Golf


running. The Ohio Program has four female interns this year, one from Costa Rica, one from China, Lara from Spain and myself, which is a great effort, considering it’s so hard to find women in this profession. I should explain that the Ohio State


Program, known as the TOP Program, brings young, single, 19-28 year old trainee greenkeepers, male or female, from around the world to America every year, for hands- on practical training at some of the best golf courses in the country. Typically, you spend six months up north on cool season grasses


and six months down south on warm season grasses. The program is run by one of my compatriots, Irishman, Mike O’Keeffe, a job he has been doing for close on thirty years now. Mike does an excellent job of matching you with just the right golf course and just the right people. He certainly did that for me, Lara and the rest of the TOP interns here at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. So, where do I start? Well, on our first day


at RTJ we met our superintendent Scott Furlong and he gave us a run through of what to expect, and what he expects from


us. He told us a little bit about the history of the club, the members and how long he has been in the industry. Words cannot describe this man, the work and passion he has for his club and his golf course is incredible. We then met his three assistants, one of which is a former TOP intern from three years ago. We were next given a tour of the 19-hole golf course, along with the driving range and short game area; altogether twenty-seven greens. I’ll never forget the feeling I got driving around the golf course that morning, especially when we came to


PC APRIL/MAY 2017 I 17


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