USGA, HGTC Offer Free Greenkeeper Apprenticeships | Myrtle Beach Sports

CONWAY — Horry-Georgetown Technical College and the United States Golf Association are partnering to improve golf course maintenance.

The two have partnered to introduce the tuition-free Greenkeeper Apprenticeship Program (GAP) to the Myrtle Beach area. The program addresses the growing demand for skilled golf course maintenance professionals while promoting sustainability within the industry.

The program was successfully piloted at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, NC, and is now being expanded to HGTC. With a $1 million five-year commitment from the USGA and contributions from industry partners, HGTC will provide free tuition and paid on-the-job training to aspiring greenkeepers.

“The Golf and Sports Turf program (at HGTC) has a long, long relationship with the United States Golf Association that goes back over 30 years,” said Charles Granger, HGTC president and professor of Golf and Sports Turf Management. “We just started talking to them and Dr. Jordan Booth from the USGA (Green Section) … reached out to us and they felt like they had started the program at Sandhills Community College and wanted to expand it and felt like we were the right fit because of all the golf courses we have in the area and the history of the program that goes back over 50 years, and also because of our Turf Care and Demonstration facility that was built about four years ago.”

The program offers flexible class times around course work hours and pairs each student with a course mentor, designed to enhance their professional development. As part of their classwork, students learn valuable technical skills while also gaining insight into why agricultural decisions are made.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive a college degree, progressive pay increases, and a Journeyworker card from the U.S. Department of Labor.

“This will create much more of a mentor-mentee relationship between the golf course manager and the employee, and a Horry-Georgetown faculty member will oversee the program,” Granger said.

Students also have the opportunity to work with the USGA Green Section. The program begins in January at HGTC and ends in December. Students who enroll in the program take two courses in the spring and two courses in the fall and then receive an internship at a golf course where they work full-time.

“The initial conversations, though, were that there are students who have been coming for years and will continue to come, and an associate degree program that is a little more demanding in a classroom setting might not be the best fit for some people, whether that’s because they already have a degree and don’t need to spend an unnecessary amount of time in the classroom, or because they have families or other commitments that take up a lot of time and they need to work more than they study,” said USGA Program Coordinator Carson Letot. “The USGA Greenkeeper Apprentice Program is built for balance.

“It’s meant to bridge the gap between those individuals who are eager to grow within their team but may not be able to, whether due to barriers or because they are new to the industry.”

Of the 19 members in the inaugural GAP graduating class, 70 percent earned promotions and 18 graduates were given increased leadership responsibilities based on successful completion of their classwork. Members of the current class and last year’s students will assist Pinehurst’s agronomy staff in preparing and grooming Course No. 2 for the championship at the 2024 U.S. Open.

“So far, 12 of those who are still in the industry have actually been promoted to higher responsibility, and I think of the 12, three have been promoted from an hourly position to a salary position,” Letot said. “And that’s ultimately what I hang my hat on and what I’m most proud of … that’s life-changing in that regard.”

There are still spots available for the USGA GAP at HGTC and an instructor is still being sought for the program.

“We’re at a cusp here where this could be a game-changer for that area and someone who can really establish themselves in the Grand Strand as a leader in a very unique, new space,” Letot said. “It would be for someone who has a unique and new skill set, but also someone who wants to give back to the industry.”