INDUSTRY EDUCATION

State Technical College of Missouri ’ s ( State Tech ) Associate of Applied Science degree program in Commercial Turf and Grounds Management is designed to prepare students to enter careers in the golf course , athletic turf and landscaping industries . The program has a 99 % placement rate , and the work of State Tech graduates can be seen on golf courses , athletic fields , landscapes or at garden centers and greenhouses throughout Missouri and beyond .

State Tech is a two-year technical college that offers Associate of Applied Science degrees , and the school has grown approximately 80 % during the past eight years ( with a current enrollment of more than 2,300 ). The Commercial Turf and Grounds Management program used to be capped at 22 first-year students , but enrollment numbers have trended upward in recent years and the program now sets its goal at 50 first-year students . “ We started with 38 first-year students this year ,” said Ryan Klatt , department chair , Commercial Turf and Grounds Management . “ Between our first- and secondyear students , we currently have 56 in the program . It is an Associate of Applied Science in Commercial Turf and Grounds Management .”

State Tech also offers a 1-year certificate in either Turfgrass Management or Landscape Management , but does not have any certificate students at this time .

“ I try to talk students into pursuing their associate degree ,” said Klatt . “ When you look at the job ads out there , most of them require a two- or four-year degree .”

State Tech ’ s facilities and grounds include a new facility for the Commercial Turf and Grounds Management Department . Three years ago , the college took ownership of a 9-hole community golf course that had been struggling , and built a new $ 3-million facility at the site — complete with greenhouse , driving range and entertainment complex .

“ Our classrooms and our shop are out here , and students get to go out on the golf course ,” said Klatt . “ I teach an equipment operations class , and students mow the greens and fairways , rake bunkers , and everything that is required on the golf course .”

All photos provided by State Technical College of Missouri

Despite being taught in a golf course setting , State Tech ’ s Commercial Turf and Grounds Management program is much more than just golf course management .

Although many students pursue careers in golf course management , State Tech graduates work in professional landscaping , as well as in sports field management careers at all levels of sports .

“ We educate students on a range of equipment — from reel and rotary mowers to skid-steer loaders and mini excavators — and we try to get everyone onto every type of equipment they would encounter out in the industry ,” said Klatt .

Now in his twenty-third year of teaching , Klatt — who formerly worked in golf course management — teaches the equipment operations , turf , irrigation and shop classes , while his colleague , Nick Rackers , teaches landscape design , plant propagation , herbaceous ID , woody ID , weeds / diseases / insects / pests , etc .

According to Klatt , much of the coursework is handson experience , but it depends on the time of the year . For the equipment operations class , safety procedures are covered in class , but then students are outside running equipment for two hours every day . In the shop class , students learn how to weld , sharpen reels and troubleshoot engines . Classes such as plant propagation or woody ID and maintenance feature plenty of hands-on experience as well .

22 SportsField Management | December 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com