The turf world is a global one. You can go all over the world to work on golf courses, athletic fields, landscape services, and much more. I can say that the past seven months have been some of the best in my life. Getting an international experience has been more than the work of a golf course. The golf course does take precedent, but getting a global experience means going out to experience the culture of the country you are in.

Programs like The Ohio Program (TOP) and TurfNet's make it easy for students to go overseas. Without these two programs I know I would not be where I am today. Jon Kiger of TurfNet and Mike O'Keeffe of TOP lead great international programs. Anyone looking for that out of the box experience should inquire about the programs. TurfNet has more structure to the internship as the student will keep a blog for the website. Another plus to TurfNet's program is that Jon will try to come over with the new intern and show him or her around Ireland. He does a great introduction to what Ireland has to offer and introduces you to many of the best superintendents in the country. With Mike you can cater the experience to your desires. He will get a sense of where you would like to go and what experience you have before finding the perfect fit for you. For me I could have gone anywhere, but wanted a high end course hosting a large tournament during our winter months. From that I was told I would have to go down under and that The Hills was hosting the NZ Open. While there are other courses with more publicity or higher rankings The Hills fit my needs. Anyone wishing for more information is free to contact me at braun.250@osu.edu 

Towards the end of my time in Ireland I wrote an article for Greenside Magazine, the publication of the GCSAI.The article showcases my time in Ireland from my internship to course visits to the things I did in my spare time. Here is rough copy of the article.