TIM Johnson has been appointed as the seventh head professional in the 113-year history of Woodbridge Golf Club.The 33-year-old has spent the last 13 years as a teaching professional at Cretingham Golf Club.

TIM Johnson has been appointed as the seventh head professional in the 113-year history of Woodbridge Golf Club.

The 33-year-old has spent the last 13 years as a teaching professional at Cretingham Golf Club.

Although born in Ipswich, Johnson moved to Zambia when he was four but returned to England for his education at Bearwood School in Berkshire and Colchester Sixth Form College.

Johnson said: “My aim is to provide a friendly image, play with club members, encourage and coach juniors and coach the club representative teams in the Hambro Cup, Tolly Cobbold Cup and the ladies competitions. I feel there is a lot of potential,” said Johnson.

Previous Woodbridge professionals have been Reuben Killick, P E Taylor, Sid Rush, Leslie Jones and more recently Adrian Hubert and Campbell Elliot who starts a new job in Morocco in September.

Jerry Cross took over as secretary-manager in May. He has strong connections with the area as an old boy of St Joseph's College in Ipswich, club cricketer and rugby player for Suffolk and the Eastern Counties.

Cross said: “It is a great honour to join Woodbridge Golf Club and to build on the great contribution made by previous secretaries. This is a very exciting time.”

Secretaries at Woodbridge since the end of the Second World War have been Colonel R J Bryans, D H Aldred, E B Oxland, J E S Pattinson, J F Thom, Captain L A Harpum RN and A Theunissen.

A third change in the senior management team is the arrival of Steve Peters as course manager.

Peters, who was born in Solihull, spent his first eight years as a greenkeeper at Stratford-on-Avon before taking up the post of head greenkeeper at Yelverton which hosted the English Seniors Championship this year.

“It was a moorland course with ponies and sheep. In 1999 I won the Toro award as greenkeeper of the year,” said Peters, who also attended the Reaseheath College

in Nantwich which specialises in greenkeeping and sports turf management.

His most recent post was course manager at the Blankney Golf Club in Lincolnshire where he has been since 2000.

“Woodbridge is a prestige club and it is an honour to be their course manager,” added Peters.

“At present it is rated 132nd in the Golf World rankings but I want to see it rise to the top 50.”