As I do from time to time, recently I took a call from a young man (Mike) seeking guidance for a future in the golf course industry and looking for advice. After a most enjoyable and stimulating conversation, it dawned on me that given the complexity of golf there are numerous ways those of us with a passion for the game can make it our livelihood.

Mike reached out to me as a result of my recent blog post on disappearing golf courses. He’s currently an assistant golf course superintendent and wondered if future job prospects might be dwindling if more golf course closures are coming. He’s passionate about golf and wanted to know how his skills might be used in a variety of ways in the golf industry.

Golf offers many opportunities. Golf courses and clubs are multiple businesses in one. Almost every golf facility includes the skills required for:

  • Farming (golf course maintenance)
  • Retail (golf pro shop)
  • Marketing (memberships, golfers, events)
  • Management/Operations/Accounting
  • Food & Beverage Operations (grille, snack bar, restaurant, banquets/events)
  • Hospitality (enhancing patron experience)
  • Instruction

This morning, I am meeting with a young man, senior in high school, seeking an internship for a month in something connected to golf. As many who read my blog are aware, my son, Jack, a golf equipment enthusiast, is an associate editor for Golf Magazine/Golf.com. He has a degree in communications (Journalism) from Penn State and is doing what he loves. Having applied my extensive real estate appraisal, consulting and brokerage background first encouraged by my real estate broker parents in the game I love for nearly 40 years now, Jack and I are examples of the adage, “if you love what you do, you never work a day in your life”. Combined with the focus of other professions like law, real estate, journalism, insurance, accounting, photography, travel, equipment (both golf and maintenance), design (clubhouses and golf courses) and construction, among others it’s easy to see how someone with a passion for golf can turn it into a career. One doesn’t have to be able to smoke a drive 300+ yards, make 4 or 5 birdies every round and break par for a career in golf. Conversely, just because one might be a highly skilled player doesn’t automatically portend success in the golf industry.

Golf is very much a hospitality industry. It’s a leisure time pursuit and it’s important that everyone in the industry understands that. People are at the club or course to have fun, and they’re spending discretionary dollars to do so.

I’ve often observed that many of the most successful people I know have combined multiple skills to achieve their goals. For instance, those who are both doctors and lawyers can combine those skills and knowledge base in a variety of ways. I’ve known real estate appraisers who were also trained as engineers and applied their unique expertise in cases involving valuation and physical characteristics. Even within the golf industry there are turf professionals (superintendents) and golf professionals who’ve educated themselves in food & beverage and finance to become successful club general managers. While many get into the golf industry “by accident” there are those of us who aggressively sought to find our way into golf because of our passion for the game. Unfortunately, there’s not always time to play as much as we’d like, but, like anything else one has to make time.

GO FOR IT! It’s a great life.