The Lincolnshire Echo sadly reported last week that David Thorp, a 22 year old greenkeeper who had worked at Stoke Rochford Golf Club for three years, was killed in a motorbike accident on the A151 at Colsterworth the previous Thursday, during a short holiday from his job.
The local paper said that no other vehicles were involved in the accident which forced police to close the road to allow an emergency helicopter to land close to the scene.
Head greenkeeper, Gareth Austin, told the paper, "We are all devastated. There is only four or five of us in our team and it has come as a terrible shock."David was a genuinely nice bloke and would do anything for anybody. He had worked here for almost three years. He was just having a few days off work.
"It is a sad loss for us as individuals and his family of course. He was more than just a work colleague, I counted him as a friend.
"He was a young person who actually enjoyed coming to work. He had a great work ethic and those people are few and far between.
"He was conscientious and caring and took a real pride in what he did. It is not easy to find somebody like that.
"It is unfair. It always seems to be the good people that are taken early. He was developing into a very good greenkeeper and had a lot of potential."
In a statement on the club's website Club Captain Jeffrey Purdey said, “David joined us nearly three years ago as an apprentice greenkeeper, despite never having played the game.
"He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about the course, its environment, its upkeep and the skills required to be a greenkeeper.
"It soon became apparent to Gareth, our Head Greenkeeper, that to David it was more than just a job, he truly loved working at Stoke Rochford.
"David also brought transferable mechanical skills to the role, constantly tinkering with the machinery, affecting repairs and improving performance."
The club statement goes on to say that David's funeral will take place on Friday 19th February and be held at Grantham Crematorium at 12.00 noon.
