Golf, footy and now turf management are the three passions that drive Oliver Davis, and the Royal Adelaide Golf Club greenskeeper is excelling in all.

Davis was this year honoured at the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association awards as the Graduate of the Year for his impressive work at one of Australia's best courses, and the accolades didn't stop there.

When he finishes up his work on the course, Davis is often straight in the car to footy training at SANFL club South Adelaide, where he was recently named in The Advertiser SANFL Team of the Year after an impressive season with The Panthers.

Juggling his work at Royal Adelaide with footy can sometimes be a tricky exercise, but Davis says his boss, Royal Adelaide Superintendent Nathan Bennett, has been more than accommodating.

"It's challenging at times, but I think again it comes back to Nathan, he understands sort of the commitment on both ends, and vice versa with my coach understanding my work as well," Davis said.

"It can turn into some long days when you're getting up early and then you end up working all day, have a bit of time before training and then you're sort of at training all night.

"As long as I'm sort of keeping on top of all my sleep and all that, it's pretty easy to manage when my boss and my coach are pretty accommodating with it."

Originally from Tasmania, Davis initially got into the industry purely through his passion for golf and now enjoys the satisfaction of working in an industry he truly cares about.

"It was my love and my passion for golf that steered me down this path of the turf management industry," he said.

"It wasn't long before I realised that it was a whole industry out there, which I love now just as much.

"Having Nathan as my boss has been great for me in my development as an apprentice and through qualifying at the end of last year, and the entire team that we've got around us at Royal is really special."

While having one of the most picturesque golf courses in the world as an office is pretty special, Davis says it is the team around him that gets him out of bed in the early hours.

"I think it comes down to the environment. The incredible working environment here is a big one for me," he said.

"We all start early and finish early together, and the relationships that we have between our group is amazing.

"Once we have completed our task and got the turf in some good nick, it's rewarding to then see it in its final product."

Now in its fifth year, International Thank a Superintendent Day is being celebrated today (September 9) as we say thank you to everyone around the country keeping our courses and facilities in magnificent shape.

Golf Australia and the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) is grateful for the work and expertise of sports turf managers, course superintendents and their dedicated teams who work tirelessly every day.