Brett using the Toro Triflex mower to mow the greens. This is also the photo that won the 2021 IAA Internship Photo Contest!
Brett Wilcom, a Turfgrass Management major at the University of Maryland’s Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA), spent his summer waking up before the break of dawn to begin his day maintaining a golf course. He began his internship experience at Wilmington Country Club (WCC), a top national 100 club in Delaware. With a stroke of luck, he was able to return to his hometown of Frederick, Maryland to work at PB Dye, a smaller but more local golf club. He finished out the next two months at PB Dye and plans to continue to work on weekends when he is needed. So far, he has learned to spray various pesticides, take care of club members, and manage other responsibilities.
Wilcom discovered an interest in turf management when he was a sophomore in high school. He applied for a part-time job at a local golf course and his bosses, the superintendent and assistant superintendent of the golf course, were both IAA alumni. They recommended he apply when it was time for him to start thinking about going to college. “I went to an open house and loved it from the start!” explained Wilcom.
Wilcom was able to dabble in some personnel management of the maintenance team at the club. His daily tasks included preparing and setting up the course each morning, mowing fairways, greens, and operating the sprayer to maintain weeds and pests. Some of his favorite things about his internship included being able to learn different managerial jobs, being close to home, and being outside each day, working on a beautiful golf course. He remembered back to the days over the summer and spoke about one of his favorite days. “I got to operate the sprayer by myself! Of course, my boss was riding along with me, but I was running it, making sure I was maintaining the correct speed so that I was applying the correct rate [of pesticide].”
This internship experience taught Wilcom a lot and shaped the future steps for his career. He explained that having experience at both a top national 100 private club and a small public club was valuable because it taught him how each one operates differently, the pros and cons of both, but it ultimately taught him the kind of superintendent he hopes to become in the future. Wilcom’s advisor, Geoffrey Rinehart, explained that Wilcom was really able to understand “how intense a top 100 facility can be” but he also learned how helpful it can be to have “a superintendent [at PB Dye] that is more willing to be hands-on with you as an intern”
As Wilcom reminisced about his summer, he expressed the joy of watching the sunrise each morning against the beauty and scenery of the golf course and loved it every day! Over the course of the summer, Wilcom learned how to love what he does and to enjoy each moment.
