DelVal turf student prepares golf course for world’s best golfers

Delaware Valley University junior Nathan Horvath ’18 helped prepare New Jersey’s Baltusrol Golf Club to host one of golf’s major tournaments, the PGA Championship. The Championship is being held from July 25 through July 31. Horvath is a turf management major from Villas, New Jersey. He is a second-year intern on Baltusrol’s grounds crew, which is headed by Mark Kuhns.

Dr. Doug Linde, a DelVal professor of turf management, has been working with Horvath to plan out his internship experiences. Dr. Linde knew Kuhns for many years and had an intern work for him in 2014.

Horvath started May 13 and will be interning with the course until August 15. His hours during the week include two four-hour shifts (4:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) plus, being on call during play each day.

“Dr. Linde recommended that I take an internship at a course that would be hosting a professional tournament the following summer,” said Horvath. “That way, I would get more out of the experience. Last summer I was trained in many of the basic maintenance tasks and was able to learn the system at Baltusrol. So, this year, I have added responsibilities.”

Horvath helps take care of a five-hole loop at the course. He is responsible for tasks such as: watering, fertilizer application and mowing.

“A lot of kids aren’t able to get this opportunity,” said Horvath of the experience. “Interning at a course that is hosting the PGA Championship is something that is once in a lifetime. I’m pretty excited about it and I’m looking forward to it.”

Horvath is completing the internship for credit as part of DelVal’s Experience360 Program, which prepares students to solve problems, integrating classroom knowledge with real-world experience. DelVal is one of the few universities in the country that requires an experiential learning component, individualized to each student’s major. Students are building their careers from day one, beginning with a course incorporating professional development and problem-based learning and ending with the creation of a transcript that incorporates experiences such as internships, study abroad, research and civic engagement.

Horvath said that the internship will help him as he works toward his career goals.

“I want to become an assistant superintendent at a prestigious course,” said Horvath. “The internship is giving me a lot of hands-on experience. I’m learning in the field and not just from the book. I’ve met a lot of people through this experience and now, I have a great internship on my resume.”

To learn more about the PGA Championship, please visit: pga.com/pgachampionship/