If you ever was on a golf course I think you should meet a man taking care on of the turf on golf course. This man is a greenkeeper, He is taking care of the turf, This man does everything to make the game enjoyable for you. Sometimes, however, his effort and passion work are perceived wrongly, as if he were disturbing with the game. However, without greenkepers, playing golf on the golf course would be impossible.
In this article you will know:
- What is the work of a greenkeeper?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of this job?
- What is an ordinary day at work like for a greenkeeper?
- What are the requirements and career opportunities in the turf industry,
I was inspired to write this article by an article from the Official magazine of the GCSAI (Golf Course Superintendent Association of Ireland) from april 2014, in which I read about the work of greenkeepers. I really liked the part about how people see our work.
After all, what could be better than working in a tranquil environment, experiencing the climatic vagaries of the seasons, experiencing the distinctive smell of cut grass, witnessing the natural progression of flora through the growing season, being in a position to view the fruits of your labour as you proceed through the day, and all of this without the constant interference of dogmatic supervision. What better place to be than on a high tee at seven in the morning on a cloudless summers day overlooking a scenic parkland vista or listening to the sound of the waves on a links. Surely this beats winding your way through snarling traffic to spend a day in an office worrying whether your investments will come good or whether your order book will grow. Whilst all of this is true, it is good to remember the old adage “All that glistens is not gold”
The Vocation that is greenkeeping By Declan Branigan M.Agr. Sc The Greenside magazine April 2014,page 12
The greenkeeper is the person taking care of a turf on a golf course or a sport turf playing surface. He isn’t a gardner or just a person sitting on a mower and cutting the grass.
Greenkeeper should have specialist knowledge about turf, recognize diseases of the turf and knows how to avoid them. The man who infected me passion to this job told me:
Everybody can mow the grass, but we’re like artists, we paint the picture.
It’s landscape designing and preparing good conditions for golfers to play.
Adventage and disadventage of being greenkeeper.
Of course like every work greenkeeping has some positive and negative side. Honestly, if you don’t love this job probably you soon or later hate it. More probably is to being soon. :-).
Greenkeeper start works very early, sometimes is 4 or 5 am. You have to answer yourself , is it good or bad for you, maybe it doesn’t matter for you but lots of people like go to work for the same time every day from monday to friday. Sometimes you have to come to work twice the same day (early in the morning and late in the evaning). You have to work on weekends because you have to mow greens every day.
This what I don’t like in this work is working when is raining. Even you have rain clothes, you are wet after 2 or 3 hours. Depends where are you working, because in Sweden is raining more often than the on south of Italy , working during the rain may be disturbing. If you don’t like spend a lot of time outdoor, this job isn’t for you because 90% of your daily working time is outdoor. You have to like be outdoor, look at the nature, be thorough and precise, like team work, and like to work alone as well. The most important is to be responsible for those what you do.
If you like more or all of it I wrote above, I think you can make really interesting career in greenkeeping.
The second negative point of work is mostly seasonal work. I know some places where golf season is all of the year but in Sweden where I work on most golf courses greenkeepers working seasonal, and after season you have to look for a job on winter. I know some people working on a ski slopes on winter. When you are head greenkeeper or assistant of head greenkeeper golf course employ you for all year (is full time) and on winter is a time when you can spend your time on holiday.
For me this work has more adventages than disadventages. I like work early in the morning, looking when nature wake up, see the sun when goes up. It’s also pleasure to see smiles on golfers faces when they thanks for my job.
Daily routines on greenkeepers work.
In normal regular day you have morning tasks. It can be mowing greens or fairway. When you done your morning task, you are doing other things like mowing rough or trimming around the ponds. Sometimes work can be hard because you have to diging or pruning shrubs and sometimes work can be very funny e.g. when you are working with your colleagues rebuilding some part of the golf course
This work is very interesting even if you do the same task it never be the same. Different weather, different direction of cut. The grass lives and you have to be good observant, because when the turf has disease that you have to cure it and you’re like doctor.
The opportunity to constantly develop my knowledge is what attracts me in this job. Greenkeepers like doctors must have learning all the time, and you can’t stop your knowledge, as science evolves, new things appear and you have to keep up with them.
Thank you for comming on my blog. I hope you liked it. I will be pleased if you write in a comment what do you think about the work of greenkeepers, or maybe you have any questions, I will certainly answer. If you would like to read The Greenside magazine, let me know and I will send it to you.
Have a good day!