golf college!

[kevinbomb123]

Hi, has anyone here gone to a golf college. I am 17 and want to do something in the golf industry as my career. I was looking at the one in orlando florida which is like 2 miles from disney land lol. If you go there you get lessons 5 days a week,unlimited use of range balls and 8 championship golf courses. Do you have to be good to go there with that type of instruction i feel i can get to atleast a 5 handicap if not lower.



P.S please dont crush my dream with no you wont make its

[jamo]

Methodist: http://www.methodist.edu/pgm/index.htm
Or Golf Academy of America.

[westcyderydin]

one of my friends is going to one in south carolina early next year. it sounds pretty cool. im gonna see how he likes it and then i might think about goin to one.

[bong_crosby]

If you're getting ready to drop 30k on a school, then visit the campus. Shake hands with the staff, meet the students, take a tour of the campus, play one of the eight championship courses (this should be paid for by the school BTW), check out the local area, ask your local pros if they know anything about the school, do a google search. What's the name of the school in Orlando?

[kevinbomb123]

[QUOTE=bong_crosby;455270]If you're getting ready to drop 30k on a school




dont know where u got that from but the professional golfers career college is 15k a year

[iacas]

  kevinbomb123 said:

dont know where u got that from but the professional golfers career college is 15k a year

And how many years do you go...? See where I'm going with this? You could obviously spend much more than $30k.

[DBeane]

If you spend 30K on tuition...then you will only have to work in the golf biz for 9 years to make your money back. The golf buisness has great curb appeal, however...when I found out the turnover rate for head pro's was way less than 1% (and those are the only guys that make a decent pay check), I went running for the hills. If you interested in being a player, you would be better off looking into a career path that doesnt require a lot of hours so you have time to practice/play etc.

[jamo]

  kevinbomb123 said:

dont know where u got that from but the professional golfers career college is 15k a year

Trust me, with any college there are tons of unexpected fees. It cost me about $600 just to send in all of my applications.

[RobS]

I currently go to the Golf Academy of America in Myrtle Beach, SC. So far, I have had a terrific time and have learned a whole hell of alot. We have tournaments nearly every week where we are grouped with other players according to our handicaps. We win gift certificates for placing in the top four or five and if you win the tournament you move up to the next tour. We get unlimited use of the driving range ( http://www.legendsgolf.com ) and lessons as often as we want. We also have indoor simulators, a club repair shop, putting greens, bunker, etc... The school is great and the staff is friendly and accomodating. The only drawback to this school is that upon graduation we are not PGA certified; therefore, we must work 3 years under a PGA professional in the PGM program. Personally, I would recommend looking for a college that offers the PGM program and go from there. If you have any additional questions feel free to shoot me a message.

[TheWookie]

It depends on how important the education aspect is to you. If your were going to go to a JC anyway with the intent on getting an AA, than why not. If you just want to get in the business, than find a course that is looking for someone that has golf biz aspirations. Start at the bottom and prove you are capable and serious. After completing the golf college you still need to complete the PGA GPTP. You can ask Iacas or others who are currently going through it or have been through it, it is an intensive education program that takes time and money. So if you are looking at the golf college just to get your foot in the door of the biz, find a cart barn or shop to work in until you pass your PAT. Many DOGs or Head Pros take great pride in mentoring and developing talented apprentices. If you are serious about the education than the college can do that for you as well as help with placement. I went to New Mexico State out of high school in their PGM program and decided after a semester that the program...and the golf business...wasnt for me. Well 5 years later I wasnt really qualified to do anything else and found myslef sending resumes to local pros saying I wanted to get into the business. Whatever you do go in with an open mind.

[clubchamp]

I would either get an associates in something business etc. then do the golf academy or a 4 year college with pgm. Bottom line is you don't want your dreams crushed but at the end of the day the golf industry is tough so you want as many options as possible. Good luck...

[Doctorfro]

There are 20 colleges in the country that offer PGM program. Of course there are the other avenues but my suggestion is to go the PGM college route because at the end of four years you have a bachelors degree that you can fall back on if the golf industry career doesn't pan out. Go to PGA website and they have the list.

[WUTiger]

I'm a college professor, so I have a little different view.

Consider going to a 4-year college with a golf team. If you get a golf scholarship, that's great. Or, maybe walk on at a college that doesn't give golf scholarships.

Once there, major in business or psychology (psych good for performance coaching). That way, you'll have a good education while you get to play some golf.

If the golf career doesn't take off, then you can quickly shift into other things. Also, think about the golf industry as a big place. Plenty of jobs outside the PGA tour. You have country clubs, resorts, public courses, driving range/golf schools, equipment manufacturers, golf couse design and construction, golf course maintenance.

If you go for the golf trade school, check it out like all the others have said. Definitely check on how directly it is linked to the PGA.

For every decent for-profit trade school out there, there's a shady one that leaves you with nothing more than bad memories and a $45K student loan debt. In higher education, for-profit trade schools are the category which generates the highest percentage of student loan defaults (grads who can't get jobs.)

[ravenmaven]

dont forget all of the hidden fees associated with the school too--

books, uniform, lessons( yes, they make you pay for golf lessons at a golf school), handicap membership