Jeremy Boone, general manager and director of agronomy at Springdale Resort, has become the 91st Master Greenkeeper since the certification's inception in 1990.
In doing so, Jeremy is just the 37th person to possess both Master Greenkeeper and Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS) classifications – two of the highest accolades available to experienced golf greenkeepers on either side of the Atlantic.
It is an achievement Jeremy, who works in North Carolina, has been striving for since 2022 and he was overcome with emotion when Deb Burnett, learning and development manager at the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), called to deliver the news.
"It's been quite a journey," he said. "It's been at least three years of trying, with some failing along the way, but each time I refused to give up.
"When Deb called, she didn't say that I had passed or failed, she just said, 'I called to see if you'd be available to come over here to BTME in January'. It was the best way to tell me I'd passed. I just lost it.
"People had told me it would be worth it when I got through, and I didn't know how right they were. I told her she'd have to talk for a minute because I couldn't."
Jeremy's greenkeeping journey began in 1991, when he transferred to NC State University to study turfgrass management and committed to a career in golf. Over the following decades he worked across four states, earned CGCS status – a designation he has now held for 25 years – and first became aware of the Master Greenkeeper qualification in 1996 when he noticed 'CGCS, MG' alongside Gary Grigg's name.
He later stepped away from golf to run a local hardware business, helping expand it from one store to five, but was ultimately drawn back when Springdale came calling, with his family having deep roots at the North Carolina venue.
"The only reason I came back was this golf course," he said. "My mother, father and grandmother worked here. My grandparents are buried within a few hundred yards of it. This place drew me back. Without it, there would be no Jeremy Boone MG."
In joining that exclusive club, Jeremy has also achieved something personally meaningful.
"I'm probably the first Native American to be a Master Greenkeeper – I am an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians," he explained. "That is the reason why I have such an affinity and a tie to the land."
Jeremy was inundated with congratulatory messages from fellow Master Greenkeepers and colleagues across the profession – support he describes as humbling. He also paid tribute to Springdale owner Lex West for his encouragement throughout the process and said none of it would have been possible without his wife, whom he calls his greatest supporter.
Most recently, Jeremy has progressed into the general manager role at Springdale. It was not a transition he had planned to make, but the circumstances brought about by a natural disaster set him on an unexpected new path.
"I was happy being the superintendent," he said. "I love being outside and I love being with the grass. When the hurricane hit, I volunteered to step in as interim general manager until we got through the disaster. We thought it would take a few months, maybe six.
"Then the owner told me he wanted me to take the general manager role permanently. I remember saying I'd spent the last five years trying to convince him the superintendent is the most important person on the golf course, and now I wasn't going to be the superintendent anymore. He just said, 'You'll do fine'.
To qualify for the Master Greenkeeper Certificate, a candidate must have at least 10 years’ experience working as a greenkeeper including three years as a course manager, head greenkeeper or superintendent. Certification includes the completion of a rigorous assessment programme that covers all aspects of golf course management.
Master Greenkeeper is a mark of distinction and is highly respected in the golf industry, signifying the holder has achieved the highest level of professional expertise with a commitment to maintaining the highest standards of golf course management.
