I spent most of my career – 29 years worth, working in the golf industry. Through kids growing up, busy schedules, trying to play some golf, and exploring other athletic adventures, I didn’t really have the time to consider adding something else to my plate. I’m sure you know lot’s of people who are sales reps of one variety or another. I know people who are and have much smaller territories than I do, and others whose are much larger than mine. With a seasonal(ish) position like mine, it is fast and furious for 9 or 10 months, then a fair bit of office time and staggered visits to the accounts who are around. I have over 200 active accounts in my territory, and I cover over 40,000 square miles. I do around 200 fitting events per year (an event at a club we partner with to fit and service their membership), sell in new product, clean up old product, conduct training, go to sales meetings, merchandise, and just stop in to say hello. All of this adds up to 50,000 miles of driving per year. My offices are in my basement and in my front seat. It’s a different life than most people imagine. I may see 10 golf courses in a day, but I never swing a club at any of them. I tell everyone that I work sunrise to sunset all year long. So when it’s light at 9am and dark at 3pm, or light at 6am and dark at 9:30pm, those are my hours.

Anyways, I was to the point in my life where I hadn’t done anything to advance my career educationally in a long time – like since the late 90’s. I have a little time, so I pondered my options. MBA? ehhh. Maybe, but what am I going to do with it? Some certifications in the club fitting world. I already have most of those – do I need more? How about the PGA? I have been interested for sure, but when I left the green grass/ Assistant Professional world in the early 2000’s, that pretty much sealed my fate – until a few years ago. In 2021, the PGA changed its requirements regarding work experience to go through the Associate Program – you had to work in a related position, but not at a golf course. Interesting…

Not only would I get to learn what almost all of my accounts have learned, but I can expand my horizons in a way that will really help me in my current line of work. Plus, there may come a day when I don’t want to drive 50,000 miles and stay in 40 hotels per year. Having the PGA Class A member accreditation would certainly open doors – or at least not let them close as quickly. With the experience I have in the industry, I know a lot of people, and finding work in golf in Upstate NY would not be difficult, but what if I wanted to go somewhere else where people didn’t know me? This may just come in handy someday. I was intrigued.

Before we go any further, people who don’t know, say “Wait, so you’re going to play golf on TV?” Uhhh, no. There is a difference between a Golf Professional and a Professional Golfer. The people who play golf for a living are Professional Golfers. The people who specialize in the business of golf are Golf Professionals. Sure, a Golf Professional needs to be able to play the game to a high level, but these folks are the driving force behind the golf industry. Think of it as kind of like a Masters degree in golf – a highly specialized degree beyond college in the field of golf. Since I already work in the golf industry, this seemed like a natural to me.

So what is involved? The PGA PGM Program has evolved over the years, but it is largely the same as it has been for the last 30 years, but with some updates to keep it current with the times. There are 3 1/2 levels of education, and a playability test (called the PAT for short – we’ll chat about this one soon). The PAT is up first for most people. You register through a PGA Section and play 36 holes in one day, shooting a target score of 15 strokes or better under the course rating doubled. For example, if the course rating is 72, your target would be 72+72+15= 159. You’d have to shoot 80, 79 to make it on the number. Sounds easy until you have to do it. Even good players can struggle with this – only 4% pass on the first try, 20% at a qualifying site pass (on average), and about 50% of the players who sign up never pass. The good news is once you pass it, you never have to do it again – it’s not like an eye test for your driver’s license. First on the education side is the Qualifying Level. Pass this and you can start your journey in the program. This took me 8 days, which is why I call it a half level.

Once you are through these two, you can register as an Associate and start on Level 1. Each of the three levels has pre-seminar bookwork, a seminar, and a portfolio. All in each is a couple hundred hours of work. Once you are through level 1, you select your specialized field of study – I selected Golf Operations for Level 2 and Level 3. It is the most relevant to what I do today, and it simply interested me more than Teaching & Coaching or Executive Administration. I finished my Level 1 in about 5 months. I made it a point to try to do something on it every night. If I did just a little bit here and a little bit there, I would be through it in no time. The winter months gave me a little more time to work on it, and I was done in 5 months. Amazing that only about 10% make it through level 1 (about 90% drop out of the program). It’s not that hard folks – if this old guy can do it, anyone can!! I had to wait 5 months to get the Level 2 updated bookwork, but I’m in that right now.

The journey has been awesome so far. I’ve learned a lot, but more importantly, I’ve enjoyed the learning. I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t start this when I had the chance 25+ years ago. I’m super glad that I have the opportunity now though. It’s nice to be able to apply it to what I do now, and it helps as I go through my day to day. I’m also anxious to see where it may lead once I decide I want a new challenge. Options are always good.

Fairways and greens. Stop to listen to the birds. Walk once in a while. Thanks for reading.

jy