Relentlessly Dedicated With Jérôme Querrien
Name: Jérôme Querrien
Title: Golf Course Superintendent
Facility and location: Al Houara Golf Club /Tangier Morocco
Troon Value: Relentlessly Dedicated
Q: When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up and please explain if there was a story around that.
A: I wanted to be a fighter pilot, and watching Top Gun in 1986 certainly played a big part. Unfortunately, I had to wear glasses from the age of 12, so being a fighter pilot was out of the question.
Q: What/Who got you interested in the business of agronomy and what was your first experience with the industry?
A: My grandfather was a greenskeeper and my father a pro on the European circuit and later, technical director of a golf course on the Ivory Coast. I was naturally on a golf course from my very first steps. During the summer vacations, when I was round 12 and 13, I did various jobs on the golf course (inventory of spare parts, pruning of coffee trees, etc.).
Q: What has been your career progression thus far?
A: I really started my golf career in 2001 on a 9-hole course in Normandy. In 2002 I trained as a greenskeeper, and then from 2003 to 2005 I prepared the equivalent title of golf head-greenkeeper in France. In 2006 I started work on one of Polaris world’s projects (Murcia Region, Spain), a Nicklaus Golf Trail. I started as a greenskeeper and worked my way up through the ranks to irrigation technician, sprayer technician, head greenkeeper deputy and finally Superintendent. In 2011, I moved to Morocco to oversee the construction and maintenance of more than five golf courses. Finally in 2015, I was recruited by Qatari Diar to finish the construction and maintenance of their course in Tangier.
Q: What do you do in your daily job or life to inspire others interested in turf management and the agronomy business as a career?
A: For several years now, I’ve been trying to offer quality golf, with minimum chemical inputs, good quality for guests to play, and good for nature (which translates into very good for budget).
Since then, I’ve been sharing with the maintenance team, a few people I mentor and my pro network, the various projects we’ve set up aim to be more respectful of the surrounding environment.
In my day-to-day life, I apply the same values, remaining respectful of the environment, and I share this passion with my sons, my wife and my friends (organic vegetable garden, etc.) so the same goals apply both at home and at work.
Q: What is one interesting science fact about agronomy that not many people know about?
A: The soil is alive, and it gives back to us what we give it.
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