From ice hockey rinks to golf courses, to trains, planes and automobiles, and now finding true passion creating sustainable products for the built environment, Michael Walker’s career has crossed continents and industries. Now CEO of SYNLawn UK, the leading supplier of custom-fit sustainable artificial turf solutions to both the commercial and private sectors, he brings a fresh perspective to golf’s evolving challenges.
You are originally from Canada before coming to the UK, how did those early years shape you?
Growing up in Canada, you learn how to skate before you learn to walk. I’m from a family of 12, the baby of eight boys and four girls, so it was dull hockey skates and splintered hockey sticks nine months of the year. Those were quickly traded in for golf shoes that didn’t fit and hand-me-down clubs with no six, seven or eight iron.
I grew up in Toronto, attended university in Vancouver and then moved to southern California to defrost!
Your early career was firmly rooted in golf and hospitality.
I started with KSL Resorts at La Quinta, part of PGA West, managing sales, marketing and membership acquisitions under some phenomenal leaders. That exposure to high-end resort golf, members and hospitality was invaluable. It then expanded into Marriott International, followed by real estate and home development around golf courses.
After 9/11, everything changed. Development paused, memberships dried up and the resort market collapsed. That was the natural end of that chapter.
That led you, unexpectedly, into aviation and transport.
I came back to the UK to stay with family and had no real agenda. Two weeks later I was offered a job at Global Infrastructure Partners, who had just purchased London City Airport. I remember saying, “What do I know about airports?” and they said, “What did you know about five-star hotels and world class golf courses?”
That focus became customer profiling and creating exceptional experiences leading to commercial opportunities. That required rebranding and a change of internal culture to attract the commercial partnerships. From London City, then Heathrow and Heathrow Express, it was about creating personality around infrastructure. Airports and rail don’t naturally have warmth, so sport became a way to connect. I was able to use rugby sevens around the 2010 World Cup to showcase speed, connectivity and experience, allowing us to reach new audiences and engage passengers before arriving at Heathrow.
You then made a significant pivot into wellness.
That came from something very personal. My youngest sister passed away from cancer. During hospice care, another sister introduced natural oils derived from hemp and other plant-based formulations. As a family, we saw how it helped at times with pain, appetite and comfort. That experience stayed with me, and the more we wanted to help others, the more challenges and barriers to market come up.
We formed Purity Wellness Group to improve the quality of life for people and pets. For seven years I focused on wellness, sport recovery and medical support, working with organisations like the RFU and cricket boards to support player recovery, as an option to traditional pain treatment and the need for opioids.
Hemp then became central to your work.
I became fascinated by the impact of natural plant-based medicine derived from certain hemp plant flowers. I partnered with one of Europe’s legendary hemp growers and spent summers in Holland learning everything I could about this incredible plant and the many applications used over thousands of years. That led to establishing Build With Hemp, supplying sustainable materials for the built environment created from the rest of the plant.
Industrial hemp is Mother Nature’s best gift and natural weapon against negative impacts we have introduced to the planet. A simple acre of hemp sequesters more carbon in 90 days than a 20-year woodland forest!
How did that lead you to SYNLawn?
Sustainability was the bridge. SYNLawn has advanced the science and technology and its commitment to the planet and product performance is both inspiring and revolutionising the way in which artificial turf is perceived.
Initially it was an R&D collaboration. Then architects and developers kept asking us to create new sustainable projects for urban and suburban environments. Eventually, it made sense to take on the UK and Ireland distributorship.
Focusing on golf, what are some of the challenges to be solved?
Player expectations of club and public practice areas are low, as investment is focused elsewhere. Now we’ve flipped that concept on its head. This is not evolution, this is a revolution of the golf sector and we will lead it! We’ve already delivered some of the most significant transformations seen in the UK golf industry,
Golf can be resistant to change. How do you see perceptions shifting?
This is easy. When you introduce a better performing product, at a better price, with the best warranties ever to be introduced into the market, SYNLawn Golf Systems are a no brainer! Installed with a level of detail never seen in the UK and Europe, you cannot tell what is real and what is artificial. Why wouldn’t a club want to reduce maintenance costs while introducing new hitting areas, chipping zones, putting and bunkers that perform at a professional standard and look good year-round. I would say to owners, club managers, greenkeepers, look at the numbers, look at the performance and compare your P&L, you will be astonished.
What excites you most about the next five years?
It’s how golf will continue to interact with design, innovation and technology while respecting tradition. We see it with simulators, short-form golf, practice-focused facilities and innovative concepts like TGL, fronted by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, which SYNLawn partner with. That’s not taking people away from golf, it’s keeping them engaged.
The technology has caught up and there are some incredible projects under way such as at The Grove. Artificial surfaces now deliver confidence, consistency and performance. When combined with strong design, sustainability and a natural aesthetic, you create authentic environments with genuine year-round playability.
For more information, visit synlawn.co.uk
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