Golf management majors find outlet for passion

UNL is one of 20 colleges in the country, and the only major university in the Midwest, that offers a professional golf management major.

There are close to 170 PGM majors at UNL, said Alan Baquet, the director of the program. He said a PGM degree from UNL comes with a PGA (Professional Golf Association) membership upon graduation and preparedness for virtually any type of golf-related profession – from being a club pro at a country club to a golf merchandise retailer.

"The expectation (from the PGA) is that graduates of these types of programs will be the future leaders of the golf industry in the U.S.," Baquet said.

Baquet said the curriculum for PGM majors can be broken down into three subjects. The first is their game. PGM majors have to be able to play golf, and they have to be able to teach it. The second is learning people skills, and the third is how to maintain a golf course.

To be accepted into the PGM program, a student has to be a 12-handicap. In order to continue in the program, the student has to pass a personal ability test – they have shoot a 15-over-par or better during a 36-hole round in one day.

However, for most students who come to UNL to be PGM majors, passing the PAT is a piece of cake, said Nick Burkart, a junior PGM major.

"It's pretty easy," Burkart said of the PAT. "Playing golf has been a passion I had all my life."

One of things that separate PGM majors from other fields of study at the university is how close the students become with one another, Burkart said. It's one of the side effects when study groups are really just games at some of the nicest courses in Lincoln.

For PGM majors, a $300 per semester student fee gets them virtually unlimited access to seven local golf courses: Wilderness Ridge Golf Club (the department's home course), Hillcrest Country Club, Yankee Hill Country Club, Woodland Hills Golf Course, Crooked Creek Golf Club, Lincoln City Golf Course and Firethorn Golf Club.

And the departmental friendships extend past the 18th green, said Jared Rich, Burkart's roommate.

"Our house is known as the ‘golf house,'" Rich, a junior PGM major said.

Although the friendship and other perks are obvious draws to the major, what gets students like Burkart and Rich to sign on and devote their time to the sport is the thought of doing it for a living the rest of their lives.

"It's the one way I could wake up every day and enjoy going to work," Rich said. "I mean, it's probably not the greatest money, but it's about enjoying the atmosphere when you go to work every day."

Students who have graduated from the program – which is in its 12th year at UNL – have gone on to become golf teachers, course superintendents, sales representatives and PGA officials.

"If you have a passion for it, it is a great career opportunity," Baquet said. "One of the things that I talk about a lot is finding something you are passionate about and pursuing it."

ryanboetel@dailynebraskan.com