Matthew did his apprenticeship 2006 – 2009 and has been in the position of Superintendent since 2014.

What do you love about your course? Mossman is a challenging course with some narrow holes that add to the course being a great layout. To get to some holes, you wander through a rainforest which adds variety to the course. The members are very friendly and encouraging.

What do you love about being a Superintendent? I enjoy the challenges that each week brings.  There is always something new to learn on the job.

What challenges do you face being a Superintendent? Wet season at Mossman is always a challenge. In the last two months alone, we have had over 2.2 metres of rain.  Disease pressure is high so maintaining the greens in the tropics is definitely a challenge.

What was your first job? My first job was in the pro shop at Mossman Golf Club while I was at school. After leaving school I was offered a greenkeeping apprenticeship.

In addition to being paid money how else has your career created value in your life? I value my job and love the course so it makes it good when you enjoy coming to work each day.

Through playing golf and being a Superintendent, I have made lifetime friends with fellow golfers of all ages.

Who was your biggest influence in your career? My Mum and Dad have always supported me throughout my working career and I can’t thank them enough for the influence that they have had on my career.

Is your job what you thought it would be when you started? Being a Superintendent is definitely different from positions I’ve worked at other courses. I was an assistant at Groote Eylandt and third in charge at Palmer Sea Reef.  The workload definitely lifted and there is much more responsibility is on me now.

Are there any projects you have worked on that have been particularly interesting? As an apprentice, I worked under Brendan Clark at Mossman and enjoyed rebuilding a few greens with him. The construction side was very interesting.

Planning and reshaping and building 10 tees by myself and my team in the last couple of years was a challenge but exciting to see the finished product. The planning and design of new drainage and two new lakes on the course has helped the course immensely during the wet season and my brother and I were extremely happy with the finished product.

Describe your team. For our 18 hole golf course, there is myself and my brother Daniel Coulthard who is also a qualified greenkeeper that work fulltime.  For two days a week I also have a casual groundsman Brendan Wood who assists.  I can’t speak highly enough of the work Daniel and Brendan do and together the course is presented the best we can each week. A great bunch of volunteers come in since I’ve started and the jobs they do for us is very much appreciated and helps us out a great deal.

Do you have any advice for someone interested in this field. My advice would be if you enjoy outdoor work and new challenges each week, greenkeeping  is an enjoyable job to do and can give you great satisfaction when you have a great finished product.

How do you prepare yourself for emerging trends and changes? I am always researching new changes to the industry and the greenkeepers in far North QLD are always good to catch up with to talk about new changes and challenges in the industry.