Gavin Shytle
Title:
UGA Grounds Crew Member
Major:
Turfgrass Management
Year:
Class of 2025
Hometown:
Alpharetta, GA
It’s a special moment to step inside Sanford Stadium and walk across that sprawling green field between the hedges. While the grass beneath your feet may not always be your first thought at the Freshman Welcome or Commencement, it is for Gavin Shytle.
Keeping the turf safe, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing is the sworn duty of Shytle and his fellow turfgrass management majors. Before athletes even hit the ground running, he makes sure the ground is prepped for them.
How did Shytle get drawn to the world of turfgrass? That’s a question he is constantly ready to answer. After all, it’s not every day you hear about a passion for grass.
“It’s really cool to be around players, but a lot goes into it behind the scenes. There are a lot of pretty views, and you get to take a step back and be like: ‘I did that,’” he says.
He chose this career path during a transformative summer as a greenskeeper at White Columns Country Club near his hometown of Alpharetta. A job connection from a friend, a knowledgeable golf course superintendent, and a season of perfecting the green for every type of golf club helped make his transfer from Kennesaw State University into UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences a smooth one.
You look around and see all the fans and the players playing on it and know you had a part in that field…It is a really great experience.
Gavin Shytle
UGA Grounds Crew Member
From his hustle to set up the bases at Foley Field to his meticulous care at the University Golf Course, the UGA Grounds Crew has been thrilled to have Shytle on the team. In between making some of the biggest sporting events on campus literally glisten, he also found the time to earn an internship with an agrochemical supplier in South Carolina and helped restart a student turfgrass club.
And it’s not just about what happens on the surface. Shytle’s intense work in the classroom is helping him better understand how to succeed in his field and how to help the field itself succeed.
“A lot of people think it’s just growing grass, but we get down into the nitty-gritty,” he says. “We get into the physiology of plants. We get into the soil. We get into different types of grass. We get into the weather. We get into insects because they can cause a lot of havoc with turf.”
Understanding these details has helped him embrace the bigger picture. Every well-kept blade of grass or speck of soil adds up to something truly memorable for players. That’s something he appreciates before tee off or the first pitch.
“In the very early morning, you step back and see how gorgeous it is. You’ve got those early mornings where the dew is on the grass, and it’s just quiet.”
His post-graduation path is still being laid, but Shytle knows that wherever he ends up, the grass will be greener.
“You look around and see all the fans and the players playing on it and know you had a part in that field being there and looking how it did. It is a really great experience.”
