What is a Greenskeeper?
A greenskeeper is a person who is responsible for maintaining a golf course.
Typically accountable to the golf course superintendent, the greenskeeper is tasked with mowing the grass on the greens, fertilizing, replacing divets, and pruning plants. They are also responsible for turf aeration, and other intermittent maintenance. Before tournaments greenskeepers can be seen on the course raking sand traps and trimming branches and shrubs to ensure that the courses are ready for play.
Greenskeeprs must make decisions about the proper irrigation of the course, a responsibility that bears much consideration, especially as water supplies are limited in some areas. Each climate offers unique challenges, from sunny days that threaten to dry the course to thunderstorms that over-saturate the fairways.
Greenskeepers are also responsible for arranging pins and tee markers for daily play. When setting the pins, greenskeeprs must consider several factors including the position of the trees, the yardage rating for the course, and wear and tear on the course from previous play. Tee and pin placement can greatly impact the level of difficulty for a course, which is why experienced groundskeepers can have a great deal of influence on the success of a course.
Another interesting element of this job is measuring green speed. Using an instrument known as a stimpmeter – a tool that measures the speed at which a green allows a golf ball to travel – greenskeepers compare greenspeed from day to day and week to week to ensure consistent play on a given course. If variances are found, greenskeepers can alter their mowing patterns, grass height, or even add topdressing to the green to change the texture.
A greenskeeper is a horticulture professional who specializes in the care and maintenance of golf courses. While greenskeepers are very similar to other gardeners and landscapers, some of their responsibilities are unique to the golf course, which means that many of them are familiar with the history and rules of golf. Greenskeepers work for country clubs or golf courses, usually under the supervision of a head of maintenance. Golf courses around the world are famous for their lush expanses of green grass, which must be kept irrigated, fertilized, and mowed to regulation length. In addition to maintaining the grass, greenskeepers also usually work on the surrounding landscaping, and they also handle things like sand traps, bunkers, and ponds. Water maintenance is often an important part of a greenskeeper’s job: he or she must keep ponds clear and free of weeds to make it relatively easy to retrieve lost balls. In addition to handling gardening tasks associated with the course, a greens
