Becoming a Club Professional

Question
Eddie,
I recently built a course for owners who have little knowledge of the game, let alone running a club. Happily, they have relied on my years in the business to steer the club in these tough economic times. I am still employed with the club and the owners have asked me to be the club's Pro. I was in the apprentice program in 1980, but chose a different career path. I have managed several million dollar businesses as well. This has been my dream. Several years ago, the PGA had a program along the lines of a "non member head pro". I understand that this allowed someone to work as the head club pro without being under a class A professional and eventually earn status. does this program still exist or something similar? I have advised my owners to employ a Pro. to be the face of the club. They trust me and want me to be that guy. Money is an issue at this time. our budget is thin, however, i really would like this opportunity, but want to follow the rules and ethics. please advise. thank you, in advance
Mark

Answer
Hi Mark:

Congratulations on such a great opportunity and your willingness to be a good guy and want to play by the rules.  We seem to have lost that some in this day and age.  Your correct, you could have been a non member Head Pro, have been in the PGA Program, but none of the people who worked under you could accumulate their work credits from the PGA.  To be honest, I am not sure what the requirements are today, however, I would look up your PGA Section office at www.pga.com, and make a call to speak to someone who can tell you how to get started again.  The process nowadays is much more involved because they want to make sure this is what you really want to do.  It produces better qualified and more experienced Pros coming out.  I don't know where you live, but I am sure you can find the Section you are in.  If you have trouble, let me know.  The fastest way to get the information is just to call the PGA.  Look them up online at www.pga.com, and talk to someone who knows that stuff like the back of their hand.  Then, you can get started on the path to getting your Class A card and taking over.  I would suggest if the owners are already happy with you and you are already running the operation, it might not be a bad idea to continue to do that.  However, I would also caution you that a PGA Professional needs to run your facility...not a guy who has managed other businesses.  That is a proven disaster recipe (no offense to you of course).  If you employ someone in that capacity who is a PGA Pro, what do you do with him/her when you receive your PGA card?  You don't need PGA people at your facility, however, I haven't seen many of those clubs succeed and run smoothly, simply because those people do not know how to run a golf course/treat members/speak the language, etc.  A PGA Pro knows that and can help.  I hope that is you someday.  Good luck and let me know if I can steer you in the right direction if you need help.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member