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July 8, 2011 -- Volume 49, Number 27
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Student Internships: Moving Beyond the "As Seen On TV Mentality" | How we can improve internship programs and why the industry benefits by Ty McClellan, agronomist |
![Internship](http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs003/1103157499740/img/347.jpg?a=1106451607810) |
An investment is required on both ends to ensure success, and a superintendent must invest just as heavily in mentoring interns as the intern must invest in making the internship a well-rounded learning experience. This investment can pay great dividends in the future when looking to fill open positions at your facility. |
Internships mark one of the single most important and exciting experiences for a turfgrass student's education. It is their opportunity to put classroom training into practice, achieve new experiences, further develop a network of professional contacts, and ultimately begin advancing their careers. For superintendents, it provides an opportunity to mentor the next generation of turfgrass professionals, and, in doing so, serves as a screening process to identify potential assistant superintendents.
Given their significance, the topic of student internships is common during Turfgrass Advisory Service visits and at many educational conferences throughout the year. Sadly, many well respected and notable golf facilities have become frustrated with the recruiting process. As a result, they now lack internship programs or have given up on the idea of interns altogether because too few students showed an interest. Although some top-tier, nationally recognized courses that post internship openings will be inundated with dozens or hundreds of applications, other high-quality facilities that are not as prominent on a national level will fail to receive more than one or two, if any at all.
The intent of this article is to summarize key points and areas of concern with respect to internships that have been prominent in discussions with superintendents and university personnel. In doing so, it will, to some degree, outline what a quality student internship program at a golf facility could look like. This article does not provide a detailed checklist of goals, objectives, and activities that make up a successful internship experience. For this and a reference list of excellent resources about successful implementation and ideas for internships, please note the resources section near the end of this article. Read the rest of this article.
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Fore The Golfer | "The hardest greens to read that I have ever putted in my entire life." - Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director by the USGA | The greens on the East Course of the Broadmoor Resort promise to test some of the best players in the world during this week's U.S. Women's Open Championship.
Watch the video.
![0.5564356435643565 Broadmoor East Course](http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs003/1103157499740/img/348.jpg?a=1106451607810) |
How do the mountains influence putting at the 2011U.S. Women's Open Championship? (Photo: John Mummert, USGA) |
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2011 U.S. Women's Open Championship Behind-The-Scenes at the Broadmoor
| A USGA Green Section podcast with Derf Soller by the Green Section Staff | The U.S. Women's Open Championship is underway at the historic Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Derf Soller, USGA Green Section agronomist for the event, is working closely with the Broadmoor maintenance staff to help prepare the East course for the world's best women golfers.
Few people realize the amount of effort that goes on behind-the-scenes to get a course ready for a national championship. In this 22 minute podcast Derf shares some of the challenges facing the staff and the players.
Listen to the podcast.
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Regional Updates |
Northwest Region
And Now For Something Completely Different
by Larry Gilhuly, director
There have been several articles written that discusses the importance of differentiating between regular golf course conditions and course conductions at national championships. However, the recently completed APL Championships at Bandon Dunes on the southern Oregon coast displayed some completely different sets of circumstances not usually seen at our other national championships.
Read the rest of this update.
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Research Update
The Colorado Golf Carbon Project
by Dr. Mike Kenna
Golf courses provide many environmental benefits, such as wildlife habitat, soil erosion prevention, rain infiltration, and improved air quality. Turfgrass plants remove carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis, and a significant amount of the carbon removed from the air is stored within turfgrass soils. To examine carbon storage on golf courses more closely, the Colorado Golf Carbon Project was created by the Allied Golf Associations of Colorado, Colorado State University, and the US Department of Agriculture. The goal of this project is to determine the carbon footprint of golf courses in Colorado through evaluating energy consumption versus the amount of turfgrass carbon storage. This project also has a fundraising effort through the sale of the estimated carbon stored on golf course acreage in Colorado. The Broadmoor was one of the first golf facilities in Colorado to donate the carbon stored on its turfgrass acreage.
Read the rest of this article.
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Take a minute to visit the Green Section's portal at http://gsportal.usga.org to find information regarding upcoming live webcasts and links to recordings of more than 30 previously-delivered webcasts and announcements of upcoming USGA Green Section activities, education conferences, and meetings.
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