A greenkeeper whose actions helped save a golfer’s life has been called “superb” by his manager.

Liam Nicholson, 31, who has helped maintain the greens at Gullane Golf Club for 16 years, put his first aid training to good use recently when he attended to a golfer who suffered a heart attack on the course.

He used one of the club’s three defibrillators to resuscitate the golfer, and he, his colleagues and the man’s playing partners continued treatment until an ambulance arrived.

Course manager Stewart Duff said Liam’s actions were a “great effort”.

He 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.”

The golf club organises regular first aid training for its staff.

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

He added: “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.”

The Edinburgh resident, who grew up in Gullane, continued: “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 quick-thinking lifesaver was awarded a “generous gift” by the club last week, while the golfer, from East Lothian, is said to be recovering well.