HEART START TRAINING FOR GREENKEEPING TEAM
Photo: David Sulivan guides Royal Dornoch course manager Eoin Riddell on CPR, with fellow greenkeepers looking on.
ROYAL Dornoch greenkeepers have undergone CPR training.
Nineteen personnel, along with course manager Eoin Riddell, attended a session led by Code Blue campaigner David Sullivan.
Royal Dornoch became the first golf club in the world to attach defibrillators to all its buggies and, working in tandem with David, added a groundbreaking, battery operated insulated unit at the Halfway House last year.
General manager Neil Hampton said: “I think it is safe to say Royal Dornoch must be one of the safest courses to take unwell on if, perish the thought, a golfer was to suffer a cardiac arrest out on the links.
“The greenkeepers are out on the course all the time and it’s great that they are trained up to be first responders in an emergency.”
It is estimated that around 400 golfers suffer heart attacks every year on UK courses.
“We were proud to be the first club anywhere to have fitted these easy-to-use defibrillators to our fleet of buggies and I wonder if any others have trained all their greenkeepers in CPR?” queried Neil.
“Hopefully other golf clubs will think carefully about making their staff familiar with using a defibrillator should an emergency arise.”
Course manager Eoin Riddell was kitted out with a virtual reality headset which simulated an emergency as he worked on a mannequin.
During a flying trip from his home in Surrey, David led the CPR session, and more than 100 locals took part in other community events held at the town’s West Church Hall.
While there are defibrillators at various places in the town, an anonymous Dornoch Parish church benefactor has met the cost of installing a wall mounted defibrillator to provide cover in the west end.
Past Royal Dornoch captain and kirk elder Willie MacKay explained: “Through the golf club, we contacted David and he has been hugely supportive.
“He flew up to host a series of CPR sessions over two days, including one for the Royal Dornoch greenkeepers.
“David has been developing a ground-breaking insulation package which protects the kit from low temperatures. That is what the club has fitted at the Halfway House.
“Sadly, David has lost friends to heart attacks on the golf course and that triggered his admirable campaign, which saw him stop-off at the golf club during a fundraiser which involved hitting golf balls from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
“Hundreds of golfers die on courses every year, so it is fantastic that Royal Dornoch has been leading the way in terms of defibrillators and CPR to provide reassurance to members and our many visitors from around the world.”