Connections

General managers and head professionals go to great lengths to interview and hire the best golf interns. They need superior individuals who can teach as well as build and manage their courses, sell and buy for pro shops, organize tournaments and handle day-to-day operations.

The intense recruiting process begins at Humber's Professional Golf Management (PGM) Job Fair. Eagerly awaited by employers, this event is held every December at Toronto's Assembly Hall, where industry players are ensconced behind tables, inviting students to chat and drop off their resumes.

"The job fair is highly regarded in the industry," says Bob Beauchemin, Director of Instruction for the Oakdale Golf and Country Club. "Years ago, clubs would send their assistant professionals to see what was going on. But now, because of the program and the quality of the graduates, the head professionals come to recruit and identify who they want on their staff."

Before meeting with recruiters (many of whom are Humber graduates) from major golf courses in and around the GTA, first-year PGM students research the different venues and prepare resumes with covering letters for their choice of positions and locations.

"I wanted to work for ClubLink's Glencairn or Greystone courses," says PGM student Maggie Trainor. "Dave Newsome from Glencairn was at the table, so I gave him my resume and talked to him about working in the pro shop. I went into the Christmas holidays with the promise of a full-time job in the spring."

Because Maggie has a degree from the University of Maryland and extensive experience at both Glen Abbey and the Burlington Golf and Country Club, she was able to condense the three-year business program into one with the help of Ray Chateau, Program Coordinator for PGM. "He arranged the schedule so that I could meet the Canadian Professional Golfers' Association's educational requirements to become a Class A professional."

Employers come to the job fair knowing that students are focused and career-driven. They know they are well qualified in traditional business administration courses, such as human resources management and marketing, as well as targeted courses in turf management, golf operations and fundamentals of golf. To accommodate the employers and the students, the program condenses the academic year to run from early October to the end of March, leaving April to September available for the required placements. Throughout the 22 classroom weeks, students perfect both their teaching and playing skills in the school's high-tech marvel, the Golf Lab. "Students learn how to use the state-of-the-art equipment they will find at many of the clubs," says Ray Chateau.

All of this extensive training allows recruiters to hire with confidence. "The students' educational, business and golf skills are established," says ClubLink's Andrew Vento. "It's why they are in such demand."

Even first-year students with few contacts in the industry are exposed to a diversity of clubs and meet with top club executives and professionals. The job fair gives them an opportunity to inquire about positions that would have been impossible for them to pursue. "How else could you apply for a job at Whistler without the expense of traveling?" asks Ray.

"Ray really knows the pros," says Mehmood Hassan, one of the PGM students who is going to Whistler in the spring. "I had never worked in the golf business before the spring of first year." Mehmood got a position at Oakville Golf and Country Club after the job fair in his first year, and the following year he was hired by the Bayview Golf and Country Club under Warren Crosbie, the president of the CPGA. "What a resume builder that is!" he says.

Mehmood says the experience has been invaluable. "Now I have a network of friends in the business. Not only the golf professionals I have worked with, but also my classmates who will soon be in clubs around the country."

Andrew Vento says that employers have to act quickly to hire the best students. "You have to get them in first year. After that they are snapped up. If we get one or two we are very happy. I would take more if they were available."