Case studies in sustainable agronomy from The R&A

Paul Woodham, Head of Agronomy Europe, has over 30 years’ experience in golf course management. Paul’s career began in greenkeeping and progressed with 14 years’ as a professionally qualified and experienced agronomist. He has worked across all types of course ranging from public and private operations and across  Members courses to Tour and Resort venues with experience in tournament monitoring.

Paul has a degree in Turfgrass Science and is a member of the BASIS Professional Register. Paul is also a regular contributor to industry publications and presents education seminars and workshops on the national and international stage.

Dr Simon Watson, Senior Agronomist, has over 20 years' experience in the turf, amenity and agriculture industry. He provides consultancy on sustainable turf management practices for golf clubs, as well as developing the organisations sustainable agronomy offer.

Simon was an independent agricultural agronomist with Indigro before joining The R&A. He joined Indigro having fulfilled technical management and business development roles within Syngenta’s European and Asian businesses. Simon had responsibility for developing new products, commercial offers and provided technical support for Syngenta’s turf and amenity portfolio.    

Simon has a strong science background. He was able to combine this with practical application of his knowledge during the five years he spent working as an agronomist for the Sports Turf Research Institute. He has a degree in Environmental Science and PhD in agriculture. He holds BASIS, FACTS and BETA certification and is a chartered biologist.