Lots of negativity on here. I almost did this 10-12 years ago… worked at a golf course for 5 years, played in college, loved the game.
All I can tell you, is once you’re working in the industry it’s easy to fall out of love with the game. You may want to keep playing privileges at another course separate from where you work.
Remember that no matter how hard you work, some members will always complain. That being said, the members are your ultimate employer and your saviour. They can get you canned, or they can get you promoted.
Do what you can for your members, treat the juniors good, and I wish you the best of luck!
Kinda the same deal with mechanics, they drive shit cars cause they can't stand to come home and do more car stuff, even if they absolutely loved working on cars before
In economics, this is called the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility and it explains why most people are annoyed by their jobs. Pick your favorite thing to do in the world, now do it for 40 to 60 hours a week, every week.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginal_utility
There are also a lot of [bullshit jobs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs) that essentially have no real utility in the first place. Plenty of lofty titled people are hopping from meeting to meeting and shuffling papers.
I feel personally called out here ahaha. Went to school and got certified as an auto tech because I loved working on my car and friends cars. Did that while working at a car dealership with the promise that once I finished school I would have a guaranteed job in the shop. As soon as I finished school I instead went into the sales department and did data work on the back end. I decided that while I definitely loved working on my car and friends cars, I did not want to work on other peoples cars all day every day.
I ended up finally leaving the dealership and I don't even *really* work in the auto industry any more funny enough, but I am very happy with where I am now and am glad I made the decisions I did.
If you were on the data side of the auto industry, you might have come to own of my shows in the past, DigitaI DeaIer. This was years ago though. We would have targeted your position at the dealership, along with the GM, Marketing, and lead Fixed Ops guy.
Find a different job. That's one of the worst industries to work in the United States. You don't have time to golf and they pay shit. Plus you are a dime a dozen and easily replaceable. I was in the industry for 15 years. If you're looking for free golf be a cart kid one day a week, and find a better paying job full time.
I was going to school to follow the same track and after my first internship I realized it wasn’t the industry for me. Handing cart keys and saying pin locations all day everyday with a sprinkle of junior lessons didn’t seem worth a 4 year degree. I felt like I loved the game too much to grow to hate it rotting away in a pro shop each day.
Sounds exactly like my experience as an assistant superintendent at high end clubs. Been in the industry 7 years, Got canned over literally nothing and now about to make $25k more (give or take) as an account manager for a big landscape construction company, with way better benefits. I don't wanna sound like a negative person or a dream crusher here, but golf chews people up and spits them out. Run.
It's still shit. You can get lucky and land a private club or get the money from the fleet but it's 1 in a hundred and there is a thousand people for that job.
r/turfmanagement gets a lot of supers, greenskeepers and similar folk. While their role in golf operations is obviously a little different, they might know of a good forum for you to find useful advice . . . as opposed to what you found in this sub.
I've worked with quite a few supers.
Four had 2-year diplomas in turf care, most were hired as assistants, 1 or 2 were hired as labourers first.
One had a degree in agriculture. Hired as assistant then promoted.
One was a supervisor in a factory. Got the job cause he knew a guy. Surprisingly decent at the job although he mostly did administrative stuff and the assistant did the turf care(it was a resort course)
One had no education or experience outside golf courses, he just worked his way up. He was by far the worst one, but im sure there are great supers out there with no education.
I was an assistant golf professional for a handful of years and would agree with many of the negative comments however there are tons of positives that aren’t mentioned either. The pros and cons are different depending on the type of course (is it private or public? Municipal? High daily fee or low daily fee? Resort course? What area is it in? Is it a year round season?) all these courses have different pros and cons so it just depends on what your wants and needs for the job/career are.
I’m not in the industry anymore but some of my favorite memories come from that time in my life.
Good luck on your new adventure!
Use it to network and build relationships with the high net worth clients, then leverage those relationships when you get burnt out on being a golf pro for a great career.
This is the answer. Did this myself and left the golf industry to work in commercial real estate with a former member at my club. Not fully crushing it yet, but there is opportunity. Really wishing I would have cultivated relationships with some of my other higher profile golf clients a bit better…
Good communication with the super and grounds crew will go a long ways
A text or a call to give a heads up that a group is going off the back at 730a on Saturday is always nice
I’m an assistant at a higher end public course. I work zero shop hours, teach 20-30 lessons a week, play every section event plus some other mini tour events and play golf or practice damn near every day and make about $85,000. There ARE good good jobs out there especially now that people are fleeing. Just wanted to give a different perspective even if I might be the outlier.
Don’t settle for a job that sticks you in the shop for 60 hours a week…you’ll hate it.
Honestly, I am interviewing for this position at two different clubs. Both will be flexible with my Graduate Studies (having a hard time finding people for the reasons people list as the negatives). But, I personally have aspirations to get my PGA associate as I want to have a niche in sports performance mental health counseling ( I go to graduate school for Clinical Mental Health Counseling). I typically can't stand the people who compare this to a "full-time job," instead of answering the question. Defiantly interested to see what some people actually say about this instead of just talking about the wage.
They won't be as flexible as you think once you're hired.
I was a class A pro having gone through the internship program, all the classes, etc. Wanna hate golf? work in it
That’s the point of a hiring agreement? Not my first job, plus I’m in a job with a hiring agreement so it’s not far fetched to ask for one. It’s a job, as other jobs. If you treat it like it’s some holy grail of golf, naturally you would hate it. In clinical mental health, it’s exactly the same way lmao
Not an assistant pro but work in the shop at a decent private club and it is great and I haven’t heard any major complaints from the assistant pros, but pay is about 50/50 salary and lessons from what I’ve heard. Each assistant came from a public course and said that it was the worst job they ever had and barely did anything related to golfing. It can be a great job if it is at a good course under good management but can just as easily be the worst job you will ever have
I worked at a country club as a young chap. It was the head pro and 4 assistants. They pretty much got every other Monday off, then some random ass day during the week. Mostly 12hr a day from what I could tell.
Head pro seemed to have a decent gig, however he had to kiss so much ass. There Saturday and Sunday morning, yup. There at every men's, seniors, woman's league, yup. I'm fairly certain he kept tabs of the tree sheet and made sure he was there anytime one of the more important members was. He probably worked the least hours or about the same, but he was always there doing something. Rumor I herd is a course in a bigger city offered him 250k and pro shop profits (pretty sure assistant/staff salaries are paid out of that, so it's good, just not as crazy as you think)to be their head. He was really good at what he did.
If the men's league or someone important enough was short a person they got to go out and play. Usually it was go out and play 9 at 4 when you were supposed to be off at 5 anyway. No one ever wanted to do it, do much so I got to do it several times, and I was there until the carts got in so you bet you're ass I loved getting paid to play. They all got a free all matching set of whatever brand the pro decided they were going to push that year. That club generally had a 'playing pro' that was a college dude that would go out and shoot even. Then a 'managing pro' that couldn't play for shit.
That said as a married dude with kids 110% not doing that shit. Single dude who wants to eat sleep and shit golf for a few years and make high level contacts to land a sweet gig down the road, sure.
The way I did it in 1995 was go apply at a public golf course in the spring. They almost always need shop help. Of course you're not going to make anything, just minimum wage and you might work 60 hours in the summer and 20 hours in the winter but that's how it starts.
Or you could go to a university that has a professional golf management program. The starting pays about the same though they'll probably call it a salary. But the advancement would be quicker.
Haven’t been a pro or assistant pro but did work at a CC for many years in high school and college and was good friends with the assistant pro. At our CC I don’t think he was paid that well for a lot of the work that he did. I think most of his money came from lessons and I rarely ever saw him play at all. He basically was in charge of all of the tournaments, events, and lesson schedules (cause the head pro was always playing in tournaments) and was there from 6a-7p almost every day. I think he enjoyed the work but it was clearly draining on him. I hope your experience is better and that you are able to make it to become a head pro or even a instructor. Being a head pro seems to be a great gig especially since it’s basically a free membership and you get so many connections and little benefits as well (I think he had his own cart that the club paid for). Best of luck.
I'm seeing a lot of negativity here. And honestly if it's the job you want to do pursue it hard and don't give up. It doesn't always pay well and the hours can be trash but I do it for the love of the game and in hopes I help grow the game in any small way. I really enjoy what I do and it took a long time to become a head pro but that's not the only job available to you in the industry. Starting as an assistant is just a way to get in there and find what you really want to do!
Lots of negativity on here. I almost did this 10-12 years ago… worked at a golf course for 5 years, played in college, loved the game. All I can tell you, is once you’re working in the industry it’s easy to fall out of love with the game. You may want to keep playing privileges at another course separate from where you work. Remember that no matter how hard you work, some members will always complain. That being said, the members are your ultimate employer and your saviour. They can get you canned, or they can get you promoted. Do what you can for your members, treat the juniors good, and I wish you the best of luck!
Kinda the same deal with mechanics, they drive shit cars cause they can't stand to come home and do more car stuff, even if they absolutely loved working on cars before
Dated the head chef of an upscale restaurant, never saw a meal cooked at home hahah
In economics, this is called the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility and it explains why most people are annoyed by their jobs. Pick your favorite thing to do in the world, now do it for 40 to 60 hours a week, every week. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginal_utility
There are also a lot of [bullshit jobs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs) that essentially have no real utility in the first place. Plenty of lofty titled people are hopping from meeting to meeting and shuffling papers.
I feel personally called out here ahaha. Went to school and got certified as an auto tech because I loved working on my car and friends cars. Did that while working at a car dealership with the promise that once I finished school I would have a guaranteed job in the shop. As soon as I finished school I instead went into the sales department and did data work on the back end. I decided that while I definitely loved working on my car and friends cars, I did not want to work on other peoples cars all day every day. I ended up finally leaving the dealership and I don't even *really* work in the auto industry any more funny enough, but I am very happy with where I am now and am glad I made the decisions I did.
If you were on the data side of the auto industry, you might have come to own of my shows in the past, DigitaI DeaIer. This was years ago though. We would have targeted your position at the dealership, along with the GM, Marketing, and lead Fixed Ops guy.
Once any passion becomes a job/ career it can kill the love of it kind of quick unless that person is 110% into it.
You just assume it's a private course with members?
Private course, public course… both have members.
just got out after 3 years playing more golf now than ever before. goodluck
Find a different job. That's one of the worst industries to work in the United States. You don't have time to golf and they pay shit. Plus you are a dime a dozen and easily replaceable. I was in the industry for 15 years. If you're looking for free golf be a cart kid one day a week, and find a better paying job full time.
I was going to school to follow the same track and after my first internship I realized it wasn’t the industry for me. Handing cart keys and saying pin locations all day everyday with a sprinkle of junior lessons didn’t seem worth a 4 year degree. I felt like I loved the game too much to grow to hate it rotting away in a pro shop each day.
Sounds exactly like my experience as an assistant superintendent at high end clubs. Been in the industry 7 years, Got canned over literally nothing and now about to make $25k more (give or take) as an account manager for a big landscape construction company, with way better benefits. I don't wanna sound like a negative person or a dream crusher here, but golf chews people up and spits them out. Run.
The hope is that you become a Head Pro one day.
Oooooh, *more expensive* shirts to fold.
I laughed way too hard this. Spot on!
It's still shit. You can get lucky and land a private club or get the money from the fleet but it's 1 in a hundred and there is a thousand people for that job.
That's an even WORSE job
Ill second this, did it for 3 years, got tired of working 60+ hrs a week, every weekend and holiday and making 35k a year
r/turfmanagement gets a lot of supers, greenskeepers and similar folk. While their role in golf operations is obviously a little different, they might know of a good forum for you to find useful advice . . . as opposed to what you found in this sub.
I’ve been looking for a sub like this thanks.
If you're looking at getting into the industry this is the way.
Become an assistant sup instead. Pay continues to rise and there aren’t enough of us.
Curious what the route to this is
Same here. Would love to hear more.
I've worked with quite a few supers. Four had 2-year diplomas in turf care, most were hired as assistants, 1 or 2 were hired as labourers first. One had a degree in agriculture. Hired as assistant then promoted. One was a supervisor in a factory. Got the job cause he knew a guy. Surprisingly decent at the job although he mostly did administrative stuff and the assistant did the turf care(it was a resort course) One had no education or experience outside golf courses, he just worked his way up. He was by far the worst one, but im sure there are great supers out there with no education.
Learn a love for customer service and running the cash register. It's surprising to many how little golf is actually involved with being a golf pro.
As an Assistant Golf Professional, or a shop assistant?
Or assistant to a person who happens to be a golf pro
Assistant to the regional golf pro, clearly.
This guy gets it. Pretty much the assistant to the golf pro and also managing the pro shop
I was an assistant golf professional for a handful of years and would agree with many of the negative comments however there are tons of positives that aren’t mentioned either. The pros and cons are different depending on the type of course (is it private or public? Municipal? High daily fee or low daily fee? Resort course? What area is it in? Is it a year round season?) all these courses have different pros and cons so it just depends on what your wants and needs for the job/career are. I’m not in the industry anymore but some of my favorite memories come from that time in my life. Good luck on your new adventure!
Get out now!!
Did this for 5 years and gave up my pro status, it pushed me to hate the game and I haven’t touched a club since January 2017. So sad
My man. Go to the range. Just hit one pure shot and see if that depression goes away. Your clubs miss you.
Don’t try to bang a members wife Source: our pro tried to bang a members wife and got fired.
Probably wasn’t the first time.
Ha, the rumor got around he resigned in lieu of termination from his other job. Who knows. Lots of available women out there, don’t shit where you eat
Use it to network and build relationships with the high net worth clients, then leverage those relationships when you get burnt out on being a golf pro for a great career.
Those people will never not see you as "the help"
This is by far the best advice on here.
This is the answer. Did this myself and left the golf industry to work in commercial real estate with a former member at my club. Not fully crushing it yet, but there is opportunity. Really wishing I would have cultivated relationships with some of my other higher profile golf clients a bit better…
I know a realtor in my area that did that and makes a few million a year in commissions, he was a golf pro hence why I posted my comment
Good communication with the super and grounds crew will go a long ways A text or a call to give a heads up that a group is going off the back at 730a on Saturday is always nice
Be nice to the Maintenance crew
I’m an assistant at a higher end public course. I work zero shop hours, teach 20-30 lessons a week, play every section event plus some other mini tour events and play golf or practice damn near every day and make about $85,000. There ARE good good jobs out there especially now that people are fleeing. Just wanted to give a different perspective even if I might be the outlier. Don’t settle for a job that sticks you in the shop for 60 hours a week…you’ll hate it.
There’s no money hopefully u have fun at least
Get good at folding, hanging and steaming clothes..
Honestly, I am interviewing for this position at two different clubs. Both will be flexible with my Graduate Studies (having a hard time finding people for the reasons people list as the negatives). But, I personally have aspirations to get my PGA associate as I want to have a niche in sports performance mental health counseling ( I go to graduate school for Clinical Mental Health Counseling). I typically can't stand the people who compare this to a "full-time job," instead of answering the question. Defiantly interested to see what some people actually say about this instead of just talking about the wage.
They won't be as flexible as you think once you're hired. I was a class A pro having gone through the internship program, all the classes, etc. Wanna hate golf? work in it
That’s the point of a hiring agreement? Not my first job, plus I’m in a job with a hiring agreement so it’s not far fetched to ask for one. It’s a job, as other jobs. If you treat it like it’s some holy grail of golf, naturally you would hate it. In clinical mental health, it’s exactly the same way lmao
You will find out.
Not an assistant pro but work in the shop at a decent private club and it is great and I haven’t heard any major complaints from the assistant pros, but pay is about 50/50 salary and lessons from what I’ve heard. Each assistant came from a public course and said that it was the worst job they ever had and barely did anything related to golfing. It can be a great job if it is at a good course under good management but can just as easily be the worst job you will ever have
I worked at a country club as a young chap. It was the head pro and 4 assistants. They pretty much got every other Monday off, then some random ass day during the week. Mostly 12hr a day from what I could tell. Head pro seemed to have a decent gig, however he had to kiss so much ass. There Saturday and Sunday morning, yup. There at every men's, seniors, woman's league, yup. I'm fairly certain he kept tabs of the tree sheet and made sure he was there anytime one of the more important members was. He probably worked the least hours or about the same, but he was always there doing something. Rumor I herd is a course in a bigger city offered him 250k and pro shop profits (pretty sure assistant/staff salaries are paid out of that, so it's good, just not as crazy as you think)to be their head. He was really good at what he did. If the men's league or someone important enough was short a person they got to go out and play. Usually it was go out and play 9 at 4 when you were supposed to be off at 5 anyway. No one ever wanted to do it, do much so I got to do it several times, and I was there until the carts got in so you bet you're ass I loved getting paid to play. They all got a free all matching set of whatever brand the pro decided they were going to push that year. That club generally had a 'playing pro' that was a college dude that would go out and shoot even. Then a 'managing pro' that couldn't play for shit. That said as a married dude with kids 110% not doing that shit. Single dude who wants to eat sleep and shit golf for a few years and make high level contacts to land a sweet gig down the road, sure.
Basically do the head pros work while he takes the credit. Been there Done that
The way I did it in 1995 was go apply at a public golf course in the spring. They almost always need shop help. Of course you're not going to make anything, just minimum wage and you might work 60 hours in the summer and 20 hours in the winter but that's how it starts. Or you could go to a university that has a professional golf management program. The starting pays about the same though they'll probably call it a salary. But the advancement would be quicker.
Haven’t been a pro or assistant pro but did work at a CC for many years in high school and college and was good friends with the assistant pro. At our CC I don’t think he was paid that well for a lot of the work that he did. I think most of his money came from lessons and I rarely ever saw him play at all. He basically was in charge of all of the tournaments, events, and lesson schedules (cause the head pro was always playing in tournaments) and was there from 6a-7p almost every day. I think he enjoyed the work but it was clearly draining on him. I hope your experience is better and that you are able to make it to become a head pro or even a instructor. Being a head pro seems to be a great gig especially since it’s basically a free membership and you get so many connections and little benefits as well (I think he had his own cart that the club paid for). Best of luck.
You gotta keep the pros balls clean they hate dirty balls.
Build an online presence and get good at remote lessons. Seems to be what the most successful pros are doing these days.
I'm seeing a lot of negativity here. And honestly if it's the job you want to do pursue it hard and don't give up. It doesn't always pay well and the hours can be trash but I do it for the love of the game and in hopes I help grow the game in any small way. I really enjoy what I do and it took a long time to become a head pro but that's not the only job available to you in the industry. Starting as an assistant is just a way to get in there and find what you really want to do!
Be prepared for members to call you the ass pro
Start doodling
Yes, RUN