Keegan Mead is about to embark on a working trip of a lifetime.
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The Ballarat Golf Club greenskeeper has been accepted for a 12-month stay in the United States as part of The Ohio Program.
An international exchange run by the Ohio State University, it provides internships for those specialising in horticulture, agriculture and turf grass.
Mead has so far been accepted for stays at the Congressional Country Club and the TPC Potomac, with the later to host a PGA Tour event - the Quickens Loans National - during his visit.
Last week, Mead was nominated by the Australian Golf Fellowship of Rotarians for the John Hood Memorial Scholarship. This has provided him $5000 to help in his travels.
“I’m very excited. I can’t wait. The weeks are going pretty slow at the moment. I just want to get over there,” Mead told The Courier.
The 23-year-old, who finished his apprenticeship with the Ballarat Golf Club last year, said he has lofty goals in the industry and would love to use the skills learnt overseas when he returns to Australia.
His dreams include one day becoming superintendent of a big club.
“(US) standards are so much higher than Australia,” the former St Patrick’s College student said.
"I want to know how they (reach) that standard and bring that back to Australia.”