Golf courses foster next-gen turf talent

New apprenticeship aims to keep participants here

By Abby Poirier

An apprenticeship program aims to help West Michigan golf courses lure in new recruits to work in the turf maintenance side of the business.

Strategizing new ways to attract young people into the industry has become a key priority, particularly as an older generation of owners, managers and crew members head toward retirement age, golf course executives said.

As the 2023 season kicks off, course owners say they’re worried that Michigan’s $4.2 billion golf industry won’t have enough workers to keep up with the resurgence of demand it has experienced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The golf business is good, (but) we’re seeing (baby) boomers retiring out of the turf side of the business and there are not enough applicants to fill the need,” said Jeff Hoag, co-owner of Scott Lake Golf and Practice Center in Plainfield Township, north of Grand Rapids.

Hoag, who partnered with his brother to buy the course from their parents in 1975 and serves on the board of directors for the Michigan Golf Course Association, noted that the multi-generational family ownership of many courses can contribute to the challenges with talent attraction.

Jim Szilagyi, general manager of Otsego-based Lynx Golf Course, which his grandfather founded in