Golf's green pastures for job seekers

So, 2012 is the year you want to get into the golf business.

Fresh air, green grass -- who wouldn't?

Sure, times are tough in golf, as they are most everywhere, but there's good news. The sport, around for 500 years, figures to be around awhile longer. And there are as many ways to begin and build a career in golf as there are ways to swing a 5-iron.

Whether you start cleaning carts while in high school, pursue a golf-specific or general college education, or have spent 20 years as a touring pro or electrician, the best people rise to the top, say those in the industry.

Still, there are a few absolutes. Gauge your suitability by first asking yourself two simple questions.

Do you love golf? If so, you may have a future in the game.

Or do you just love to play golf? If so, you may want to consider bartending.

A passion for the game and the ability to put its enjoyment by others ahead of your own is non-negotiable, say those who hire. Everything else -- education, experience, playing ability, golf knowledge -- can be gained or worked around.

"There's a lot of opportunity in this business if you're a go-getter and have stick-to-itiveness, but we're definitely moving toward a more professional workforce than there was 15 to 20 years ago," said ClubCorp Golf's Brent Cohen, who oversees 100 or so employees as manager of Turkey Creek and Empire Ranch in Sacramento, Calif.

Take the careers of Ben Hanson and Kellen Arceo, for examples.

Though both were good junior golfers, neither held any illusion of playing for a living, but both concluded while in high school that they wanted to be professionally associated with the game. They work in the Sacramento area and are seen as rising stars by their employers.

Hanson, 27, is the head pro at Empire Ranch. He's a graduate of North Carolina's Methodist University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in the PGA Golf Management University Program. Methodist is one of 20 universities offering such a program, and their graduates leave with a business degree and full PGA certification.

"I'm in the position I'm in because I decided at an early age this is what I wanted," said Hanson, who grew up in Ohio.

Hanson manages a staff that includes know-it-all teenagers, retired professionals with Type-A personalities and aspiring pros. He gives lessons, but he's also involved in balance sheets, budgets and driving revenue.

Arceo, 23, is an apprentice club-fitter at Haggin Oaks in Sacramento, his fourth job at the course since starting as a cashier four years ago. Although Arceo doesn't have a college degree and started at the bottom of Haggin Oaks' employment ladder, he has the potential to ascend as high as anyone within Morton Golf, which operates the course and its retail store, said head pro Mike Woods.

Arceo's willingness to learn, trustworthiness, hard work, positive interaction with customers and emotional intelligence portend a bright future, despite a lack of a diploma.

Of the 300 or so employees of Morton Golf, about 25 percent make a living wage (a minimum of $27,000 a year without benefits, as defined by the city of Sacramento with which Morton contracts), Woods said.

Of ClubCorp's 150 or so area public-course employees, a similar 25 percent earn above that threshold, Cohen said.

The golf industry, largely dependent on discretionary spending, has been pounded by the economic downturn. Head pros are being asked to run tournaments and be more involved in merchandising, responsibilities that used to fall to assistants. Whereas a club used to have one person do marketing and another promote membership, those jobs and many others have often been consolidated.

Of the 879 respondents to the National Golf Course Owners Association 2010 golf-industry compensation and benefits report, 70 percent reported that they froze salaries and 70 percent made staff reductions.

And things didn't get better in 2011.

The majority of employees at most courses are young adults in high school or college, or retirees working part time. Their primary motivation is to earn spending money and/or playing perks.

Career-oriented jobs that pay career wages are tougher to secure. But they're out there. They go to the person with the best combination of education, experience and social skills.

Still interested? Or ready for bartending school?