-= NMSU PANORAMA - Winter 2006 =- Hole in One

Features

Hole in One

By Jeany Llorente-Ontiveros '00

NMSU's Professional Golf Management program is one of the best in the nation.

New Mexico State University owes its friendly neighbor to the north a debt of gratitude for giving it the opportunity to start what has become one of its most successful academic programs — Professional Golf Management (PGM).

In the mid-1980s, brothers Herb and Guy Wimberly proposed a PGM program to the University of New Mexico. The Lobos passed on the deal, so Herb, NMSU men's golf coach for more than 30 years, and Guy, who was actively involved with the Professional Golf Association (PGA), offered it to NMSU. It was offered to the Lobos first because Herb and Guy Wimberly are UNM alumni; in addition, Guy lived in Albuquerque.

"The dean of NMSU's business college then, Curtis Graham, saw that this was a very good program waiting to happen," says Pat Gavin '87 '91, who has been director of NMSU's PGM program since 1994. "Graham, an avid golfer, worked out the details and went with it."

NMSU became an official PGA school in 1987 after Ferris State University and Mississippi State University. These three, along with Penn State University, were the original four PGA schools.

For the first several years, Gavin says, the NMSU PGM program had 40 to 60 students. Then a boom occurred in the mid-1990s.

"The program exploded," Gavin says. "We had 300 in the program and 50 on a waiting list." It was during this time that the PGA put a cap on the program of no more than 300 students a year.

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Training in All Areas

Jarrett Stair is an NMSU PGM major.

Today, PGM's enrollment is steady at about 250 students each year. Housed in the College of Business, the four-and-one-half year program requires students to complete 128 credit hours of course work and 16 months of an internship or co-op. In addition, students must pass the PGA's Playing Ability Test.

"It's everything a four-year degree should be and a lot more," Gavin says.

The course work consists of general education courses, business administration classes and PGM-specific classes such as turf grass management, golf course design, and food service organization and management.

When students leave the program, Gavin says, they are well trained in every aspect of the golf world.

"They get a feel for everything in golf, from how to be a teacher to how to run a golf operation, which is the main focus of the program," he says.

PGM students receive a marketing degree with a specialization in golf management.

Looking at the success of the original four schools, Gavin says, other schools saw PGM as an opportunity to increase enrollment. Currently, there are 17 schools across the United States that include PGM in their curriculum. Neighboring schools include Arizona State University, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the University of Idaho in Moscow.

With competition steadily increasing, the PGM program has relied on one of the oldest forms of advertising - word of mouth.

"We have close to 450 alumni around the world and those alumni go to golf courses and tell parents that their child should consider NMSU as an opportunity to get into this field," Gavin says. "What also helps is when current students go to work at golf courses and golf professionals notice how well our students are trained and disciplined."

The program's 100 percent job placement rate helps as well.

"We have so many employers knocking on our doors wanting to hire our students," Gavin says.

Jarrett Stair, 24, is one of the many students who heard about the PGM program through word of mouth.

The Denver, Colo., native was playing the junior circuit when he heard about the program at NMSU. He says the opportunity to become a PGA Class A golf professional was what lured him to southern New Mexico, but what made him stay were the program and the staff.

"I was so surprised at how complete the program is - the weekly seminars, touring three times a week, the travel and the students from all over the nation," he says. "By far it is one of the best programs in the nation because of Pat Gavin and Eddy Renio - they make the program. Pat and Eddy take pride in what they do, and they take initiative to know the students. They go so far out of their way to make sure we are on the right track."

Stair has completed the academic side of the program and is finishing a co-op in Scottsdale, Ariz. He plans to be a director of golf, a position that may allow him to teach and manage every aspect of a facility.

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Alumni Around the World

Jeremy Carlsen '04 is director of golf at New Zealand's Cape Kidnappers Golf Course.

Students who have completed the PGM program are located around the world, from the Jersey shore to the dramatic terrains of New Zealand, and from the sandy beaches of Florida to the mild weather of New Mexico.

Chris Childers '92 is the junior golf manager for PGA America. He says the PGM program gave him the opportunity to travel to different locales around the country and exposed him to diverse environments.

Emily Gifford '02 is the golf shop manager at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey.

"The PGM program taught me the importance of business management and marketing, as well as tournament participation and teaching," she says.

Gifford says the golf business is all about networking and who you know.

"Fellow golf professionals value each other's recommendations and opinions on employment," she says. "When another professional recommends someone for a position, that person is taken very seriously. When applying for a position in the golf business, simply sending in a resume and/or making a cold call no longer cuts it, especially if there are dozens and perhaps hundreds of other golf professionals applying for the same position. References and recommendations - as long as you are great at what you do - are what get you in the door."

Gifford says she has her current job thanks in part to the recommendation of Paul Poandl, a graduate of the NMSU PGM program, and David Reasoner, a graduate of Penn State's PGM program.

Patience and passion are what young golf professionals should keep in mind throughout their career, says Robert (R.C.) Ordish '96, director of golf at the Santa Teresa Country Club.

"New golf professionals have a lot of years of learning ahead of them," Ordish says. "But if you continue to try hard, be responsible, and learn, you can go a long way in this business."

Director of Golf Jeremy Carlsen '04 offers this advice to future golf pros.

"Never pass up an opportunity," Carlsen says. "Always look to climb up the ladder of life and make sure that your falls are minimal. Listen to your fellow PGA pros. Question them, pick their brains and don't be scared to ask even the smallest of questions."

Sound advice from someone who is currently working at New Zealand's Cape Kidnappers Golf Course, the 2004 Course of the Year by Travel and Leisure Golf magazine and one of the 2005 Top 100 Courses in the World by Golf Magazine.

"The NMSU PGM program shapes its students to be able to handle every facet of the golf industry," Carlsen says.

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Giving Back

The PGM program hosts several events throughout the year, including a summer golf camp and two alumni reunions.

For the past seven years, the program has hosted junior golf camps for anyone between 6 and 18 years old. PGM students serve as mentors and instructors for the week-long program.

During the 2005 summer program, Stair was one of 10 instructors at the camp, which he says also relies on word of mouth to recruit aspiring golfers. The camp attracts players with different skill levels, from beginners to advanced high school golfers.

In November, PGM alumni gather for a four-day reunion on campus that includes three golf tournaments, two breakfast functions, two evening events and lots of catching up.

About 55 to 65 alumni gather to talk about "where they've been, where they've gone and what they're doing."

The second reunion takes place in January during the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. About 75 to 85 alumni attend this event.

For more information: Pat Gavin, (505) 646-2814 or pgavin@nmsu.edu

For an update on former Aggie golf team members, click here or check out Aggie Sports.

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Remember when?

Photo courtesy NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections

The old golf club house was built in two stages with the first stage of construction beginning in 1962. Pictured here in front of the first completed phase of the project is Herb Wimberly, top left, head golf professional and men's golf coach from 1962 to 1993.

Trying out the putting green in front of the club house with Wimberly is Rex Worrell, bottom right, the assistant golf professional during that time. An unidentified golfer looks on. If you know the unidentified Aggie alum, please let us know at panorama.nmsu.edu.

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