Turf Grass Schools

jerryflick – posted 02 March 2003 14:43

My son is interested in going to a four year school for Turfgrass Mgmt. Are there any rankings or lists for the top schools ?

ted – posted 04 March 2003 21:38

purdue, cornell, indiana, michigan, texas a and m are some that come to mind. i think michigan has a 2 year certified lawn techinician license degree or something.i think north carolina had some good stuff going on as don’t forget university of kentucky.

frenchman – posted 05 March 2003 08:55

Western Kentucky University is also good. It had a two or four in degree in Turf Management

bzimturf – posted 04 April 2003 13:26

Rankings( in my humble opinion).Iowa State, Purdue, Michigan State, Penn State

turfman – posted 23 April 2003 17:08

If your son plans on working in a warm season climate after college, he should probably look at a school in the southern part of the country. The schools up North and in the Midwest are good, but their main focus is cool-season turf. Mississippi State, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Tenn, Florida, Texas AM plus a handful of others offer a turf program. I would request a cirriculum from the plant and soil science depts of each school that you are interested in and compare them to see which one fits your needs. All Land-Grant Universities offer some sort of turfgrass mgt. program. Hope this helps.

ted – posted 23 April 2003 20:07

great advice. but i think the northern schools, being closer to the heart of the industry, have an advantage over the southern schools. he can always use his strong base of knowledge anywhere in the country. my experience is that the extreme southern schools don’t have the “full picture” approach to turfgrass, since they only deal with a relative limited set of turf issues compared to the north. For example , in Texas the industry is not nearly as sophisticated as businesses up north. your average lawn care guy up north knows a whole lot more about turfgrass than your average lawn care guy in the deep south, and I”m from Texas!

turfman – posted 24 April 2003 11:08

Just as you say the southern schools dont get the “full picture,” I would say that it all depends on where you plan on working after college. I went to one of the above mentioned schools because I had absolutely no desire to work or live above the transition zone. We did study cool-season turf but not to the extent that we did with warm season. The opposite would seem to be true as well. If I wanted to work and live up north, I probably would have gone to school there for more “hands on” training and dealing with the cool-season turf. I dont get the impression that those from the midwestern and northern schools are that much more knowledgable than those from southern schools. There are thousands of graduates from different regions of the country and there’s no way to meet them all and determine who’s the smartest.

ted – posted 24 April 2003 13:52

No doubt, but what comes into play is that the extreme south has a whole different scenario regarding turfgrass. They tend to have completely different turfgrasses and pest problems. Also the labor issue and the lack of sophistication and development of the industry would make it very difficult for a young graduate to find a reasonable position. I still think a well rounded education from a highly recognized turf school would give someone a more complete base of knowledge, then they could open up more opportunities for employment and better serving their customers.

certified-in-florida – posted 30 May 2003 22:14

Well, having grown up in the midwest and having attended the University of Illinios and now living in the south, I can say that either way, what is important is to get the basics. I wouldn’t say that I agree with the lack of sophistication in the south. You must keep in mind, in the north, you have a very short growing season to contend with. Down here, we grow it 12 months of the year. You have to be on your toes. I might also add that I have worked in the green industry both around Chicago-3 years- and now own a pest control company in Florida -12 years, so I have seen both sides of the coin. Many of the problems we have with turf and plants (of which we have many varieties from all over the world) in the south, are shared by our counterparts in the north.

I would say that as long as someone has the basics, they can work anywhere, and I don’t feel that either the northern or southern schools do a better job with the basics.

Regards,

Scott

ps****@gc***.org











– posted 12 March 2004 09:13

go to www.gcsaa.org, left side bar “students” link, the to “on line college guide” link.

BG – posted 16 March 2004 19:09

You should save your money and check out Lake City Community College. Its one of the few 2 year schools ranked with 4 year. As far as people up north having a bigger picture and understanding of turfgrass, I dont think so. If they do its because us southern boys are working all year while they study thier textbooks all winter.

horticulturedawg – posted 24 May 2004 19:33

I would say southern schools are superior to the northern schools as far as turf goes..The University of Georgia develops many turf types…All of the Tift types, as well as the cold hardy Seashore Paspalum. The industry in the South is extremely educated with Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Clemson and N.C. State grads. All have great Agronomy Schools. Turf care in the south requires a vast knowledge of entomology, mycology, and of course, agronomy. Since it is warm in the South longer, we have severe pest and fungus problems on turf. We also deal with warm and cool season turf with the heavy clay soil. Try growing Zoysia on red mud..we do it all the time…

open mind – posted 17 December 2004 07:07

As long as you attend plant physiology class and understnd the diffence in C3 vs.C4 metabolisms and the relative stresses on both it should not matter where you go to school. I attended Virginia Tech in the Transition zone and had to understand both cool-season and warm-season species. The football field is tif sport bemuda and the baseball fields are tall fescue and bluegrass.Concentrate on the limitations of both metabolisms and keep an open mind whereever you go.

andy 007 – posted 29 February 2012 17:43

I live in the state of florida and am looking to transfer to a university that has the major Turfgrass science or something close to it. Which school in Florida or the southeast are best?

seed – posted 29 February 2012 21:30

The University of Florida offers a B.S. degree in Golf and Sports Turf Management at three locations, Fort Lauderdale, Gainesville, and Milton. Go here and click Academic Programs:turf.ufl.edu

To transfer easily and matriculate at the Junior year, you should have the equivalent of the A.A. (Associate of Arts) degree from a Florida Community College.

Since you are a Florida resident, you will find the in-state tuition more affordable.

quote:Originally posted by andy 007:I live in the state of florida and am looking to transfer to a university that has the major Turfgrass science or something close to it. Which school in Florida or the southeast are best?

andy 007 – posted 01 March 2012 09:22

Actually I have lived in Gainesville my whole life. Are there any other schools in FL with decent programs?

seed – posted 01 March 2012 09:30

Florida Gateway College in Lake City offers a good 3-year program in Golf Operations and 2-year program Landscape Technology, both of which are for the Associate in Science (A.S.) degree, as well as Turf Equipment Management:https://www.fgc.edu/academics/golf-and-landscape-operations.aspx