Southern California's No. 1 Golf Source
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
Par for the Course
|
||||
 Many successful careers in golf have begun at the San Diego Golf Academy. The decision was Jack’s 63th birthday present to himself, proving it’s never too late to do what you love. He’s now teaching golf at a Mississippi resort and “happier than I’ve ever been but kicking myself that I didn’t do this 30 years earlier.” It used to be that the direct line to the pro shop for prospective instructors started in the bag room or cart barn. But a quicker path can be found in Carlsbad or Temecula. Rich Iorio, campus director at the San Diego Golf Academy (golfacademy.edu) in Carlsbad, said their mission is “to prepare qualified people for a career in golf, whether that student is just out of high school, just out of the military or maybe starting their second or third career.” Ken Ferrell, director of instruction at the Professional Golfers Career College (golfcollege.edu) in Temecula, said that “when a student leaves our facility, he has a very good understanding of the golf industry, whether it’s teaching the game, working in golf manufacturing or club operations. Our students see, feel and touch many aspects of the golf industry.” Both schools offer programs that build in time to play the game, and tuition includes green fees at a number of golf courses near the campuses, where students can learn more about the rules of golf and how to set up a course for competition. They also learn how to run golf tournaments in all kinds of formats, and the SDGA even teaches calligraphy so students will be able to post scores on big leaderboards. San Diego resident Jonathan Standiford chose to attend the SDGA at the age of 27 after losing interest in his college-chosen field of science. “I was obsessed with the game,” said Standiford, who started playing golf seriously at 22 and hopes to find a job in sales and marketing with a golf manufacturer within five years. After touring the campus, he knew “this was what I wanted to do with my life, be in golf.” Patrick Coughlin, the admissions advisor at SDGA, said a placement office handout listing the “104 most popular job titles in the golf industry” included artist, physical therapist, player management and course general manager. Both schools claim high placement statistics, with the SDGA “consistently averaging over 85 percent,” Coughlin said. Both also offer financial aid. Mark Hoesing, vice president of operations for KemperSports, is a PGCC alum. “I wanted another challenge as interesting to me as aviation, and golf is always interesting and always a challenge,” said Hoesing, who spent eight years flying aircraft for the Marines. “I had a great time and came out very prepared,” he added about his time at the Temecula facility. Stephen Song, the valedictorian of his 2006-07 class at the SDGA, had similar praise. “The exposure SDGA gave me to the world of golf was terrific,” said Song, a golf instructor at GolfTEC in Woodland Hills. “Not only did I have a great time, but the school’s contacts within the golf industry had me working right away with plenty of choices." Eric Tracy is also known as The Mulligan Man. He can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
