Should Students Major in Turfgrass Science?

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I recently graduated from WKU with a concentration in Turf. When I heard about this major I was kind of set back. I didn't realize here was a major for golf! I regret to inform that during the fulfillment of my internship and a brief employment at Olde Stone I was discouraged. Not because we work 70+ hours a week, or the fact I don't mind working long hours or work weeks, but, be prepared to do just that. Work hard for an honest days pay. I didn't enjoy the hierarchy of the job. I enjoy what I do, even if I didn't I didn't enjoy the job I still feel blessed to have a job. Having a degree isn't everything in this world but it is a start and a foot in the door to a better life. My hope is that anyone wanting to go into this field better know everything about this job and the sacrifices it will bring( spending on the budget of the golf course).

RCMP of KY 9:46AM November 29, 2011

I totally agree that the 4 year program students have a well-rounded education. As a student of Turfgrass Management at Colorado State University I can say that I've learned a lot more as well than just an implied vocational degree would get me. There is a lot of research going into this field as well. Turf and other horticultural fields are gaining a lot of momentum, especially for students who could never work in an office. I also agree that the majority of students in the field are ones who have worked in the field previous to college, during or both. I know for a fact that my knowledge of turf and other general horticulture is well beyond the average persons which I have found is full of problematic beliefs of how it actually interacts with the environment. There are a lot of "urban legends" about turf that need to be dispelled and with my degree I hope to reverse some of those trends. I'm surprised philosophy is still a degree program while real sciences are getting overly analyzed. Good luck with all that.

J of CO 9:21AM May 10, 2011

I do have to say being a current student I find that most of the people in my major have had some experience working in the field prior to even entering the major. Therefore we have a pretty good idea of what we got ourselves into. How many doctors, engineers, and lawyers can say they knew they wanted to do what they chose without ever experiencing it?
How many colleges can guarantee you a job every summer that you are there and guarantee you a job right out of college? Not to many, that's probably why so many of my friends have moved back home after they graduated.

Tommy of PA 9:13PM April 05, 2011

Being a turfer of PSU I can say that we are not going to a votech school which is what this article makes it seem like. Yes there is a 2yr program with all turf classes but for the rest of us 4 year guys we are getting a very broad education. We are required to take many classes in agriculture out side of our major as well as the gen-eds, computer courses, biology, etc. This article didn't do a very good job of explaining that. If I were to leave field I would be able to find a job in Horticulture or be a consultant.

Jer of PA 10:55AM October 07, 2010

A student who can only talk about the makings of turfgrass is a very boring person. Rich, perhaps, but very, very boring.

of NY 11:53AM August 27, 2008

I went to a top-ranked liberal arts college, and was forced to take a semester and a half's worth of required courses like british literature; majored in biology and became a physician. I can't say that I was the better for my courses in philosophy, music appreciation and so forth. Those characteristics which I brought to college were what most molded me. While I quite enjoyed my college eperience, I saw my college degree as a necessary prerequisite to medical school, not as some sort of magical thing in its own right. Could I have been able to skip a few years of it, I would have done so with joy. Now my eldest is in college. Courses required of all students and not credited towards major requirements compose nearly two years of full time study for the average student entering without remedial courses. Nobody would take most of these courses were they not required. I figure that if the liberal arts folks really believed that their subjects were that great, they wouldnt need to force people to take them. Would it be so terrible if people stopped reading Sartre, for example? I think the man would have been a lot better off for some Prozac, and that Ray Bradberry is a better writer. Only reason some of these guys are still on the bookshelves, and have not joined other hasbeens in the vaults of the library is the educational establishments.

shirin of MO 2:28PM August 22, 2008

both types of education have their merits. it really is up to what the person whats to become. I wouldn't want to operate a golf course, but onwning one wouldn't be bad.
so upon reading this article, I just thought: why not round up some investors who want to put money into golf, buy some property and hire the Penn guys to actually build and operate the grounds.
liberal arts helps me think big.

lucasrg 5:29PM August 14, 2008

I am a classmate of Dean Woodman and I heartily endorse his commentary for many of the same reasons thatvWoody cites. Additionally, I believe that my liberal arts training at Amherst has endowed me with a never ending quest for learning despite my 8 decades on this planet

Phillips Babcock of NJ 11:52AM August 14, 2008

It is remarkable that so many liberal arts educators, President Marx included, refer almost exclusively to the value of a liberal arts education as a foundation for obtaining a job in the workplace, useful and satisfying as that end may be to the graduates and to society. But is their view that man's sole mission in life is to work night and day, with no other interests? I believe that a liberal arts education serves a much broader purpose.
I am a 1950 graduate of Amherst College, with a major in Economics but also a broad exposure there and in high school to literature, history, political science, mathematics/science, and art appreciation. As a result, in addition to having succeeded nicely in my career as an Investment banker, I have enjoyed my non-professional life immensely as a continuing home schooled student in a wide variety of subjects, Lucan and Shakespeare included. What's more, my liberal arts education has vastly enhanced my ability to appreciate the usually untold and complex historical forces driving virtually all of todays economic, political, social and cultural headlines, greatly improving my understanding of them.
In short, my liberal arts education stimulated and enabled me to enjoy immensely my brief ride on God's fabulous planet Earth, including building a successful career. But my "job", wonderful/creative/satisfying as it was, just paid the bills for me and my family to enjoy the ride to the fullest extent possible, including having my children also receive their own liberal arts educations. Interestingly, all four of them embrace a wide panoply of interests and are all self-employed. Let's hear it for the liberal arts!

Dean S Woodman of CA 1:55PM August 13, 2008

Creative study such as art, music, and theater teach us about the human condition, why we are the way we are and what we might become. Without training the imagination, who will dream up the next social and technological innovations that keep us vital and growing in the global economy? As multi-billion dollar industries, the fields of art and entertainment express the needs humans have always had to express themselves and to better understand their nature and the world around them.
We will need educators to bring up the next generation or leaders; studies in history and political science to help us deal with social and political conflict around the world; the list of how the liberal arts are vital and necessary is endless...

of IL 10:52AM August 03, 2008