HELPING IMPROVE GOLF TURF STANDARDS.
We didn't learn this
in a classroom
TurfNerd was built on early mornings, worn-out equipment, and the
belief that the crew deserves just as much investment as the course itself.
Our story
Every golf course has a story you never see from the fairway. It starts before sunrise. It's the crew — raking bunkers, mowing greens, setting tee markers — making sure that by the time the first golfer tees off, everything is perfect. Nobody sees it. Nobody teaches it. That's why we built TurfNerd. We spent years with golf course crews.
We learned by watching, by making mistakes, and by asking questions to anyone patient enough to answer. We saw new crew members struggle through their first weeks with no guidance, no standard, and no support. We watched good workers leave because nobody invested in them. We decided to change that. TurfNerd is the training platform we wish had existed when we were starting out
THE FOUNDERS.
Meet the team.
Ernesto Martinez
Born and raised in Venezuela. He studied turfgrass management at Penn State University and EADE in Spain. Over the last four years, Ernesto has worked at some of the most demanding and prestigious courses in the world — Valderrama in Spain, Cabot St. Lucia, The Alotian Club, and Mid Ocean Club — all ranked among the global top 100. At each stop, he worked hands-on in daily maintenance operations, crew management, and training development, absorbing the standards that define world-class golf. What he found along the way was a consistent gap: crew members doing elite-level work with no formal training, no clear standard, and no platform built for them. That frustration became TurfNerd. Ernesto shares his journey and knowledge on Instagram as @turfnerd26, where he has built a community of people who share the same ideals — raising the standard, respecting the craft, and making sure the next generation of crew members is better prepared than the last.
Kenton Brunson. CGCS, MBA, CCM, MG.
From the championship greens of Pebble Beach to the windswept fairways of Mid Ocean Club, Kenton’s journey has been defined by a relentless pursuit of excellence. As a dually certified Master Greenkeeper (BIGGA) and Certified Golf Course Superintendent (GCSAA), he has mastered the complexities of both warm and cool-season environments at the highest levels. However, Kenton knows a secret known only to the best in the business: a Superintendent is only as good as their crew. This realization is the heartbeat of TurfNerd. By combining his high-level education—an Integrated Plant Science degree from Washington State and an MBA from the University of Arizona—with decades of "boots on the ground" experience at world-class facilities, Kenton is dedicated to professionalizing turf education at every level. He believes that by empowering crew members with professional-grade knowledge, we don't just improve the grass—we elevate the entire profession.
OUR MISSION.
Raise the standard by training the people who do the work.
A trained crew is a confident crew. A confident crew does better work. Better work means better conditions. Better
conditions means better golf. For everyone.
Everything we build starts with the person holding the rake, not the person signing the budget.
No textbooks. No jargon. Real tasks, explained clearly, filmed on real courses.
Golf course maintenance is a skilled profession. We treat it that way.
In English and Spanish. On any device. No membership gates or academic prerequisites.