Everyone at BIGGA and the greenkeeping industry was saddened to hear of the death of George Brown, who was National Chairman of the Association in 2003.
George, who was 77, was the former Course Manager at Turnberry, the legendary links facility in Ayrshire, Scotland.
Hailing from Kent, George was immersed in golf from an early age as a caddie, a greenkeeper and also an extremely talented golfer who played to County standard.
He was appointed Course Manager at Turnberry in 1985 and worked on three Open Championships – 1986, 1994 and 2009, as well as countless other tournaments and events. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from BIGGA in 2009. During his career he played golf with many celebrities, notably HRH the Duke of York and Bill Clinton and all were amused by his great ability for joke and story-telling.
George passed away in the early hours of 17 September after a battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Brenda, their two children and grandchildren.
Andy Campbell MG, who George selected to be his Vice Chairman of BIGGA remembers him fondly, “George was a unique character, one of a kind, and I’ll always be grateful to him for providing me with one of the greatest opportunities of my life. He was renowned for his dry and mischievous sense of humour but underneath laid a very intelligent and sensitive man, during our time in office we faced some difficult challenges and George’s counsel was always wise.
“I will remember him touring his beloved Turnberry accompanied by his faithful spaniel and always with a golf club in hand, in many ways he was ahead of his time as he really understood the delicate balance between the needs of the golf course and the expectations of the modern golfer.”
His funeral is taking place at Barham Crematorium on Friday 2nd October at 3.20pm followed by a gathering at Princes Golf Club at which all of his friends and colleagues are very welcome.
George featured in a video previewing The 2009 Open where he spoke passionately about his love for Turnberry, course changes, the weather and Turnberry’s rich history. Watch it here.
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