Welcome to the 2016 edition of Greenkeeping, the Next Generation. Since 2012 TurfNet has placed an American turf student on a golf course in Ireland for the Summer. Mt. Juliet and Lahinch have hosted TurfNet interns in the past. This year we are thrilled to bring the program to County Louth Golf Club (aka Baltray) under the direction of longtime course manager Paul Malone. Paul has regularly welcomed our previous interns to Baltray for a look around and a round of golf. Baltray was also enjoyed last October during the TurfNet Members Trip to Ireland.

This year's intern is Nate McKinniss -  a senior at The Ohio State University and a native of Findlay, Ohio. Nate is our second intern from Ohio State (Peter Braun in 2014 was the other) and this is his first time out of the country.

This year TurfNet is partnering with the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) and Nate will receive additional financial support as TurfNet's first TOCA media intern. We also appreciate Jacobsen's ongoing sponsorship of the blog.

Please join me in welcoming Nate to the TurfNet editorial team and check back here as he shares his experiences on and off the course this summer.

Nate will be part of Team TurfNet Irish Open, a volunteer crew of five from the US who will assist in preparations for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at the K Club later in May.

Special thanks to Baltray General Manager Liam Murphy and Ohio State's Mike O'Keeffe for their assistance with Nate's application efforts and preparing him for his summer in Ireland.

Learn more about County Louth Golf Club in the following video: