What Is a Turf Manager and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

A turf manager maintains the turf used on a golf course or sporting field. As a turf manager, your responsibilities are to repair damage, restore the field, regulate pest control, and create a safe space for athletes to play. Other duties include creating a schedule for field use and overseeing a maintenance crew, as well as determining if any changes must be made to the field. In this role, you also mow, aerate, top dress, irrigate, and fertilize the turf. Turf management requires a love for and knowledge of the sport you are supporting.

The qualifications to become a turf manager can vary by state, but most employers require some formal education. Many schools offer certification or bachelor’s degree programs in turfgrass science. This discipline requires an understanding of biology, chemistry, business management, and environmental science. Turf managers can also seek voluntary certification from the Sports Turf Management Association and the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America. These certification programs demand a strong knowledge of turf management from anyone looking to pass their exams.

Turf managers work wherever there is turf, including golf courses, athletic fields, stadiums, and city parks. Turf managers primarily work in athletics, and it is a great career path for someone passionate about sports. Turf managers are needed all over the country and beyond. If you are a turf manager at a major sports arena, you may be responsible for overseeing many large-scale events like games or concerts. For example, at a baseball field, you oversee that a pitching field is ready for gameplay. If you are a turf manager at a small golf course, you may have fewer responsibilities or may be responsible for overseeing a grounds maintenance team.

There are many overlapping responsibilities between a turf manager and a landscaper, but the jobs are quite different. A landscaper primarily performs groundskeeping and building maintenance duties. They may be responsible for getting rid of pests and planting flowers, grass, or shrubs. Turf managers primarily work in sports, managing the maintenance and use of turf at golf courses and sporting arenas, so they must have knowledge of turf science as well as event planning. Landscapers typically work with real plants and greenery. While turf managers typically work in a sporting facility, landscapers work anywhere, including homes, businesses, and parks.