Golf U

The world of golf is filled with dramatic moments-a solid drive that soars gloriously down the fairway, a ball that first lands in a trap and then magically rolls out, a putt that leaves the ball teetering, tottering on the lip of the cup and then falls in.

Still, few golf stories are as dramatic as the one told by 25-year-old Naples resident Jason Becker; his was life-changing.

Three years ago he was a college student driving home to Michigan from a wonderful vacation in South­west Florida. Just outside of Knoxville, Tenn., a drunken driver ran into Becker's car. The young man was thrown out onto the pavement and spent months bedridden, being nursed back to health.

Right then and there, Becker decided to change direction in his life. "I was given a second chance and I was going to do something that I enjoyed without worrying about making $50,000 a year or driving a fancy car," he says.

What Becker had always enjoyed was golf. As a teen-ager, he would play 54 holes in a day on foot. On the way to work in the morning, his father would drop him off at a local course in Saginaw, Mich., and return to pick him up late in the afternoon.

Today Becker is part of the inaugural class in Florida Gulf Coast University's Professional Golf Management [PGM] program, which launched last fall. He and 29 other students are living a dream that many lifelong duffers can only fantasize-spending every day on a golf course, learning to play the game better and better while building a career in the field they love.

"Southwest Florida is a great spot for this program," says Stephen Eisenberg, who created and now heads the program. "The 160 golf courses we have [here] are in need of workers skilled in various aspects of the golf business."

Course Work

The students are in the school's resort and hospitality management degree program, with a concentration in golf management. After all, the game is a business, and students must be prepared.

The curriculum is split between people skills, business skills and golf skills. It's this last one-the chance to improve their golf game and play nearly every day-that initially attracts many to careers in the industry.

"Some think it's an easy major-'I can play golf all day and get a degree,'" the program's internship coordinator Shaun Murie says, laughing. "Their first semester on campus is an eye opener."

Studies include turfgrass science, tournament management, the science and physiology of a swing, retail sales and merchandising, and even the arcane rules of the game. "You need to be a lawyer to understand these," Eisenberg jokes.

The students, including three women in the program, are primarily of a typical college age-in their early 20s. However, a handful of them are a bit older-late 20s or early 30s-and had careers under way in other fields before deciding to try something different.

On completion of the four-and-a-half-year program, graduates will hold Bachelor of Science degrees and be positioned for roles as general managers, golf academy directors, pro-shop managers and even course owners.

Starting salaries for graduates are a bit low, according to Eisenberg-$35,000 is typical entry-level pay for someone in golf management. As they build their résumés and assume positions with more responsibility, salaries increase to a much more comfortable range-from $50,000 to $120,000 a year.

Making the Grade

Before every duffer with a dream in Southwest Florida rushes to sign up, they should realize potential students must already play like pros just to enter the program.

"You need to be a competent player to be eligible," Eisenberg says. "Your handicap must be 12 or better, which means you would shoot roughly 86 for 18 holes. But to graduate, you need to shoot roughly a 76 twice in one day to pass the PGA Playing Ability Test."

FGCU's golf management program is one of only 17 in the country accredited by the Professional Golfers' Association of America, more commonly known as the PGA. It's only the second school in Florida to receive this distinction, after Florida State University.

This means that the PGA examined and approved the coursework to make sure it meets the organization's high standards, thus ensuring students are learning the PGA way. "[The accreditation] is the X-factor in whether your program is going to sink or swim," says Murie.

Students also pay a one-time fee of approximately $3,450 in addition to the usual FGCU tuition. This money goes to the PGA to cover the organization's special course work. Despite the cost, this PGA involvement is critically important. Indeed, students receive a PGA member's card as part of fulfilling the program's requirements.

"[The accreditation] gives credence and backing to the program," says Ed Weber, the general manager at the Raptor Bay Golf Club in Bonita Springs. "It's not just what the university is teaching, but also guidelines from the PGA about what is happening [in the industry] around the country."

The Local Link

Indeed, many area golf courses and clubs have a vested interest in seeing that FGCU's golf program succeeds in Southwest Florida. As the baby boomer generation begins to retire and many move to the region, the golf industry here is expected to grow dramatically in the coming decades. "We are home-growing our future managers," Eisenberg says.

Many of the students are already working at area courses in various capacities. Others are being placed in internships that will give them exposure to the complexities of running a modern club.

"I think the internships around the area are a great asset to our program," Becker says. "Not only do we get to set an impression with our future employers, but you get paid to learn a trade.

"I can't imagine getting paid to travel with a tournament coordinator or to work with [famed golf coach] Rick Smith's crew at Tiburón," he says.

Nearly 30 area courses and clubs have signed on with FGCU's program, including many of the big names in Southwest Florida golfing-Bonita Bay, Mediterra, Shadow Wood and Fiddlesticks. Most do it both out of a sense of civic responsibility as well as a desire to groom future staff.

"We have some high standards," says Raptor Bay's Weber. "It allows us to take someone who is new and train them and bring them along following our guidelines."

To the Fore

Eisenberg has big plans for the future of the Professional Golf Management program.

He hopes one day to build a driving range, from the ground up, with his students. He's talking with golf legend Jack Nicklaus about walking the class through the course design of his Old Corkscrew Golf Club under construction in Estero. He even hopes to lure local golfers with some high-tech offerings.

"We will have a model golf shop where students will sell merchandise, and a virtual-reality swing simulator to help teach the game of golf," Eisenberg predicts. "The

students will be teaching the general public as part of

their studies."

As for Becker, he can't wait for the next challenge in the program-whether it's getting up at 5 a.m. to get golf carts ready for the day or role-playing how to handle an angry guest. He's confident he can create a long and successful golf career with the lessons learned from Eisenberg and the FGCU program.

"The opportunity to succeed is right there at your fingertips," Becker says. "I cannot wait to hold my [PGA] card and think back to the beginning of [the program]. It will be the happiest day of my life."