Hole lot of opportunity
A ONCE aspiring pro-golfer who turned his sights from nailing a hole-in-one to manicuring the perfect lawn has achieved international success.
Geelong student Will Koopmans has maintained some of the world’s most prestigious golf courses and rubbed shoulders with international golfers such as Tiger Woods.
The golf turf management course student is one of a growing number of students turning to the United States for internship opportunities.
Mr Koopmans, who was named Australia’s best turf student, completed a sixmonth exchange program that included a stint at Ohio State University.
Australian students such as Mr Koopmans, are highly regarded at US golf courses, where local students have far less hands-on training than their Australian counterparts.
“You have to be really passionate and meet a certain standard to maintain a golf course,” Mr Koopmans said.
Some of Mr Koopmans’ greatest achievements include working at the world-famous Pacific Links tournament.
Ohio State University’s Michael O’Keeffe said the internship program opened opportunities that otherwise would not exist for students.
“Golf is global and to get the big jobs, you have to have hands-on experience at the top clubs in the world. To get that, you almost always have to have been in the (United) States, and that is where we come in,” Mr O’Keeffe said.
He said the internship program had a 100 per cent job placement rate.
“Those jobs could be in India, Dubai and Asia and we have a waiting list for our graduates,” Mr O’Keeffe said.