TurfNet to Host the TOCA Media Intern

(Editor’s Note: Jon first met the new TOCA Media Intern, Parker Stancil, by chance at The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta last September. Jon immediately started the application process for the TurfNet summer internship. The end result is the latest TOCA editorial intern.)

In 2018 TurfNet will again host the TOCA Media Intern. The intern will be Parker Stancil, a sophomore in the Golf and Sports Turf Management program at Horry-Georgetown Technical College near Myrtle Beach, SC.

2018 TOCA Media Intern Parker Stancil, left, joined Kristian Jensen, Golf Course Superintendent Assistant at Great Northern Golf Course in Denmark, pictured at the GIS Show in February.

Stancil, 19, will spend the summer at Great Northern Golf Club in Kerteminde, Denmark. Great Northern is approximately two hours from Copenhagen and is owned by the founder of  the Lego line of toy bricks. He will be a regular member of the seasonal golf maintenance crew and will host a blog for TurfNet on his experiences on and off the course.

Great Northern’s Golf Course Superintendent Aidan O’Hara will supervise Parker from early May through mid-August. This is the fourth time O’Hara has hosted a TurfNet turf student intern. The first three interns in its program worked for O’Hara at Mt. Juliet Golf Club in Ireland from 2012 – 2014.

O’Hara said this about his maintenance team for the upcoming season: “Last year we managed to achieve success by assembling a good cohesive team.  So much so, that all but one of our seasonal workforce have signed contracts to return in 2018.  They are a multi-national group, coming from England, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Scotland and Ireland. We look forward to adding Parker Stancil to the mix. It’s also great to be working with TurfNet again on this successful program.”

Parker Stancil, TOCAs 2018 Media Intern, joined TOCA members and prospects at the GIS New Member Breakfast in San Antonio.

Stancil’s experience belies his young age. He first worked in golf course maintenance at 16 and has experience in both maintenance and construction on golf courses.

In addition to working at Great Northern, Parker will take a week off in July to volunteer with other TurfNet members at the European PGA Tour’s Men’s Scottish Open in Gullane, Scotland. Tournament experience is nothing new to Parker. By the time he leaves for Denmark he will have volunteered at six tour events.

Of his upcoming summer in Denmark, Parker said: “I’m looking forward to getting real in-person experience with European cultural and management practices to see how they differ from our practices. Not only do I want to learn about the golf course maintenance strategies, but I can’t wait to see and live in Europe and learn more about the culture there. I believe all should broaden their horizons and step out of their comfort zone to experience the rest of the world at some point. Thanks to TurfNet, TOCA and Bayer for helping me with this experience.”

The TOCA Media internship stipend will assist Parker Stancil with his travel to and from Denmark and his expenses related to the seasonal visa application process. Parker will blog regularly and write about his experiences in TOCA Talk.