TOCA Intern Talks Ireland

By Nate McKinniss, TOCA 2016 Intern

(Editor’s Note: Nate McKinniss of the Ohio State University was the TOCA intern in 2016. This was a partnership for the TOCA internship on a one-time trial basis with TurfNet. Following are Nate’s impressions of his summer. The TOCA Foundation provides a $3,000 stipend each year in a program underwritten by Bayer.)

A new partnership between TurfNet and TOCA created the opportunity for me to spend the summer of 2016 as an intern on the greenkeeping staff at County Louth Golf Club in Baltray, Ireland. This once-in-a-lifetime experience was one of differing perspectives and cultures, both on the golf course and in “real life.”

Upon landing in Ireland I began noticing so many differences between that country and the world as I knew it in Ohio. Now, in retrospect, I also realize how much was the same.

This summer I learned that two key skills are similar throughout any operation around the world: communication and interpersonal skills. I saw first-hand how critical good communication is for a golf course superintendent (or greenkeeper or course manager, as the position is known over there). Beyond issuing daily marching orders for the greens crew, the superintendent must keep club management and members apprised of course conditions and concerns either in bulletin letters or committee meetings.

My goal is to become a head greenkeeper one day. What TurfNet and TOCA gave me was a first step to developing my communication skills for the future. During my internship I chronicled my work with regular posts on a blog of my own on TurfNet.com. I drafted, edited my copy, chose supporting photos and captions and otherwise honed these skills much earlier than other students in my program at Ohio State.

While my blog posts did not resemble a superintendent’s newsletter or other communication about the golf course, my frequent updates on my activities and adventures kept everyone back home informed on what I was doing. The process taught me that documenting experiences with other people was just as valuable as noting information I learned about the golf course.

With each new blog post I needed to ask myself whether this information is what people want to read. This dug deeper into the art of communication, taking into account the readers’ interests along with what the writer wanted them to know and understand. I found it best to be brief and supplement the text with many pictures; I know because I love scrolling photos myself.

Outside of the golf course my time was typically spent interacting with clubhouse employees, members, guests and new friends in those local communities. The Irish are extremely friendly and communicating with them was easy, for which I am thankful. Since the turf itself is a small fraction of what else a golf course superintendent has to manage, this internship helped me with those equally important skills necessary to be a successful golf course superintendent.

I am extremely grateful for the experience I had, and took pride in representing my sponsors. TOCA (through the foundation and the support of Bayer), TurfNet, Jacobsen (the sponsor of the blog) and the Ohio State University were always in mind because without them I would not have this experience.

I hope this program continues, and that the next student gains as much from their summer internship as I did. My advice to them is simply to enjoy your time! Don’t worry about which path to take next, just make sure that the path chosen is one taking you to your goal.