BRIAN ‘Hairy’ Osborne is off on a gap year - just 41 years after he should have taken it.
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Gloucester Golf Club’s long serving greenkeeper called it a day earlier this month, four decades after taking on the role.
Brian has the distinction of being the only greenkeeper the current Gloucester course has ever had.
He first started working as a greenkeeper on the old Gloucester golf course and transferred across when the new course was built as part of the old RED (Regional Employment Development) scheme.
Brian saw the course take shape from its earliest beginnings and has continued to craft and mould it ever since.
“It’s definitely changed, for starters the trees have grown,” he said.
Brian has had help over the years in his role - he has had apprentices and trainees - but it is the volunteer support he has received from members of the club that he most appreciates.
“It’s a members’ course,” he said.
“It’s a great club to work for. They’ve been very generous and let me do what I thought was right.”
Last week 30 superintendents from other clubs across NSW joined Brian at his Gloucester course to celebrate his long career.
Many are employed at the State’s top golf clubs, but for Brian, working at Gloucester has always been more about passion than prestige.
“I loved it - I still love it - it’s my passion,” he said.
He says golf, which he enjoys playing, will be a big part of his retirement plans, as will travel.
“I’m going to treat it as a gap year, I’ve just waited 41 years to take it,” he said.