Gordon Irvine has been course consultant at Littlehampton Golf Club since ‘October 2006. Playing a key role in re-establishing the playing characteristics of the classic links. He has offered advice to the Club for machinery replacement and improved staff training and morale.

He identified areas of weakness within the existing working practices/methods, suggesting changes where necessary and overseeing their implementation. His sound knowledge of greenkeeping and Club management has endeared himself to both staff and management.

Members and visitors now enjoy all year round on superb playing surfaces on a course that is now beautifully presented by a motivated and dedicated team of green keepers.

He has held several ‘golf course’ presentation evenings for the benefit of the members, and all those that attending have enjoyed the delivery, enthusiasm and content.

Gordon has delivered on every level and his advice has been invaluable to the Management Board of Littlehampton Golf Club.

Steven Graham

General Manager

Littlehampton Golf Club

Gordon Irvine came to Rosslare in May 2006, and since that time has revolutionized the way in which we care for our course. He has instigated a refurbishment programme that will bring Rosslare back to its best and is well on the way already. The improvement in our greens complex, particularly in winter has been extraordinary, the reshaping work that has been finished has met broad acclaim and our bunker refurbishment programme has been carried out to the highest standard.

Gordon does not confine himself to purely outdoor pursuits however, under his advice, our machinery fleet has been updated and replacement schedules are in place for the years ahead and our members have had the benefit to hear Gordon speak and answer questions during members nights.

Through Gordon the club has proceeded with following the R&A’s best practice guidelines. These guidelines give a template to keep the links on a sustainable path for the future.

Gordon Irvine is amongst the finest in his field and his contribution to Rosslare has been positive in the extreme.

Derek Fehily
Captain
Rosslare Golf Club, 2009

Five years ago the Management Board of the Royal Cinque Ports (Deal) agreed that improvement of the golf course should be the central pillar in their strategy to improve the fortunes of the Club.

Gordon was introduced to the Club at the end of 2003 and has advised the Club since January 2004. During this time he has transformed the condition of the links introducing a sustainable policy for course maintenance, retraining staff, advising on the replacement of the machinery fleet and carrying out a programme of bunker refurbishment.

As a result of these changes, members and visitors alike, have enjoyed the significant improvement in the playing surfaces and the Club is reaping the benefit of increased membership and visitor numbers.

 If you have any problems associated with your golf course, green keeping staff or course management I recommend you make contact with Gordon, who I am sure would be able to advise you on the way forward. If you decided to employ him I am certain that he would bring to bear a high level of expertise and commitment.

David Chidley
Chairman of Green
Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club
February 2009

From a membership point of view Gordon has given the Greens Committee a clarity in its purpose and has set achievable long term and short term objectives which have and are being reached. He has also given the committee the knowledge to champion the chosen course of action and to properly explain the rationale to members and visitors alike. From a staff viewpoint Gordon has given the greenstaff a pride in their career, a work ethic and a discipline which will stand them and the Club in good stead. They now work in all weathers and are highly motivated. As far as the playing surfaces are concerned Gordon has lead from the front working on the course with the team and they have together returned the links to its former glory. The greens are fast and true but cut to a sustainable height, the green approaches and surrounding complexes are well covered and firm, the bunkers are neatly revetted, the machinery is fit for purpose and the agronomy on the course has begun to reach the vision Gordon has provided. The best testimonial to the work Gordon, our Course Manager and our greenstaff have carried out in the past 5 years is that the course has now climbed into the top 40 in the British Isles rankings.

Ken Hannah
Golf Club Chief Excecutive

I have worked with Gordon on a number of projects, most recently at Royal Cinque Ports, where I introduced Gordon to the club. The restoration of a championship links golf course at a private members club can be politically difficult and fraught with problems. Gordon, however, handled the situation with aplomb, and the quality of his presentations to the Board and members soon won the doubters round.

Gordon invited me to the team involved in the Askernish project, now after three years of hard work; this sleeping giant is reawakening from slumber.

Gordon has a unique understanding of traditional golf courses, and an exceptional work ethic; his talent for bunker restoration and shaping verges on an art form. But in my opinion his greatest talent is in working with nature, and restoring the indigenous grasses. These are the grasses that will cope with the many challenges, environmental, social, and perhaps most importantly economic, that lie ahead.

Malcolm Peake.

Author of “Confessions of a Chairman of Green” and “A Natural Course for Golf.”

Gordon's application of traditional golf course maintenance values is something which we value greatly as golf course architects. We want our courses to be alive, to achieve that they need to play firm and fast rather than soft and slow. In the UK and other areas where cool season grasses are used that is only truly possible if traditional maintenance practices are employed to favour the optimum golfing grasses.

From a construction point of view, we have very much enjoyed working with Gordon on the installation of new bunkers and the reshaping of green surrounds in particular. His ability for creating natural shapes, particularly on links courses, has resulted in our vision being turned into reality. We can only have the vision and describe the shapes we would like to see created but the real skill lies in the shaping work itself. Gordon has masterminded the creation of green surround shapes at the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club and Rosslare Golf Club which are of the very highest quality.

The project at Askernish, in the Outer Hebrides has been one of the most exciting which we have been involved with and the design exercise to try to find the Old Tom Morris holes has been very much a joint one with Gordon. The result is the most natural and sustainable golf course you could find anywhere in the world and amazingly low cost of the creation of the course illustrates Gordon's resourcefulness.

Martin Ebert
Golf Course Architect
(Mackenzie & Ebert)