The announcement in March of the COVID lockdown raised understandable concerns about the possible impact on jobs. For David Griffin, the effect was immediate.

The 41-year-old had been due to move on from his post as general manager at Cotswold Hills Golf Club, in Gloucestershire, and begin work the following week as 2010 Ryder Cup venue Celtic Manor’s new director of golf, spa and leisure, but his start date had to be pushed back to July.

Griffin recalls: “I had three months waiting so luckily enough [Cotswold Hills] offered some part time work, to help steer them through a difficult period. I started at Celtic Manor in July, and literally on the second day all the senior team were brought back in and we started to shape and reopen the resort for the wider market.

“It was a good way to look at how the business had operated, look at how things were working, how things weren’t working. We obviously had to bring in a number of new systems and put some new processes in place while bringing the team back into the property, so it’s been an insightful period.

“A lot of people think, ‘Well, what a nightmare’ going into that, but I actually think it’s a quite positive situation because it gives you the opportunity to look at things, to distinguish whether it is a good way of doing things or whether there’s a better way of doing things, and using this as an opportunity rather than as a negative.”

Griffin’s can-do attitude that surfaced within two days in his new role was to prove vital over the period of two weeks in August that saw Celtic Manor create history by becoming the first venue to stage back-to-back European Tour events, the Celtic Classic and the Wales Open.

“I wasn’t at the business when that [the decision to host consecutive European events] was decided,” says Griffin, “but obviously the challenges of COVID and having reduced or depleted green staff across our three golf courses [The Twenty Ten, the Roman Road and the Montgomerie] obviously put extra pressure on Jim McKenzie’s team.

“But we all pulled together. We had golf services guys working on the golf course leading up to the event, and Jim managed to pull together a number of volunteers as well. The attitude at Celtic Manor is that if we’re set a challenge we’ll face that challenge head on and we’ll overcome that challenge and we’ll deliver the best possible product we can with the resources and tools we’ve got in front of us.”

McKenzie, Celtic Manor’s director of golf courses and estates and the man who masterminded the successful operation that ensured the 2010 Ryder Cup overcame the horrendous deluge that hit the venue, “worked tirelessly”, says Griffin.

“I think on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday he’d done something astronomical in terms of the hours he’d worked, something like 55 hours.”

Griffin was not exactly clock watching, spending 14 consecutive days on site where he was on call from roughly 6am to 8pm to ensure both the Celtic Classic and Wales Open ran smoothly and safely. “The Sunday before the first tournament all the staff had to go through the protocol of being tested; staff were in close proximity to the players, who also all got COVID tested, and the protocols the European Tour put in place were fantastic. Everyone was fine, no positive tests,” he reveals.

Celtic Manor had planned a series of events to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Europe’s phenomenal battle with, and ultimate triumph over the United States in 2010, but COVID has ravaged much of the schedule, although 2018 European captain Thomas Bjorn’s arrival at the resort with the Ryder Cup on the final day of the Celtic Classic after his charity walk from Wentworth did place the spotlight firmly on the Newport venue.

“We’re obviously disappointed that we’ve been in this local lockdown because we’ve been unable to showcase a lot of the things we had planned this year to celebrate the 10th anniversary,” says Griffin.

“I’m not sure if we’re planning to reinvigorate that next year with the Ryder Cup being delayed for a year, but I’m sure we’ll have something planned and ready to go. There’s hope, but celebrating the 11th anniversary instead of the 10th – the 10th obviously sounds a lot better.”

A major part of Griffin’s work as director of golf, spa and leisure is to assist with the growth and brand recognition of the Celtic Manor Collection of hotels – Coldra Court, Ty Hotels and The Ty Magor, which is under construction.

According to Griffin, all three venues have “been brought on line to help deliver extra bedroom stock for the International Conference Centre, Wales, which was opened a year ago and is a joint venture with the Welsh government.”

A consequence of the European Tour being camped at Celtic Manor for a fortnight, under the scrutiny of Sky Sports’ cameras, was a mass of extra tee-time bookings that meant none would be available until mid-November. Unfortunately, the area subsequently went into lockdown meaning that only people from the Newport borough can play there at the time of writing.

Griffin has come a long way in his career in golf, his first steps being taken at Wychwood Golf Club, in Oxfordshire, where he was paid to collect range balls. He only began playing at 16, but by the time he was 20 was playing off one, became an assistant professional and passed his PGA exams.

“I never turned pro thinking I am going to earn money playing,” says Griffin. “I used to be quite busy in terms of lessons, but I think that was more down to the commercial structures, the way I used to get people to book in.

“I can remember when I first started I had an empty lesson book, and I had a couple of people phone up for a lesson. Instead of me saying ‘I can get you in straight away’ I said ‘Oh, I can get you in in a week’s time because I’ve got quite a few lessons booked’ and, before you know it, it’s almost generated that urgency for people to rebook their lessons.”

He was eventually appointed head professional at Wychwood and his ambitions turned almost immediately to making his way in golf management.

He was delighted this year to get the opportunity to work at a proprietary venue of Celtic Manor’s stature after being disenchanted, at times, with the environment at private members’ clubs. “You’re almost dealing with amateurs and amateurs trying to run a board club,” he explains.

“You’re sitting around a board table with 15 people trying to make a decision, which was, at times, quite frustrating.”

No such exasperation confronts him at Celtic Manor where, under Matthew Lewis, vice-president of the Celtic Collection, he aims to take the resort to new levels.

“I’ve never taken a role where I’ve gone in there and everything’s been perfect, so there’s opportunity at Celtic to really sort of look at things in a way which is certainly going to help from a commercial standpoint and continue to improve the guest journey, the guest experience,” he says.

“I think the success I’ve had over a number of years has really enforced, allowed me to engage that full process and from a team’s perspective really given them a good sort of figurehead, someone to work with to get us back on track.”