Essendon Country Club, Hertfordshire, has announced plans to restructure its golf agronomy department, bringing in best-in-class personnel to help establish the club’s desired position as one of the Southeast of England’s premier golf venues.
As part of the restructure, Craig Gibson will be stepping into a new role as Estates Manager, tasked with overseeing health and safety, course spraying programmes, estate security, and management policies around the club.
Marc Winnan, who has previously worked in senior greenkeeping positions at The Grove, Brocket Hall and Moor Park, will join the club as Director of Courses to lead the dynamic plans to improve golf facilities across the board drastically.
Marc, who is also a Master Professional, a qualified golf course architect and a member of the European Institute of Golf Course Architecture (EIGCA), became the Course Manager at Aldenham Golf and Country Club at the age of just 25. He has experience at some of the UK’s most renowned golf courses and has gained valuable and extensive knowledge from some of the most highly regarded golf course agronomists in the country.
Joining Marc in the newly created role of Consultant Agronomist is Master Greenkeeper, John Wells. A hugely experienced course conditioning specialist, John assisted in the development of both courses at Brocket Hall and helped elevate them to the very best of standards during the club’s prime.
John has since moved to his most recent position at the well-regarded South Herts Golf Club. As Course Manager, he has built a reputation for presenting an immaculate golf course year-round. John will be monitoring progress at Essendon, paying regular visits to the club in order to aid the advancements of both courses.
The final new addition to the new all-star agronomy and operations team at Essendon is Alan Walker, a past Captain of the PGA, as Club Ambassador. Alan will assist with the running of several aspects of club life, focussing on enhancing the overall experience for Essendon’s valued members.
Paul Densham, General Manager at Essendon Country Club, commented on the restructure: “We’re extremely excited for Marc, John and Alan to join the team here at Essendon Country Club. They bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that will be unrivalled in the county.
“This complete restructure will enable us to accelerate the programmes we have planned for both courses, and I believe that Essendon will compete with the very best that England has to offer in time.
“We envisage ourselves becoming a top tier golf venue and one of the best-conditioned courses in the country. We truly believe these wholesale changes will give us the opportunity to achieve these goals in both the short and long term.”
These fundamental changes further demonstrate the innovation and forward-thinking approach that has been adopted at Essendon Country Club for the past decade. Both courses have benefitted from a significant increase in greenkeeping resource recently, and this restructure, along with the new expertise within the team, will undoubtedly allow the courses to reach their fullest potential.
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