A group photo of the sixth grade class at Bethel Middle School during its First Green field trip to Springdale Resort in Canton, N.C. Photos courtesy of Jeremy Boone
As my sons would attest, this article has nothing to do with my golf game. Instead, it’s about planning for the future.
As golf course superintendents, we often think tactically. What needs to be done tomorrow? Next week? Maybe even next month? We prepare budgets for the coming year and develop capital improvement plans that may stretch several years into the future.
But have you ever thought about your labor plan for 2031?
I know what you’re thinking: This guy is crazy. Labor five years from now? I just need enough people to show up tomorrow so we can finish routine maintenance.
I understand that feeling. But that’s exactly why we need to start thinking differently.
Bryce Rhodarmer, a Springdale pool attendant who was a 2024 First Green student.
Our first First Green
When we hosted our inaugural First Green field trip at Springdale Resort in Canton, N.C., with Bethel Middle School in April 2022, I welcomed a group of sixth graders and joked that they thought they were getting out of class for a field trip. I told them they were actually attending a job fair — it was just four years too early.
Of course, First Green is about much more than recruiting. Throughout the day, students experienced STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) education in a real-world setting. They learned about the game of golf, explored soil science, climbed aboard the equipment we use to maintain the course and with the help of my wife, Kelly, a retired math teacher, calculated stream flow to estimate how many gallons of water travel through Long Branch as it meanders across our property each day.
The local ABC affiliate covered the event, making it even more memorable. It was the first field trip these students had taken since before the COVID-19 pandemic. During the interview, science teacher Mrs. Clark told the reporter, “When these kids grow up, they won’t remember every day of their sixth-grade year, but some of them will always remember taking a field trip to the golf course.”
Our food and beverage team joined in the fun as well. Executive chef Sid demonstrated how math plays an essential role in preparing meals, especially when measuring ingredients for baking.
Jackson Rathbone and Lilly Nussman, who now work at The Rocky Face Tavern the resort’s on-site restaurant.
My station focused on irrigation, the water cycle and water conservation. Before the students moved to the next station, I spent a few minutes talking about something equally important: the wide variety of careers available throughout the golf industry.
For many of those students, it was the first time they realized a golf facility offers careers far beyond playing the game. Turfgrass management, golf operations, hospitality, housekeeping, front desk operations, marketing, sales, culinary arts, accounting — the opportunities span a wide range of interests, skills and talents.
Discovering the industry
Will every student who attends a First Green event become a golf course superintendent? Of course not. But if even one student discovers a passion for our industry because of that experience, the investment is worthwhile.
The reality is that they don’t have to become superintendents, chefs or golf professionals for the program to make an impact. They might simply become part of your workforce for a few years. In today’s labor market, if a 16-year-old comes to work for you, stays through high school and returns during college breaks, that’s a tremendous success.
Now imagine adding a few employees like that every year.
Over time, you’ve created your own farm system. As older employees move on, another group is ready to step in. They progress from entry-level positions to greater responsibility, much like baseball players moving from Single-A to Double-A and Triple-A. Not everyone will make it to “The Show,” but every player contributes to the success of the organization — and every employee contributes to the experience our guests enjoy.
Eli Holland works on the grounds team and was a First Green student in 2023.
At Springdale, that strategy is already paying dividends.
Our success story now includes five First Green participants.
• Player One worked with us for a few months before deciding golf wasn’t for him. That’s perfectly fine, it isn’t for everyone.
• Player Two, Eli, is currently edging bunkers as I write this article. At just 16 years old, he’s on time every morning for a 6 a.m. start — no small feat for a teenager. During his first summer, he has learned string trimming, hedge trimming, bunker edging and many of the daily tasks that keep a golf course looking its best. He’s curious, asks great questions, enjoys the work and appears to have a bright future with us.
• Player Three, Bryce, attended our second First Green event. Now 15, he started as a pool attendant while also helping maintain the flower beds around the pool deck. Next season, he may transition to the golf course maintenance team or become a cart attendant.
• Players Four and Five, Lilly and Jackson, are now in their second season as hosts at the Rocky Face Tavern, our on-site restaurant. It’s remarkable to have two employees with two full seasons of experience before either has reached 17 years old.
More to come
What’s most remarkable is that none of these young people came to us as junior golfers looking for “golf jobs.” They came because First Green introduced them to career opportunities they never would have considered had they not visited our facility on a school field trip.
Five students. Three departments. And more are on the way.
I can’t encourage you enough to participate in this program. First Green is more than an educational outreach event. It’s an investment in your community, your facility and the future workforce our industry desperately needs.
The author demonstrating a time domain reflectrometer to the inaugural First Green field trip that Springdale hosted with Bethel Middle School in 2022. The two youngsters in the photo are Nussman and Rathbone, pictured above.
As superintendents, we also have an opportunity to educate future golfers, customers, neighbors and community leaders about the value of golf facilities. Too often, our industry finds itself responding to misconceptions about golf and golf course management. First Green allows us to get ahead of those narratives by showing young people — and through them, their families — the science, stewardship and professionalism that define what we do.
We have an opportunity to change the narrative. We can show students that a golf facility is far more than fairways and greens. It’s a place where science, technology, environmental stewardship, hospitality, culinary arts and business all come together. More importantly, it’s a place where meaningful careers can begin.
That’s what playing the long game looks like.
Jeremy Boone, CGCS, MG, is general manager and director of agronomy at Springdale Resort in Canton N.C. A 34-year association member, he is also a First Green liaison.