Bernhard Academy looks to expand in the US

Sami Strutt moved to Bernhard Academy just a few months ago. She’s already planning another move, this time bringing the company with her.

Strutt, who joined Bernhard Academy in April as the education director, has big ambitions in her new position. She says the one she’s really excited about is expanding the academy’s services to the U.S.

“We’ve got a lot of ideas on how we can expand the academy to make it really valuable for the industry and get initiatives going,” Strutt says. “As we continue to grow, I think we’re going to see some exciting things coming out of the academy.”

Strutt says Bernhard Academy was created in 2019 to provide turf industry professionals with the necessary skills and knowledge to advance their career prospects. The academy provides workshops, webinars and other growth opportunities at various high-end courses throughout the U.K., such as Royal Norwich, Gleneagles and Moortown GC, and now Strutt hopes to give the same help to American turf pros.

Target areas of development include agronomy, leadership and management. Strutt says the cutting unit set-up workshop, for example, has been particularly successful in the U.K., meaning it will feature on the Bernhard Academy calendar in the U.S.

“Bernhard and Co. have a very strong customer base in the U.S., supported through a network of distributors across the country. This will enable us to work with a huge number of turf professionals who are already familiar with and trust the Bernhard and Co. brand.” Strutt says.

Breaking into a new market isn’t always easy, and the Bernhard Academy has many factors to consider when adapting to a new American audience. Strutt says that while superintendents and greenkeepers have similar issues worldwide, differences in culture, higher education structures, grass types, budgets, and other factors play a large part in how they plan to adapt to the expansion.

“We’ll be spending time identifying what the different skill sets are for the different markets,” Strutt says. “This is where we have to take our time with the U.S. market to ensure that we’re delivering education that is relevant, appropriate and offers genuine value.”

Strutt says the academy doesn’t have a solid timeline for the full U.S. expansion yet, as taking the right amount of time to best develop its strategy is a top priority. However, hard work is already being done to test the waters. The academy has taken a number of initiatives to start producing content, such as meeting with American superintendents during the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in January and hosting a pilot program at the 2025 U.S. Open host course, Oakmont Country Club.

“We hope to be able to deliver some workshops either later on this year or into the early part of next year with the view to be able to launch a fuller program next year,” Strutt says. “The Bernhard name is synonymous with quality, and we want to ensure that we’re still delivering that quality.”

One factor helping the expansion be possible is Bernhard’s already extensive network in the U.S. Strutt says Bernhard Academy’s great relationship with the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), in particular, has opened the door to new international opportunities.

For more than 20 years, the Bernhard Academy has selected 10 members of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers’ Association (BIGGA) to attend the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show to participate in education and visit local golf courses and sports facilities. Strutt says starting January 2025, a new partnership will see 10 GCSAA members travel to the U.K. for a similar experience at the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) and high-end golf courses.

“Bernhard has really offered people the opportunity to engage on an international level, learn about what goes on in different parts of the world, be able to network, meet people and expand their knowledge base,” Strutt says.

For Strutt, joining Bernhard Academy and expanding its reach is just a new challenge in a long journey with the golf course industry. Before taking her new position, Strutt spent 31 years gaining expertise at BIGGA, spending most of her time specializing in learning and development areas.

Strutt also played a crucial role in taking the Continue to Learn education program at BTME from a relatively small program to an internationally recognized one.

“It’s exciting to be working for a company that really has the industry right at the heart of everything that they do,” Strutt says. “I’ve been involved with Bernhard and Co. for a very long time, and that’s one of the reasons that I came to work with them to develop the Berhard Academy.”

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