Turf Management - Seneca College

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The Glory of Golf 10 1-888-ALUMNUS Fred Couples (professional golfer) and Mary Beth Kelly (ACT ’84), Director, Turf Operations, Clublink Corporation. You drive your golf cart over a lush carpet of green grass, feeling the warm breeze on your face. Birds twitter, the sun shines. You emerge from your cart, stand up straight, take a deep breath and survey the breathtaking scenery of rolling green hills spread before you. You grab your three-wood from your bag and sidle up to the tee. You visualize your shot and then THWACK! The dimpled Titelus is sent flying, veering too far right in the trajectory of a classic shank, along with a chunk of grass and dirt, leaving a gaping hole in its place on the perfectly manicured green. Ahhh, the glory of golf. There are reasons besides Tiger Woods why golf is one of Canada’s most popular sports. (Admittedly, the propensity to shank is not one of them.) The challenge, the sociability, the fresh air, the magnificent scenery are all important reasons, but if we ever think past these things, we think of getting to the clubhouse to refresh, refuel, and relax. Who thinks about that gaping hole of disturbed earth? Or how those magnificent greens got to look that way? Joe Golfer may not, but someone has to. That someone is a turf technician and he/she needs a lot of training. As Ted Tom, Course Coordinator of Seneca’s Golf Course Technician Co-op Program states, “Most people don’t realize what a complicated and scientific industry turf management is. Nor do they realize how much formal education it requires. Turf is one of Ontario’s most valuable crops. Caring for it requires a lot more than mowing a lawn.” Accordingly, since 1981, Seneca has been in the forefront of training the people who are responsible for the perfection we escape to on a sunny Sunday morning. Teaching (through classroom studies and co-op work) soil sciences, irrigation techniques, pest management, shop practices, small engine theory, chainsaw and equipment operations, business and finance, Seneca has equipped a generation of Canada’s golf club employees. B y R o b i n P a y n e
“It is a wonderful program. It’s unique,” says John Struthers, Academic Chair at Seneca. Unlike other golf programs around the province, Seneca concentrates on turf management and turf management only. This has allowed Seneca to develop strong symbiotic relationships with surrounding golf clubs. The golf clubs have added valuable input concerning the needs of a golf course and this is reflected in the curriculum. This focused approach creates eminently employable graduates; indeed, one hundred percent of Seneca graduates find employment upon graduation with, among others, those same golf courses that advise the coursework. You’ll find many a Seneca graduate employed by ClubLink, Canada’s largest owner, operator and developer of high quality golf courses and resort properties. (ClubLink currently counts at least fifteen Seneca graduates amongst its staff.) Based in King City, Ontario, ClubLink owns 30 eighteen-hole golf courses and seven nine-hole courses in twenty-six locations in Ontario and Quebec. In just seven years of operation, ClubLink has earned its reputation for superior courses. Mary Beth Kelly, Director of Turf Operations for ClubLink (and proud Seneca graduate, Class of ’84) explains why. “The minute you’re on the property, the golf course should be perfect. I expect Disneyland. Crisp sharp housekeeping means things like getting down on your hands and knees to edge around a sprinkler. This is what taking it to the next level means”. At ClubLink, a Seneca graduate may be hired as an assistant superintendent with the potential of being promoted to superintendent. (The superintendent is responsible for all the grounds on the property. In effect, he/she is the club’s property manager.) The job description includes all aspects of turf maintenance: pesticide application, irrigation, repairs, staff management, gardening, pruning, and yes, mowing; however, the job is not as predictable as one might think. As Mary Beth informed us, “You never know what’s going to hit you when you show up for work. It may be snowplowing a parking lot after an unexpected snowfall when the wedding party is showing up in an hour. It may be accessing reserved water for irrigation during a drought. It could be anything. Every day is a new adventure. But that’s what makes it fun.” Fun, maybe, but the hours are brutal: during the golf season, a superintendent of a golf course works from 4:00 a.m. (ouch!) until well into the evenings, seven days a week. Other employees are on the greens from 5:00 a.m. until noon. And at the management level, the work is not just seasonal. During the winter, clubhouses are operational. There is snowplowing to be done, machinery to be repaired, and specialty projects to be undertaken. (Indeed, as turf management becomes more specialized, there is a growing trend to hire more year round staff.) There’s also room for a little glamour in the industry. Mary Beth, as Director of Turf Operations, has had the opportunity to work with such renowned professional golfers as Fred Couples and Mark O’Meara. Both consulted on the design of ClubLink courses. (For any golf aficionados, the answer to your question is yes, Mr. Couples is just as relaxed and laid-back as his swing.) Another design partner Mary Beth has worked with is Ducks’ Unlimited. Contrary to myth, golf courses are not nature’s enemy. Not only is there a growing trend for golf courses to be Audubon certified, but today’s golf courses are often designed with environmental policies in mind. So in A stunning view of the well-kept greens of the King Valley golf course. addition to building eye-pleasing greens and challenging holes, Club- Link developed wildlife habitats and wetlands from the design stage on through the building of their newest properties. Count Perry Brazeau (ACT ’00) is another Seneca success story. When ClubLink acquired Rolling Hills Golf Club, employee Perry Brazeau did not meet their minimum standard of two years of turf management schooling. ClubLink held his job for him and Perry attended Seneca’s program. To this day, Perry credits the program’s training with his meteoric rise at ClubLink. Today he is the Superintendent of Emerald Hills Golf Club. Alumnae of Seneca’s program have proven to be great hands-on, allaround employees of a golf course. They can’t do everything, though. Improving your golf game is still up to you. www.senecac.on.ca/alumni 11
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Turf Management - Seneca College

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