ALL GREEN AHEAD: During his four years with the Southern Regional golf program, Alex Henbest developed such a love for the game he chose it as a career. He recently started classes at the University of Nebraska in its Professional Golf Management program. (Photos by David Biggy)

Many recent high school graduates headed off to college during the past couple of weeks, embarking on a new path in life as they start taking steps toward an eventual career, perhaps one they’ve been dreaming about since childhood.

Some are looking forward to a career as a medical professional, maybe a doctor or nurse practitioner. Others are aiming to be attorneys or astrophysicists, marine biologists or musicians. As for Alex Henbest and Brandan Tyhanic, their career paths are all about golf.

“I went to MATES thinking I’d go into something like engineering or something science related,” said Henbest, who spent four years as part of Southern Regional’s golf program and recently started classes at the University of Nebraska. “But then I decided I didn’t really want to sit behind a desk my whole life and wanted to do something I really loved. After my sophomore season, I started looking into ways I could continue playing golf and looked up what I could keep doing with golf, even if I didn’t go to school to play collegiate golf.”

That’s when he discovered the PGA Professional Golf Management program – a college curriculum designed to set students in motion toward any number of career paths within the golfing world. Interestingly, not far away at Pinelands Regional, Tyhanic also was dialed in on the same program.

“I was on the Philly Junior Tour and saw a video about it,” said Tyhanic, a four-year high school starter now at Pennsylvania State University. “I was thinking about going into teaching or business, but once I found out about the PGM program, that’s what I wanted to pursue. It was an easy choice.”

Neither one planned on competing at the NCAA Division I college level, but they’re still going to be playing golf – a lot.

“I’ve played golf my whole life. I love the sport; it’s fun to play and a great way to meet people,” Tyhanic said. “The business of golf is still growing, and I find it interesting. So, I’ll be outside, playing a lot of golf and learning how to have a career in golf.”

Henbest visited eight different colleges during his search for the right institution – those with a PGM program and those without one. He couldn’t pass up such a great option.

“I love the game of golf, and I want to continue with it,” he said. “I found out about this program, and it’s perfect for me.”

ALL ACES: Brandan Tyhanic spent four years as a starter for the Pinelands Regional golf team. Now he’s at Penn State preparing for a professional career in golf, perhaps someday as a teaching pro.

Sorry, kids. General education courses are still required with the PGM program. But beyond that is a vast array of coursework that will cover many areas of the golf industry, from course management to golf equipment, coaching, tournament directing and more.

“Whether you’re looking to become a Head Professional at an exclusive country club, a sales representative for a major golf company or a golf tournament director, we can make sure you can achieve your goal,” states the website for Nebraska’s PGM program. “All of our graduates will attain PGA membership and we have a 100% career placement rate upon graduation.”

One of just 16 colleges in the country offering the PGM program, Penn State requires “completion of the Recreation, Park and Tourism Management core and five internships. To further prepare you for a career in professional golf management, several courses with a strong business focus are required. These courses are designed to help you be successful in a number of fields related to the golfing industry, including head golf professional, general manager, teaching professional, golf coach, tournament director, sales or marketing specialist with a major golf manufacturer, or an owner of a golf shop, practice facility, or golf course.”

While other requirements to get into a particular college may vary, the common one for most PGM programs is that the golfer must have a 12 handicap or better or written verification of playing ability equivalent to a 12 or better handicap by a PGA professional or high school coach.

At Nebraska, Henbest will have to maintain a 2.5 GPA to remain in the program, as well as participate in the PGA Golf Management student club, participate in a minimum of four PGA Golf Management tournaments each semester, take the PGA Playing Ability Test once within the first year and two to three times each year afterward until passed, pay all PGA Golf Management fees by their state deadlines, and “stay on cohort schedule with respect to the PGA Golf Management program.” Graduation depends on the completion of 120 credit hours, 16 months of full-time internships in three different types of settings, and pass a Playing Ability Test as well as Level 3 of the PGA curriculum. Tyhanic has similar requirements at PSU.

“Every PGM program requires 16 months of internships,” Henbest said. “Essentially, I won’t be home for my summer breaks. I’ll get out in May and head off to an internship for the entire summer. I’ll be able to explore different options each year, which will be really cool, but it’s going to be a lot of work and a lot of fun.”

And with top-notch facilities, both Penn State and Nebraska will give the freshmen golf fanatics plenty of enjoyment throughout the programs.

“Even when it snows, I’ll be able to play with the indoor trackers and simulators,” Tyhanic said. “The technology has advanced to such a high level for golf, I’ll never get bored in this program. If you love golf, this is really a great way to learn more about the game and the business of it.”

With thousands of courses, golf facilities and related business entities around the world, career options for a student graduating from any of the 16 PGM programs are seemingly endless, but Henbest and Tyhanic, for now, are focused on their potential as teaching pros.

“I love teaching, so I really think I’m heading in that direction,” Henbest said. “But the main thing is I’m going into the career of golf as a choice, and I love it. And if you genuinely love what you do, I don’t believe there’s any risk of burning out; you won’t ever stop loving it.”

Tyhanic is in the same camp.

“I’ll be teaching golf, which means I’ll be playing golf as well. You can’t beat it,” he said. “I’ve heard this saying before, ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.’ So, no, I don’t believe I’ll burn out on golf. I don’t doubt this decision to make golf my career path.”

Henbest put it another way.

“Yeah, sure, I might get the occasional kid who’s goofing off and not paying attention to anything I’m trying to teach him,” he said with a smile. “But at the same time, the parents are paying for it, so I won’t be able to complain. That’s not going to give me gray hair.”

Besides Nebraska and Penn State, the other colleges offering a PGM program are Campbell University, Coastal Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Ferris State, Florida Gulf Coast, Methodist University, Mississippi State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, the University of Central Oklahoma, the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, the University of Idaho, the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

To find out more details about the programs at their respective colleges, visit pga.org/membership/university-program/participating-universities.

— David Biggy

biggy@thesandpaper.net