weather. Leaving Australia in 32’c heat arriving in Dublin where the temperature was meant to reach 9’c and numbing winds.
In Dublin I was greeted at the Airport by Brian O’Shaughnessy, who took me straight to work at Aviva Stadium. There I met Majella Smyth (Head Groundsman) and his team and Ewen Wilson form SiSIS and Dennis Machinery.
One thing for sure was even though Brian took me to meet many great people and to see some of the best Golf Courses in Ireland, there was one small problem. The fog had been so thick on our visits to the courses you couldn’t see 10 yards around you, making it difficult to see them let alone admire the lush green fairways.
On the up side on my last day in Ireland, which saw the sun out for most of the morning – the longest period of the entire week, I attended the Irish Links Initiative Conference at Sutton Golf Course, North East of Dublin on the Coast line. Although only a 9 hole course, the view and course were exquisite, however I think I would see a few balls go out to see with the combination of my swing game and the strong easterlies.
I found Simon Lewis’ talk about his course at Sutton the most interesting as he explained how he and the team overcome some of the extreme weather conditions that the course sees with the affects they can have and how they go about managing it all.
Working with Brian was very enjoyable, but I was able to learn a thing or two from him as well. Brian showed me throughout the week the importance of building a good rapport with customers and potential new customers. Brian taught me that sales are not made in a day and that planting the seed and working towards an achievable end goal in the long run works best, for you and the customer. After all you want more than a one time customer.
