best hort schools ?

lot0210 – posted 03 January 2008 13:17

Dose anyone know what the best turf schools in the country are? I am looking to start a career as an golf course super and want a school with a good turf and ornamental program any help would be appreciated Thx

-lot

greenman1 – posted 17 January 2008 20:57

Where do you live and are you looking for a 2 yr or B.S. degree? There are alot of major colleges that offer a turf degree. Purdue, NC state, U of TN, etc. I attend Walters State in East TN for golf course and turf management. The 2 yr degree will transfer to UT. It just depends on how much money you have, if you want to start out at a 4 yr college or community college, and if you want a 2 yr or associates. A 2 yr will get you into the industry especially if you do summer internships which pretty much every school requires. With a few years experience you may get a super role at a public course after working as an assistant or foreman. If you want to be a super at a high end country club your probably going to need a B.S. with some experience these days. Experience is worth alot in this industry. It all depends on what you want to do.

cohiba – posted 18 January 2008 06:37

Caution: If you desire the high end private club job you basically have to start out on that side of the industry. Take internships at those clubs, take positions at those clubs. But remember: expectations are high, club loyalty changes with each new greens committee and mother nature is no excuse for poor conditions. Lose turf and you may lose your job. Stress Management is just as important as turf management. I think the average stay at a private club is 4 years.

The public sector is more forgiving. Your loyalty rests with an owner. Conditions and mother nature are more easiliy communicated with an owner. Expectations are high, but not unreasonable, when you communicate that the long term health of the facility is your number one goal. Stress management is important but so is financial and turf management.

I suggest do at least one year internship at a public course to see how money is utilized. Public guys can do alot with a little money.

The preceeding comments are generalizations about the industry. There are great private clubs that follow supers blindly and hang on their every last word. Those jobs are hard to find.

Good luck. And look at Rutgers when considering education……….

greenman1 – posted 18 January 2008 17:31

Well said on the internships. After speaking with several supers through class visits I shifted my preference to public courses rather than private. As he said it depends on which private course your at, but it seems there are alot of politics and headaches with private courses. Granted they pay will not be as great, but I can handle that. I think it takes a certain type of person to work a private club. With that said choose your internships wisely. Also I have heard Rutgers offers online classes. They are all over the web, just do a search to check them out.

lot0210 – posted 19 January 2008 07:28

Thanks for the responses,But since last posting I have decided to go to a small school in Tifton GA. called ABAC. ABAC is the school that developed tiftway grass.There turf program is ranked 7th and I am going to take there new 4 year program Turf and Golf course management. As fore experience I already have 1 season working as a normal crew member at a privet club and would like to stay in that sector of courses. thanks again -lot

cohiba – posted 19 January 2008 11:38

After school. Be careful as different areas of the country require different management techniques beyond just turf types. Before you take a position at a club ask the owners, or greens committee to see some test results on soils. You should really be familiar with your turf types, soils, climates, ect. For instance, in the northest we spend more on fungicides that the southwest, they spend more on water than we do. In the south is is common to spray Roundup on dormant turf to kill poa and weeds. In the northeast we could never do that and keep our jobs without it being a total renovation.

In any event… remember that communication is key to your success. And another thing is that you cannot remember everything there is to know about your job. The key to it is to know when to ask questions and know where to look for the right answers.

I’ve been a super for 15 years, 13 at my current course. And I still look for answers sometimes.

Best of luck…………………