A groundsman keeps the outdoor areas of a property safe, tidy and usable: lawns, gardens, sports fields, paving, fencing and everything else outside the building. In South Africa the role appears at schools, estates, sports clubs, office parks and municipalities, and the duties follow the season as much as the schedule.
This guide covers groundsman duties and responsibilities, the daily routine, and how the work changes by setting. It sits in the Hospitality Cleaning duties and responsibilities cluster, part of the wider job duties guide.
What Does a Groundsman Do?
A groundsman maintains grounds to a standard: grass cut and edged, beds weeded, paths clear, irrigation working, refuse removed and hazards dealt with before someone trips over them. On sports grounds the work becomes more technical, because a playing surface has to be prepared for use rather than simply kept neat.
The role usually includes basic maintenance beyond horticulture: replacing a broken sprinkler, fixing a section of fence, unblocking a drain, or reporting anything that needs a qualified trade.
Key Groundsman Duties and Responsibilities
- Mowing, edging and maintaining lawns and grassed areas to a set standard.
- Weeding, pruning, planting and maintaining garden beds and shrubs.
- Preparing and marking sports fields, courts and pitches for use.
- Operating and maintaining irrigation systems and checking for leaks.
- Sweeping and clearing paths, paving, parking areas and entrances.
- Removing litter, garden refuse and cuttings, and managing green waste.
- Applying fertiliser, herbicide and pesticide safely and to instruction.
- Servicing, cleaning and safely storing mowers, brush cutters and hand tools.
- Carrying out minor repairs to fencing, gates, benches and outdoor structures.
- Identifying and reporting hazards such as broken paving, damaged trees or blocked drains.
- Assisting with setting up and clearing outdoor events and functions.
- Wearing protective equipment and working safely around the public and learners.
Daily Tasks of a Groundsman
- Start of day: collect the task list, check the weather, sign out equipment and complete pre-use checks.
- Morning: the heavy work while it is cool, usually mowing, cutting and bed maintenance.
- Midday: litter rounds, path clearing, irrigation checks and any repair jobs raised.
- Afternoon: field preparation or marking ahead of use, planting and seasonal tasks.
- End of day: clean and store equipment, secure the store, report faults and hazards.
Groundsman Skills and Competencies
- Equipment operation: safe, competent use of mowers, brush cutters, blowers and hand tools.
- Horticultural knowledge: knowing when to cut, feed, prune and plant for the season and the grass type.
- Chemical safety: correct mixing, application and storage of fertilisers and herbicides.
- Physical fitness: sustained outdoor work in heat, wind and rain.
- Initiative: seeing what the grounds need without being told each morning.
- Safety awareness: especially where the public, learners or players share the space.
Groundsman Duties by Workplace or Industry
Schools
Duties combine grounds work with sports field preparation and event set-up, timed around the school day so noisy equipment is not running during lessons. Safeguarding awareness matters because the work happens around learners.
Sports Clubs and Stadiums
The most technical version of the role: turf management, mowing heights, aeration, top-dressing, line marking and preparing a surface to be playable on a fixed fixture date.
Estates, Complexes and Office Parks
Duties emphasise consistent presentation of common areas, irrigation management and visible tidiness, usually working to a schedule set by the managing agent or facilities manager.
Municipal Parks and Public Spaces
Larger areas and heavier litter loads, with duties following a route schedule and a post description, and more emphasis on hazard removal in spaces used by the public.
Groundsman Duties for a CV
Give the size of the grounds, the equipment you operated and anything technical such as turf or irrigation work. Use the duties for a CV guide for the method.
- Maintained six hectares of school grounds including three sports fields, working to a weekly schedule.
- Prepared and line-marked rugby and cricket fields ahead of every fixture across the season.
- Operated ride-on and push mowers, brush cutters and blowers, completing daily pre-use checks.
- Maintained the irrigation system and reduced water use by identifying and repairing leaks.
Related Job Roles and Responsibilities
These guides cover the roles and next steps most closely related to this one.
- Cleaner duties and responsibilities
- Housekeeper duties and responsibilities
- General Worker duties and responsibilities
- General Assistant duties and responsibilities
- Job description duties and responsibilities
Frequently Asked Questions About Groundsman Duties
What are the duties of a groundsman?
Mowing and maintaining lawns, weeding and pruning beds, preparing and marking sports fields, running irrigation, clearing paths and litter, applying fertiliser and herbicide safely, servicing equipment, carrying out minor outdoor repairs and reporting hazards.
What is the difference between a groundsman and a gardener?
A gardener focuses on plants, beds and horticulture. A groundsman looks after the whole outdoor area, which adds sports surfaces, paving, fencing, irrigation and general outdoor maintenance to the gardening work.
What qualifications does a groundsman need?
Most positions ask for practical experience rather than formal qualifications, though horticulture or turf management training is valued at sports clubs. A driver’s licence and chemical handling training are often advantageous.
Do groundsmen work in bad weather?
Largely yes, with the task list shifting rather than stopping: wet days move work to equipment servicing, store tidying, indoor repairs and planning. Lightning and severe weather should stop outdoor work entirely under the employer’s safety procedure.
Duties vary by employer, property and season. Where chemicals, machinery or work around the public is involved, follow your employer’s safety procedures and the relevant regulation rather than a general guide.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026