Career possibilities

For a group of girls, it was a Saturday afternoon devoted to discovering the wonders of turf. The occasion was a First Green event — a cooperative venture involving the Golf Course Superintendents Association of New Jersey, the Girl Scouts and First Tee Jersey Shore.

More than 30 elementary and middle school aged girls turned out for the program, held at the First Tee Learning Center at Ocean County Park in Lakewood, New Jersey, which features three par-3 golf holes and a range. Orchestrating it all was Jill Seymour, the head superintendent at Charleston Springs South in Monmouth County.

“It’s always nice to have the kids out,” she says.

Seymour had plenty of help from her professional peers, who gave the participants an up-close and fun look at various aspects of the turf industry, including irrigation, soils and cup cutting.

Joe Kinlin is the general manager of golf courses for the Monmouth County Park System and a GCSANJ past president.

“It’s so rewarding to see all the different people coming out to help out,” he says. “To take their skills and abilities and apply them to creating the next generation of greenkeepers and superintendents and sales reps, and all the different pathways to golf — or to a career — for these young people.”

Kinlin notes that the superintendents on hand and all of the volunteers are eager to convey their passion for turf to the attendees.

“All the volunteers [are] so passionate and so thankful for what they get to do every day,” he says. “They want to share it and they want to create a pathway for the next generation. They want to create opportunities for the next generation.”

Joe Guanil from the Storr Tractor Company was on hand to support the event.

“I think it’s good to let kids know more about golf and the behind-the scenes aspects of golf,” he says. “Not just the game itself, there’s a lot goes into it. Nutrition, soil, species selection and cultural practices. It’s good for the kids to get an idea of the background of golf, and maybe one day they’ll get into it themselves.”

Seymour, who has worked in turf for more than two decades, embraces the model of showing the students all that’s involved in the day-to-day job of a turf professional, but also making them aware of career opportunities in the field.

“Not only etiquette and what it takes to get a golf course prepared in the morning,” she says. “It’s also important to let them know that it’s an option for a career as well.

Seymour notes she and her peers often do their jobs out of the spotlight, so students considering a career in the field might not be aware of the options that are available.

“We’re a hidden profession,” she says. “Nobody sees us. We’re out ahead with headlamps on, getting the course ready in the dark. But I think as time [goes] on, people are learning more and more about it. Golf, and I think the ground in particular, is becoming more of a focal point, especially when you have big tournaments and they’re focusing on the ground maintenance team and what goes into prepping a course for a big tournament.”

Tara Kelly is First Tee Jersey Shore’s CEO.

“We are always looking for ways that we can bring novel ideas and novel concepts to the kids in the First Tee program and connect with young golfers in our area,” she says.

“So when we heard about the First Green program that’s run through the Golf Course Superintendents Association, and we found out that Jill was running the program locally, it just seemed like a no brainer to partner with them and also to bring our friends from the Girl Scouts in too, so we could offer this to as many kids as possible.”

Kelly points out that First Green is a good fit with the values that First Tee espouses and promotes.

“Our program really serves as a basis for not only golf, but also for youth development and character-driven education” she says. “And the First Green program brings this whole other area of golf to the table, so that expands the horizons of our First Tee kids. They get to see the science, technology, engineering and math that are inherent in the game and help make the game function, and the courses that they play on function.

“We’re glad to bring that perspective to all the young golfers out there.”

Rick Woelfel is a Philadelphia-based writer and frequent GCI contributor.