Michael S Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Before you rip into me, my background: I have worked professionally in the finance world now for over 10 years (currently in Corp 500 world). Certainly, by now, I've learned that's not what I should be doing with my life. I am currently looking for opportunities now to be a club fitter or to somehow get into the golf equipment industry in my particular region of the northeast US. I know, golf isn't open year round but I would try to supplement my new golf career during the winter with other side jobs. A huge change from the steady 8 to 8 career I currently live. I'm looking for advise. Before saying don't do it, please understand I do enjoy the pay I have now but I'm learning that happiness is much more important but I am also very practical and want to provide for my family. How does one get started in the golf industry who is already in his 30's? I'm not above starting at the bottom but should I try to get a club job, try to persuade a club fitting operation to give me a chance, create a blog? I just don't know where to start but I'm reaching a breaking point career rise. Thank you all in advance for your comments. Looking forward to read them. Quote Link to comment
CHoyle14 Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 I was in the business for 8 years and I got my start by going through a Professional Golf Management Program and then into the PGA. I would think the best way to go about it is to first look into a PGM program. I am not sure if you desire to go back to school, but there are online programs available. These programs will prepare you for the business and will set you apart from others. Check them out and good luck!!! Michael S, MattF and Rosey31 3 Quote Hit'em straight and not too often!!! Link to comment
Kansas King Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 Golf is hard. I would suggest leveraging whatever skills you have gained from your current job as several in the golf industry are actually clueless about finance and how it works. It sounds like you want to be intimately involved with the game itself and not corporate. I would suggest trying to strike a balance. Perhaps try and get a corporate job for a major manufacturer or golf company and then try and find a position that interests you. You may still be pushing numbers around a spreadsheet but hopefully you find it more meaningful. The ultimate goal is to take the first step towards opening doors in the golf industry. Golf fitting and anything related to direct consumer interaction is relatively low paying outside of being a superintendent, pro at larger course, or GM of a club. Going the corporate route may be a little soul sucking but it gives more hope to find decent pay and benefits. Most jobs in golf are just sales jobs, including fitters, pros, and GMs. If you want to do something interesting, you could try partnering with a financial institution to start a golf club financing company. I hate debt but most Americans crave it. How about a whole new bag of clubs for only $50/month? I'm shocked financing isn't readily available for golf clubs like it is for everything else. When you get a big enough ball of debt, you securitize it, and it gets sold into the vastness of the retail debt market. aerospace_ray, MattF, GaDawg and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment
xOldBenKenobiX Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 I have no advise that would be useful to you with the career change, all I can offer is my best wishes to you. Good luck wherever you go, and I do hope you find happiness on your new path. I know that working a job that you enjoy, does not seem like work at all. GaDawg, aerospace_ray, sirchunksalot and 5 others 8 Quote My Reviews: 2023 Official review - Rapsodo MLM2Pro! 2022 Official Review - Edel SMS Wedges 2021 Official Review - Tommy Armour Impact 3 Putter 2020 Official Member Review - BagBoy Chiller Cart Bag Cobra SpeedZone Xtreme - Unofficial Review by xOldBenKenobiX Honma TR21 4 Wood - Unofficial Review by xOldBenKenobiX Driver - Cobra SpeedZone Xtreme 10.5, UST helium 5 Wood - . TR21 4 Wood, Vizard 20-60 and TW GS 5 Wood Vixard FD 55 301 Combo 301CB and 301MB . SMS 48*, 56*, 60* Putter: Lucky golf putter. Ball: : ProV1, :: Smart Sensors. Shoes: a couple :: A couple of A couple of Adidas , Yeah I have a shoe addiction.:: Started at 79mph, finished 1st stage at 91mph Link to comment
aerospace_ray Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 So if are in finance world you are good with .xls and numbers? What about stats? Could you look into something golf related involving statistics? Working at club, course regarding balancing the books, etc ? Just some thoughts. Good luck. Before you rip into me, my background: I have worked professionally in the finance world now for over 10 years (currently in Corp 500 world). Certainly, by now, I've learned that's not what I should be doing with my life. I am currently looking for opportunities now to be a club fitter or to somehow get into the golf equipment industry in my particular region of the northeast US. I know, golf isn't open year round but I would try to supplement my new golf career during the winter with other side jobs. A huge change from the steady 8 to 8 career I currently live. I'm looking for advise. Before saying don't do it, please understand I do enjoy the pay I have now but I'm learning that happiness is much more important but I am also very practical and want to provide for my family. How does one get started in the golf industry who is already in his 30's? I'm not above starting at the bottom but should I try to get a club job, try to persuade a club fitting operation to give me a chance, create a blog? I just don't know where to start but I'm reaching a breaking point career rise. Thank you all in advance for your comments. Looking forward to read them. Sent from my SM-N960U using MyGolfSpy mobile app GolfSpy_SHARK 1 Quote Link to comment
Tom the Golf Nut Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 I hate to discourage you but the golf industry in general does not pay well. Assistant pros make 25 to 35k a year. Golf pro makes 25 to 45k (Not including money from giving lessons or percentage of profits from pro shop merchandise sales). Club fitter at box store $15.00 per hour. Club fitter at Club Champion 37k a year. I know an accountant for a Country Club (my wife), trust me they dont get paid well either. If you noticed most starters and course rangers are retired from their original job but doing it for some extra income and free golf on Mondays. Having a golf management degree will help. The school possibly would help you in finding a placement. But you will be moving. There are exceptions for sure. A very high end course can pay you $400k as a pro. But there are thousands of people trying to land those jobs. For the most part its a who you know at that level. I wanted to get into golf in a way also. I wanted to open up a sports complex. Batting cages, mini golf, driving range, golf simulators, adult putting course and a beach volleyball court. Even had a designer involved and went to the towns economic development planning committee. I was looking for investors and the red tape was just to much. They also wanted me to put up 100k first. So I never went down that road. Great idea if I was wealthy. If I had 100k I wouldn't have had to go there in the first place. Do some serious investigation before you jump in with both feet. I wish you luck. Kanoito, Golf2Much, Kansas King and 2 others 5 Quote Driver, TSi 1 S Flex 3 wood, Aerojet Max UST Helium Nanocore R Flex 5 wood, Aerojet Max UST Helium Nanocore R Flex 7 Wood, Aerojet Max UST Helium Nanocore R Flex 5 Hybrid King Tec MMT R Flex Irons, Tour UST Recoil 95 R Flex (6 - Gap) Wedges, Snakebite KBS Hi- Rev2.0 54* & 60* Agera 35" Ultralight 14-way Cart Bag Link to comment
Letthebigdogshunt Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 (edited) If you have a job that you love you will not work a day in your life. Life is too short to work at a job you are not happy doing. If you have the ability to work at a job that does not pay as much but brings you great enjoyment doing what you want to do I would do it in a NY minute. I spent 30 years working at jobs I was not happy with and as soon as I had enough money I retired and that was 30 years ago. Edited July 30, 2020 by Letthebigdogshunt tony@CIC, Michael S, Kenny B and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment
Popular Post Golfspy_CG2 Posted July 30, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted July 30, 2020 I'll take the contrarian viewpoint on people telling you not to go into golf. I had actively looked to get into golf since around age 40 almost 20 years ago. I had a few interviews and was among the final 2 candidates a couple times. Both times were for sales related positions at the course. I was at the time doing very well as a Director of Sales and Marketing with Hilton. When neither of those panned out and the years passed I had pretty much given up on it. Well it pays to not burn bridges and keep people in your social network. 5 years ago one of the people I had interviewed with originally had a position come up that he thought I would be a great fit for if I was interested. It was for Tournament Sales Director at one of it's high volume 36 hole courses 25 minutes from where I lived. FF though all the Interviewing, and here I am 5 years later, and it was the best decision I have made in my entire work career. I literally love coming to work everyday and I get to play as much golf as I want, and financially I'm doing a lot better than I ever did with Hilton. There are some great perks/benefits as well, such as equipment discounts and work conferences that center around golf. Plus I am literally talking golf all day long with customers and other staff. I think the key is that I was able to find a position that took advantage of my skills from my prior career and immediately transfer them to this industry. I would think your background in Finance would best be translated to positions with some of the major golf course management companies, Troon, Kemper, Billy Casper Arnold Palmer etc. Higher End Country Clubs probably have controllers on site that would be on the Executive Committee same with the PGA Clubs. As my experience shows, it's not always fast or easy, and I do realize there are a lot of Assistant Pros and Head Pros putting in 60 hour weeks for not much more than 30 to 60K per year. But even those guys if they are young enough and have the drive will most likely succeed and move up pretty quickly, I've seen it happen many times just in my five years. Good Luck to you! GaDawg, Josh Parker, russtopherb and 10 others 13 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment
GolfSpy_SHARK Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 I do not have any advice either but to make sure that this would be something worth changing for, obviously sounds more mental for you which is huge. Quote Check out my reviews: G710 Irons Official Review I MC Shaft & V Series Putter Official Review 2022 Forged Tec's Official Review I Nitron Push Cart Official Review WITB: Weapons of grass destruction (link to WITB) Traverse is filled with all this shiny metal and tracked by RadSpeed 8* - MotoreX F1 6X SIM 3W - Project X HZRDUS Green U505 Driving Iron 17* - Project X HZRDUS Black SpeedZone 4H - Project X HZRDUS Black 2022 King Forged Tec's 4-PW - KBS $ Tape 130 48 (SM8), 52 & 60 (SM7) - Nippon Modus 125 S ER2VI PROV1X #19 Are you a veteran? Check out the Veterans Golf Association (VGA) Thread! Link to comment
golfingbrock Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 I don't have advice other than keep searching and don't give up if you're serious about it! I was working in insurance out of college, then a couple years later took the PAT and passed, planning on going the PGM route. Then within the next 1.5 years I fell in love, got married, and had a kid, and decided I couldn't support my family in the way I wanted to, at least in the short term, working my way up through the golf ranks. Would have probably been an assistant pro w/ long hours, and was given some advice discouraging this. Looking back, I wish I would have gotten in while I had the chance. I'm 37 now, and have probably made a bit more money than I would have in golf, but I've also played a lot less. The kids are getting old enough where I can get out and play a bit more and occasionally take them with me, but being at a desk for hours a day and playing twice a month is not what I dreamed of when I was a kid. I'm still trying to figure out my career niche, golf or otherwise, where I could play more and possibly work in golf. You may have to start something on the side while the finance pays the bills til you are able to do it full time. There are thousands of blogs, youtube channels and podcasts, ranging from equipment, fitness, architecture, tour coverage, instruction, history, etc. You could work at a course, or for a manufacturer, or create a training aid, or become an agronomist. You can search https://golfjobs.com/ or even Linkedin GaDawg, GolfSpy_SHARK, MaxEntropy and 1 other 4 Quote Driver: Honma TR20 440 8.5° w/ Vizard FP-7X SHAFT - REVIEW POSTED 3 Wood: Adams TightLies Titanium 3+ - Shaft Bassara E55 x5ct Hybrid: Taylormade RBZ 2. 16.5°- Stock Shaft- Stiff Irons: SUB70 639 CB 4-PW w/ Nippon Modus 120 X-STIFF Wedges: GW: SUB70 Raw 48° Mizuno Mp series 52 SW: Cleveland RTX 2.0 56° LW: Mizuno JPX 900 60° Putter: Odyssey White Ice Sabertooth- Superstroke Slim 3.0 grip Bag: Taylormade FlexTech Lifestyle Carry bag- Houndstooth Link to comment
Berg Ryman Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 Seeing as you're from Rochester I'm going to tag good friend @bens197 who is also from Rochester to potentially offer you some specific advise for the region as he worked in the industry for a bit out of college where he played D-II golf. Admittedly, I think a good piece of advice in this is to maybe start out small, at a local pro shop or even a chain store to just get a feel for selling equipment and start to make those connections with people in and around the game in your area. SUNY Delhi, 3.5 hours from you does have a PMG program, the only one in the SUNY system, and as they claim, the only one in the northeast, but I don't think you wanna relocate for 4 years to get that degree and there doesn't look to be a distance option. Sadly, that's about the best I can tell you. I wish you were closer to Syracuse so that way I could offer some more advice as to our region, especially with potential opportunities at like Turning Stone Resort and their courses as they are always looking for help. MattWillGolf, Golf2Much and GolfSpy_SHARK 3 Quote In a Hoofer Lite bag TSR2, 10 degrees, A1 setting, Fujikara Speeder NX Blue 50-S Stealth, 15 degrees, VA Composites Nemesys 70-S E722, 19 degrees, Oban Devotion 80-S JPX 921 Hot Metal Pro 4-P, Nippon 950GH Stiff Flex CBX Zipcore 50* (bent to *49) and RTX Zipcore Tour Rack 54* (bent to *55), DG 115 Spinner, Tour Issue Staff Model TG 60*, Dynamic Gold 120 S300 SIK Golf Flo-C Tour B-XS (2022 Model) Link to comment
bens197 Posted July 30, 2020 Share Posted July 30, 2020 18 minutes ago, Berg Ryman said: Seeing as you're from Rochester I'm going to tag good friend @bens197 who is also from Rochester to potentially offer you some specific advise for the region as he worked in the industry for a bit out of college where he played D-II golf. Admittedly, I think a good piece of advice in this is to maybe start out small, at a local pro shop or even a chain store to just get a feel for selling equipment and start to make those connections with people in and around the game in your area. SUNY Delhi, 3.5 hours from you does have a PMG program, the only one in the SUNY system, and as they claim, the only one in the northeast, but I don't think you wanna relocate for 4 years to get that degree and there doesn't look to be a distance option. Sadly, that's about the best I can tell you. I wish you were closer to Syracuse so that way I could offer some more advice as to our region, especially with potential opportunities at like Turning Stone Resort and their courses as they are always looking for help. Thanks RB...Michael, PM me and I will give you the playbook. I currently live in Rochester and work as a Fireman. I have 14 years in the golf business and worked pretty much every single job you could imagine from my teens into my 20's. I finished up my time with three full years (not winter seasons) as a 1st Assistant Professional at a busy and top tier private club in Jupiter, Northern Palm Beach County, Florida. GolfSpy_SHARK, Golf2Much and tony@CIC 3 Quote Titleist TSi3 Fujikura Speeder NX Blue 60X TaylorMade SIM2 3 wood Fujilkura Ventus Blue 7-X Titleist U505 2 Tensei 1K Black 85 X Titleist T100 4-P Nippon Modus 3 120X PING S159 50-S 55-H 59-T DG X100 Vokey SM8 50, SM9 54 & 60 Nippon Modus 3 120s L.A.B. MEZZ Max Broom Accra 47" 79.5* Srixon Z-Star XV Currently testing the 2024 PING S159 wedges… https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/63483-testers-announced-ping-s159-wedges/ Was testing, still loving the 2023 Titleist T100 Irons 4-P https://forum.mygolfspy.com/topic/60456-titleist-t-series-irons-2023-forum-review/ Link to comment
Fightingforpar Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Hey Michael, curious how this has transpired over the last 10 months tony@CIC 1 Quote Just a gofer Link to comment
silver & black Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) Career change?: Yes... unemployed for almost a year. If I was closer to retirement age, it would be a no brainer. Unfortunately, I have another 4 years at the minimum to work. If I say more, it will get political, so.............................................. Edited March 2, 2021 by silver & black aerospace_ray and tony@CIC 2 Quote Link to comment
xostalacosta Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 I was always afraid to change careers, apparently this all comes from childhood, my father worked all his life at an hated job. Now I take it easier because there are convenient sites for finding a job and you enter the data you need and you can find a suitable vacancy. Over the past few years, I have changed 3 different industries and have never regretted it. Quote Link to comment
freyafrigohre Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 (edited) I came across your post from three years ago, and it's great to see that you were considering a career change and seeking happiness in your professional life. Starting in your 30s shouldn't discourage you at all. To get started in the golf industry, consider networking and reaching out to local clubs, golf equipment companies, or even golf courses in your region. Exploring opportunities to work in club fitting or other roles within the golf industry can provide valuable experience and connections. While pursuing a career in the golf industry, it's also worth considering other options. If you're interested, you can explore the article about Highest Paying In-Demand MBA Careers for insights into MBA careers. It might provide additional ideas or alternative paths for your future. Edited June 15, 2023 by freyafrigohre Quote Link to comment
Mutamycete Posted October 26, 2023 Share Posted October 26, 2023 Don't stress about your age. Many people switch careers in their 30s and beyond. Quote Link to comment
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