The Hills in excellent hands

By Neville Idour

The departure of general manager Brendan Allen from The Hills at Arrowrtown in Central Otago recently, could have left a void difficult to fill. He had been course superintendent for most of his time there and still oversaw the course operations as general manager.

However Allen’s man management was always one of his strong points so the course superintendent role has seen a seamless transition for Ben Taylor who joined The Hills in 2015 so he is well versed in all course protocols and the exciting changes happening.

He joined Gulf Harbour in Auckland as a 16-year-old part timer and then went full time a year later and completed his apprenticeship. He left Gulf Harbour after four years then worked on various construction projects at the Remuera, Peninsula and Manukau Golf Clubs in Auckland.

In February, 2003, he was just 20 years old when he headed overseas to gain some invaluable experience. He worked at several North American courses, including an invaluable 10 month internship at Augusta National leading up to the 2004 US Masters.

Ben Taylor (left) and Sam Davis who have been appointed top greenkeepers at The Hills.

In 2005 Australia called, where he would spend 2-1/2 years as the foreman at the Manly Golf Club in Sydney and 1-1/2 years as assistant superintendent at The Grange in Adelaide. He then returned to New Zealand and worked as assistant superintendant at Jack's Point in Queenstown before joining The Hills in 2015. His wife Carina heads The Hills accounts department.

Which brings us to the assistant superintendent Sam Davis who adds being an accomplished scratch handicap golfer to his greenkeeping skills. Sam originally worked at golf courses part-time to help in the funding of a golf career.

Between 2009 and 2013, Davis held seasonal positions at Renner Park and Omanu Golf Clubs in Tauranga before moving to Tauranga Golf Club. He began his traineeship there, where he worked until 2017. He won a trainee of the year in 2016.

In 2017, Davis travelled south to assist in the preparation of The Hills for the New Zealand Open. He made a big impression there and was offered a full-time position. He is a self confessed “grass nerd”.

As Craig Palmer, the acting general manager, said: “Ben and Sam have stepped up massively since Brendan’s departure so we can rest assured that with these two at the helm the course is in excellent hands.”