REYKJAVIK, Iceland — A delegation of 13 Icelandic greenkeepers and turf technicians gathered in the capital this week for a specialized training initiative delivered by the Bernhard Academy, marking a significant leap forward for the nation's professional turf care standards.
The three-day intensive program, hosted at GKG Golf Club, was designed to address a historical gap in access to high-level technical education within Iceland’s unique geographical and logistical landscape.
Led by Barry Drennan, the Bernhard Academy’s Programme Leader for Equipment and Technical Management, the curriculum focused on the intersection of daily course maintenance and advanced engineering. Participants engaged in a hybrid of classroom learning and hands-on application, focusing on:
The initiative was spearheaded by GKG’s leadership team, Course Manager Guðmundur Árni Gunnarsson and Head Greenkeeper Kate Stillwell, in coordination with the Icelandic Greenkeeping Association (SIGI) and supplier Toro Iceland.
By bringing together professionals from multiple facilities, the program ensured that the expertise would permeate the entire national industry rather than remaining siloed within a single club.
"This training has been a great opportunity for Icelandic greenkeepers and mechanics," said Kate Stillwell. "Our goal was to bring everyone together to provide access and hands-on guidance that is usually hard to come by. It’s clear that... this was a worthwhile investment in our greenkeepers and turf technicians. This training was about them."
For the Suffolk-based Bernhard Academy, the Reykjavik mission represents a core pillar of its global strategy: making elite technical education accessible to remote or underserved regions.
Barry Drennan praised the local initiative required to bring the group together:
"It was a privilege to deliver this program in Reykjavik. The initiative Kate showed in coordinating greenkeepers from all over Iceland is what made this so successful. Access to specialised training can be limited there, so being able to bring this education directly to a motivated group of professionals is exactly what the Bernhard Academy is designed to do."
The success of the program highlights a growing trend of collaborative professional development within the turf industry, proving that shared resources can elevate national standards even in challenging operating environments.
