Greenkeeper saves golfer’s life

A greenkeeper has been told he probably saved the life of a golfer who suffered a heart attack on the course.

Liam Nicholson, 31, who has maintained the course at Gullane Golf Club in East Lothian for 16 years, used one of the club’s three defibrillators to resuscitate the golfer, and, using first aid training he’d also received from the club, he, as well as his colleagues and the man’s playing partners, continued treatment until an ambulance arrived.

Nicholson has been praised for his actions.

Course manager Stewart Duff said: “It was superb because it was the first time Liam’s ever done anything like this.

“The chap who is probably our best first aider, the most experienced, was busy in a meeting with me, so Liam got a call and was asked ‘can you deal with it?’ and Liam says ‘yep’, and he did it, so it was his first time doing it and it was a great effort.”

Nicholson himself said he did not ever foresee having to use his life-saving skills.

He said: “You never know day to day what you’re going to come up against so you’re always ready to be on hand if something ever happens.

“Obviously you don’t really want to have to use the skills you’ve learned during the first aid training but it happened and I was trained up so I knew what I was doing.

Image from Facebook

“I was panicking a bit when I went down the road to the incident but when I got there adrenaline kicked in and everything came naturally to me.

“Afterwards I was a bit shaken up but I got a phone call later on at night saying the man was still alive and that my actions had probably saved his life.

“I was a wee bit emotional about it. It’s not every day you save someone’s life.”

The club issued this statement on social media: ‘The importance of defibrillators and first aid training was highlighted recently when one of our greenkeepers, Liam Nicholson, helped a visitor who had a heart attack on the course. Using the defib located in our greenkeeping sheds, he was able to administer life saving treatment.

‘With the support of the golfer’s playing partners and other staff, Liam continued the treatment until an ambulance arrived. The golfer is thankfully now recovering well and is keen to encourage other clubs to train their staff and have defibrillators in place.