TENNESSEE TURFGRASS: Jared Marshall

It is no secret that job opportunities abound in the turfgrass management industry. Students in the University of Tennessee Turfgrass Science program have the immense benefit of a strong group of professors to advise them on training, internships and job opportunities. Here, Dr. Horvath’s student, Jared Marshall shares his exciting internship experience and future plans. Our pipeline of future turfgrass professionals looks strong at UT!

I am Jared Marshall and am currently a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. I was born and raised in Nashville, TN. I originally got into golf course maintenance as a summer covid job. I was frantically looking for a job after the restaurant I worked at did not offer me a job back in the summer due to Covid restrictions, so I started to apply for all different kinds of jobs. One of those jobs was a golf course maintenance job at Temple Hills Country Club in Franklin, TN. They reached out to me within two hours of me applying and had me working in the next few days when all the paperwork cleared. Since day one, I have absolutely loved what I do. Being able to see the sunrise every morning and to be working outside is the best job out there.

I started college at UTC majoring in Kinesiology. I ended up transferring after a year to UTK and was set on becoming an athletic trainer, but after going back home every winter and summer to work on the golf course I decided that is what I wanted to do. So, I decided to change my major to turfgrass management at the beginning of my senior year and dove straight into it. I ended up getting offered an internship at Hyde Park Country Club, which is where I got the opportunity to volunteer at TPC Twin Cities for the 3M open.

I had the privilege over the summer to volunteer on the maintenance crew at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The course is a championship level 18-hole course designed by Arnold Palmer. Since its opening in 2000 it has hosted the 3M championship, later changed to the 3M Open, every year. I got to spend six days volunteering and learning about how a tournament is run, as well as learning about the challenges faced on a daily basis.

Each day I worked two shifts, one at 4:30am and the next at 4:30pm. The morning shifts consisted of hand raking bunkers, walk mowing, rolling, and watering greens, mowing fairways, tee boxes and the collars (step-cut). The afternoon shifts consisted generally of the same tasks but instead of raking bunkers we would fill numerous divots in the fairways with divot mix, and also data collection which I got the privilege to help out with. The data we would collect were using a stimp meter to measure the speed of the greens, which we were shooting for around 12-13, and testing the firmness of the greens. Data collection is very important during a tournament. It helps the maintenance crew determine how much we need to mow, roll, or water the greens to keep them consistent throughout the week.

Learning about the maintenance side of things was not the only thing I took away from my time there. I made numerous connections that will benefit me in the future. I got to talk with the superintendent and assistants, and they were extremely good at their jobs and would happily answer any questions I had regarding the course. I also got to meet the lead PGA Agronomist for the region, Alex Stuedemann. The most notable people I met were two TPC assistants from Sawgrass and San Antonio. I got to know them very well throughout the week as I carpooled with them from our hotel. I got to talk with them about what challenges they have at their golf courses and how they manage their courses in different climates. I was very surprised how well they can grow grass in Texas with how hot it is. I also got the opportunity to tour the par-aid manufacturing facility led by the lead marketing team and the president of the company. Seeing the other side of how all of the little things that we buy to make our golf courses stand out was really eye-opening and has made me develop a respect for the finer details that give course that “wow” factor, like hole signs, tee markers, cups, flag sticks, ball washers, etc.

The course looked amazing throughout the week, but it came with many problems the golfers and spectators would never notice. The day before the tournament there was a 12-inch main line crack which flooded right in front of the 10th tee box and required them to shut off the entire back nine’s water supply. The lead agronomist hired an irrigation company to come fix it and they were there within a couple of hours and worked throughout the night to have it fixed before play. Another issue was rain, in most cases rain is awesome for golf courses, but in this case, it was an issue. There were three rain delays during the tournament, the longest one lasting five hours, which put us on a very tight schedule for getting the course ready for play. During one of the storms however, a tent set up near one of the greens got loose from the ground and flew across the 15th green leaving scratches all the way across the green. Though there were these problems, through proper leadership and the react and change, the course looked amazing.

Overall, my experience at Twin Cities was unforgettable. I learned many things not only about maintaining the course but also managing workers, overcoming challenges quickly and effectively, and how to deal with professional golfers. I will in the future volunteer at more tournaments as this experience has given me a great insight into what it takes to run a PGA level course, and maybe one day I would like to work at one of these courses. It was also really cool to be able to watch professional golfers play on the course that me and the rest of our team helped make play and look incredible. I would like to thank Pat O’Brien for giving me this opportunity to further my career in turfgrass, he is an amazing at what he does, and any course would be lucky to have him.

Go Vols,

Jared Marshall

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