Golf
No other programme could do what they have done for me during the last eighteen months, and I will prove it to you if you read the rest of this article.
I My name is Daniel Quinn and I am
from Milton Keynes. I began my career at Woburn Golf Club, when I was sixteen, as an apprentice. After studying at Oaklands College, and working at Woburn for eight years, I discussed my next career move with my Course Manager, John Clarke, and he mentioned The Ohio Program and what it had done for his confidence and career.
John put me in touch with Mike
O’Keeffe, who has managed the turf programme for the last twenty-five years. Mike has access to an amazing network of courses around America, and the world for that matter. Because he knows everyone in the golf industry in the British Isles, he knew exactly what I was capable of and how to challenge me to take me to the next level - as he has done for hundreds of other young greenkeepers who are out there and successful now. Once all the paperwork and visa application was complete, I found out I would begin my internship in Virginia, at The Robert Trent Jones Golf Club (RTJ). You may remember reading some previous
never knew why they called it the TOP Program when I first heard about the internship programme run by Irishman Mike O’Keeffe, at The Ohio State University, but now I do.
articles from David McGregor in Pitchcare about this great course. David also inspired me to do this programme based on those articles and, hopefully, here I can inspire someone else. What you have to realise is that Mike and his staff have done this hundreds of times before. Be careful of programmes who have not, as they are out there. Mike seeks out courses that put together the best deal for his interns. He works with RTJ because they invest a lot of money to recruit the best interns every year. They provided a rent free, fully furnished apartment, and transportation to work every day. This made me feel at ease and it definitely helped me to make the move across the pond to America and not feel like I had lots to organise before I started. Scott Furlong is the Superintendent
there, and David McGregor was the assistant [David has since moved onto a Superintendent’s position]. They pay excellent wages, and time and a half for overtime, which there is lots of, as you will find out. I arrived in the States at the end of
March 2011 but, before I went to Virginia, I spent the first couple of days in Columbus, Ohio, on orientation. I met the staff who run the programme and saw, first-hand, the processes that make it so successful. I was given a tour of The Ohio State University campus and was made to feel very welcome from the start.
11th signature hole at RTJ
Daniel Quinn with the US Open Trophy at The Olympic Club
“I discussed my next career move with my Course Manager, John Clarke, and he mentioned The Ohio Program and what it had done for his confidence and career”
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 PC 17
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