Episode 76

LIVING THE DREAM with Ben Matthews

AFTER spending much of his early life in Canada, Ben Matthews moved to Scotland where he initially worked in Health and Social Care. But approaching his 40th birthday, he decided he needed a change of career.

One day, passing SRUC Elmwood campus he spotted a banner advertising a career in greenkeeping. It was to be his eureka moment.

He enrolled on the golf course management course and was subsequently named as winner of the HNC Golf Course Management Student of the Year sponsored by John Deere and Scottish dealer, Double A.

Then an opportunity cropped to become a seasonal member of the course management team on the Old Course at St Andrews for the 150th Open Championship this year.

Always sports mad, Ben said he was ‘living the dream’ – and as you will hear, seasonal been converted to a permanent post at St Andrews

This is really an uplifting story and a real live endorsement for a career in turfcare.

SRUC Elmwood, Scotland's Rural College

About the Podcast

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INSIDE AGRI-TURF
The farm and grass machinery business

About your host

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Chris Biddle

Chris is an experienced journalist specialising in the farm and grass machinery market. He has worked for a major tractor manufacturer and been a managing director of a farm and grass machinery dealership in the West Country.
In 1988, he launched trade magazine, Service Dealer followed by TurfPro in 1998, selling both titles to Land Power Publications in 2015.
He was editor of Landwards, the professional journal of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) from 2008 until 2019 and is the recipient of the 2020 IAgrE Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Land-Based industry.
Chris lives in Salisbury with his wife Trish, and is an avid cricket fan and member of the MCC for over 55 years.