Marshalling his troops - Pitchcare

Abi Crosswood,
First Assistant at
Newquay Golf
Club, reports on
her recent
internship at
Augusta National,
where she helped
prepare this
iconic course for
the 2010 Masters
After applying to take
part in the Ohio State
University
international exchange
programme never, in my
wildest dreams, did I think I
would have got such a
perfect placement!
It was a real blessing, and
a major career milestone, for
me to work for six months
as an intern at Augusta
National, a venue that, in
media coverage terms, is
probably the number one
golf course in the world.
The application process
It was quite a long
application process. I
decided I wanted to work in
America back in March
2009, and it was six months
later, around September
time, that I found out I was
actually going.
After my CV had been
‘tweaked’ by Pitchcare
columnist Frank Newberry,
it was sent to Mike O’Keeffe
who has run the OSU
international exchange
programme for a number of
years. Mike then sent my CV
to a number of golf clubs in
the ‘top 100’ in the USA.
Once an internship at the
Augusta National became a
possibility, the selection
process began in earnest.
My next step was to write a
personal description and
complete a number of other
forms. This was the ‘paper
sift’ to decide on suitable
candidates for interview.
Once I was through this
phase of the selection the
Augusta people spoke to my
employer, the Course
Manager at Newquay Golf
Club.
Fantastic news
After having some initial
discussions with my Course
Manager, the First Assistant
and the Administrator at
Augusta National
interviewed me by
telephone. It was during the
next week that I was told the
fantastic news that I had
earned a place on the greens
team at Augusta National!
However, it was not all
done and dusted at this
point. Augusta National had
to run background checks
on me and I had to sort out
a number of formalities,
such as my visa application.
Only then was I all set for
my adventure to the United
States. In October 2009 I
would start my six months
internship.
A very daunting prospect
This was going to be such a
big move for me. I had
never been away from home
before. I have only ever had
the one proper job, working
at the same golf club since I
was 16 years old. Now, that
same employer had
permitted me to go on a six
month sabbatical to
America.
I had many apprehensions
at first. I had no idea what
to expect and it seemed like
a very daunting prospect to
just ‘up and leave’. I
particularly did not want to
let my employer down.
A great experience and an
excellent introduction
On arrival into America I
met Mike O’Keeffe in
Columbus, Ohio for an
orientation session, at which
he briefed me fully on what
to expect on my trip.
I was also told about the
short course training, and
an educational weekend,
organised by Mike and his
team, which I was to
attend later on in my
internship at Hilton Head in
South Carolina. I found the
course very enlightening, it
was a great experience for
me and an excellent
introduction to the way
greenkeeping is done in
America.
It was also a good
opportunity to mix with
other greenkeepers of my
age and to learn about their
work issues and
experiences. Although we
were not together long, I
still keep in touch with a lot
of the people who were on
the Hilton Head course.
Is this really happening?
After leaving Columbus
Ohio, I got a flight to
Augusta where lots of
thoughts were running
through my mind as to what
to expect. As it happened
everyone was very
welcoming. As soon as I
landed, an employee of the
Augusta National picked me
up from the airport and
helped me settle into my
new accommodation.
I will always remember
being driven through the
gates and thinking ‘Is this
really happening?’
After only a couple of
weeks of settling into my
internship I was given my
main duties. I was
scheduled to do a task
known as ‘Greens Care’.
Basically, this meant caring
for two allocated greens on a
regular basis and setting
them up before morning
play.
This usually involved
mowing the greens and then
raking the greenside
bunkers. Following this, with
any extra time, I would
repair pitch marks, dust ball
marks and pick any poa
annua.
When raking the bunkers
I would also take the time to
pick any weeds, check sand
depths and
Crosswood’s
Crossover ...
remove any debris from the
bunker and surrounding
areas. Generally, if I was not
scheduled for a greens care
task in the mornings, then I
would be doing spray
applications instead.
An extra effort to improve
the holes assigned to me
After the morning tasks
were completed I would
normally be assigned to
‘Hole Care’. This involved
taking responsibility for the
general maintenance of two
holes, and then putting in
an extra effort to improve
the two holes assigned to
me, these were holes 1 and
9.
Each green was ‘looked
after’ by whoever was
allocated that green under
the ‘Greens Care’ system,
and the large areas - such as
the fairways and the large
strips of second cut - were
cut by a team of people on
ride-on mowers. Everything
else was my responsibility.
For example, if I thought
it would improve turf
quality to mow any parts of
these large areas using
pedestrian methods, I could
decide to complete the task
personally and take it upon
myself to rope off specific
areas.
The main mowing duties
on my allocated holes
involved using a pedestrian
rotary mower to finish the
second cut areas, in and
around the trees, and the
grass areas around the
bunker fingers to blend in
with the fairway. This work
was necessary because the
ride-on mowers cannot
adequately reach into these
areas.
Once I was satisfied that
these areas were in an
acceptable condition, I was
left to tackle other issues
that I thought might
benefit the