Richard Attwood: General Manager at Harewood Golf Club on the club's history and function

This week, in association with the Elmwood Trading Company, we caught up with Richard Attwood, the GM at Harewood Golf Club. 

The club was originally formed in 1923 but it wasn’t until 1956 that the club became truly active. 

Harewood did have two courses named the Old Course and the New Course until 2008, when the New Course was sold to the airport and the Old Course got a Greg Turner makeover and became the Woodlands Course. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's all about sports Canterbury's All Sport Breakfast with Leslie
Murrock and Morrison Mitsubishi plug In Hybrid specialists US talk
senby Were.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
The time is twenty one away from nine o'clock. It's
time to go out to the Herewood Golf Club and
we are going to be talking to Richard Edward.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Richard, good morning, Good morning, Leslie, thank you.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
How are you because you've got the biggest club to oversee,
haven't you.

Speaker 1 (00:23):
We have in regards to numbers in Jensbury, we're not
too far off from why Mari and a few other
clubs are similar numbers.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
So how do you deal to that on a daily basis?
How do you look after your golfers and keep them well.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
We have a great team met the club who looked
after worked after the course and we're a great pro
shop team as well that make sure that everyone is
as well greeted to the club and making sure that
people enjoy being at at Herewood.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
And what is the history of the golf club.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Well, the golf club is actually one hundred and one
years old. The club established itself in nineteen twenty three,
but due to the Second World War it was used
as a training facility, and then in nineteen fifty six
mister Blank decided to start up the club again and

(01:20):
really focus on the youth of the city. There are
not many golf clubs that would allow youths to play golf,
and so he started the first and foremost a nine
hole and then eventually in the eating hole, and then
eventuated into a twin course, one of the only twin
courses in the South Oland. And then in two thousand

(01:41):
and eight the Crostis Airport brought what is net what
was the planes course and extended its runway and the
club then decided to invest that money into the course
we have today and that's the Woodlands Course.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Fantastic. And how did you get to be GM Richard at.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Wood Well, my background is in events and it's due COVID. Essentially,
it was a chance for me to look back and
look what I wanted to do for the next twenty
years of my work life. And I've always been involved
with sports at different levels and in this job came

(02:21):
along and obviously I applied for it, but then I
was lucky to secure the job and I haven't looked back.
I've been there for two years now. And really enjoyed
the club. It's had some great people in the club,
some great staff, and yeah, really enjoying myself.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
Fantastic. So who are some of your staff.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
Who's delivering your golf to the people out at hereward?

Speaker 1 (02:42):
Well, first and foremost white people come to hear it,
and that's because of the course. And we have our
head greenkeeper, Colin, who most people around the golf courses
around christ and beyond would know Colin. He's been a
green keeper that he would have gone teen years and
is due to retire in March next year, but he

(03:06):
has been educating and teaching his current staff and that's
Chris and Jamie, and we've an apprentice, Otis who started
with us earlier this year. And then we have Craig
and Goldlockey, who are very patient about the club and
enjoy themselves and working with and greeting people at the

(03:26):
pro shop. And Craig is a titleist presentative and he's
very much been in the golf golfing industry for a
very long time. And then we have Martin and Courtney
in the office with me, and yeah, we're a pretty
small team of ten people. We do have a few
other part timers, but overall, yeah, the team does a

(03:49):
very good job for the size of the club and
anything that we have about the club.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
And do you play golf yourself, Richard, I.

Speaker 1 (03:57):
Am so, I'm in again.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
So what's your handicap?

Speaker 1 (04:04):
Oh, I don't have a handicap. Here's the reason I'm
learning again. So yeah, So let's say the members do
give me a bit of a bit of stick by
not being out there, but I'm aiming to be at
the out in the course over the next month or so. Well,
you have other skills, yeah, I have in regards to
I mean from my background is in regards to the

(04:25):
major events and so forth. It's there's a lot of
transfer transferable skills that I've been able to utilize in
the golf and industry. And and I must must say
I've I've met with some great people in the industry.
And if you really enjoy talking to other gems around
New Zealand, there are a type type bunch of people
who really like to I suppose, really passionate about golf

(04:49):
and want to make sure that golf stays at at
its peak as it is now. And yeah, and deliver great.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Courses, absolutely, and that's one of the things that I've
enjoyed chatting to the golf various different golf courses around
our city. How the passion just comes through the members
and the maybe a little bit of parochialism, but I
don't see that as a bad thing.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
And it's really neat to catch up and talk Hereward
Golf Club with you. Richard.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
Well, thank you. I mean, like I said, we invite
anybody out to come and see the golf club. We've
done some significant work over the last couple of years.
We're actually been doing some work on the course and
in on the clubhouse, just to upgrade it, but also
in regards to our public driving range at clubhouse, so
anybody can come and use the facilities that we have

(05:37):
there and we look forward to seeing people out at Hereward.

Speaker 3 (05:41):
Well, good man, and good luck with your golf.

Speaker 1 (05:43):
No, thanks very much.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Sounds like he's got a job on his hands, doesn't it.
Richard Atwood There from the Heward Golf Club in association
with the Elmwood Trading Company Marty Fuller and his team,
who we are really grateful to every week.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
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Speaker 1 (06:02):
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