It's 110 degrees in the shade,
but you're in the sun

Mississippi State's influence on golf goes
worldwide

by Bill Wagnon

(above) Director of the PGM program Scott Maynard with one of his senior students, Steve Bauerle. (below) PGM alumnus Jeff Moyher gives lessons to one young golfer while an assistant professional at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. He recently became the head professional at the Patterson Club in Fairfield, Conn.

Your feet are firmly entrenched in the sand, but you're hundreds of miles from the ocean. Yet, you're only 80 feet from pay dirt-that four-inch diameter hole in the ground. Your goal is to get that little dimpled ball into that hole and all you have to work with is your niblick-mashie.

To some 25 million Americans, this is a sport, this is leisure, this is fun. Why else would someone walk nearly five miles up and down hills, through sand, over (and occasionally through) water, and in and out of woods, all the while lugging a 40-pound bag and trying to knock a little white ball into a hole using niblicks, mashies, spoons, cleeks, and brassies?

Mississippi State student Steve Bauerle is one of those people who has a love for this game called golf. And, he plans one day to use the skills he's learning at Mississippi State to help a Third World country. No, Bauerle isn't majoring in international economics or political science. He's a senior in Professional Golf Management, and just one example of the major role that Mississippi State is playing in golf's growing popularity.

Since 1985, the university has been home to one of the country's four Professional Golfer's Association of America-sanctioned Professional Golf Management programs. This intensive four-and-a-half year academic program trains PGA professionals to oversee the $15 billion a year sport at public, private, and resort golf facilities around the world.

As the interest in golf grows, so does MSU's PGM program. This past fall was the program's largest class, with 36 graduates. In keeping with the program's tradition, all 36 found employment.

"Since the program began, we've had 100 percent placement of our graduates," said Scott Maynard, coordinator of the program. "As our graduates become successful, they are hiring other graduates. The program is feeding off itself.

"The starting salary increased 21 percent over the past three years. There's more demand from the industry, and our graduates are competing for better jobs."

Since 1985, the university has been home to one of the country's four Professional Golfer's Association of America-sanctioned Professional Golf Management programs.

The PGM major leads to a bachelor's degree in business administration, with an emphasis in marketing. Students also must complete courses in turf management, food management, golf merchandising, landscape architecture, and human resources management, as well as training in techniques such as club fitting and repair and teaching golf.

Some confuse the PGM program with preparing the next Tiger Woods of the PGA Tour. That couldn't be further from the truth, says Maynard. While mastering the game of golf is important, the PGM program is much more diverse than playing professionally.

"Most of our graduates start out as assistant golf professionals," Maynard explained. "Some become teaching professionals, but not many play professionally."

To enter the PGM program, students must have a handicap of eight or lower. To attain PGA Certification and membership, they must pass the PGA Playing Ability Test, which means playing 36 holes in 15 strokes under the course rating.

In addition, the PGM program is one of only two academic programs on campus that requires students to participate in MSU's Cooperative Education Program.

"Our students are required to complete a minimum of five semesters of co-op work under the tutelage of Class A PGA Professionals throughout the country," said Maynard. "This past summer we had students co-oping in 36 states, with three students in China. Our graduates are operating in more of a global environment than ever before, so diverse co-op experiences are very beneficial."

Maynard, who received his bachelor's and master's degrees in business from Mississippi State, took control of the PGM program just last year after the death of Roland Jones, the only other director of the program in its 13-year existence. He says he's not surprised at the national reputation of the PGM program.

Assell

"We're excited about where this program is going and the success of our graduates," he noted. "Roland Jones built this program. He's the one who got the program to the level it is today, to the national reputation we now enjoy. We hope we can continue building on the success he achieved."

The success Maynard speaks of is evidenced by the success of the PGM graduates. Many of the 286 who have completed the program since 1985 are serving as assistant or head golf professionals at some of the country's most prominent courses.

Until recently, 1991 PGM graduate Jeff Moyher was first assistant golf professional at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., one of the top 10-ranked courses in the world and home to four U.S. Opens. He now is the head golf professional at The Patterson Club in Fairfield, Conn.

"I got interested in golf at an early age, and I knew that the PGM program was the avenue to pursuing a career in golf," explained Moyher. "Mississippi State's PGM program was beneficial to me because in addition to the degree in marketing, those extra courses helped prepare me for golf course operation. I also co-oped a number of months under head professionals, so I got great on-the-job training I would need when I graduated."

PGM alumnus Doug Wert is the director of golf at Pennsylvania State University's golf courses.

At age 31, Doug Wert has been a head golf professional for five years, including four at a Tournament Players Club in Memphis. The 1989 PGM graduate currently is director of golf at Pennsylvania State University's golf courses. Penn State also is home to a PGM program, along with Ferris State and New Mexico State universities.

"I can't say enough about Mississippi State's PGM program and how it jump-started my career," said Wert. "I was a head professional at age 27. I give a lot of the credit to the program and what I learned at Mississippi State."

At Penn State, Wert teaches classes for the PGM program and is a PGA faculty member. Until last October, Wert, who has epilepsy, had been in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing the most holes of golf in a 12-hour period. In 1993, he played 440 holes of golf from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to raise money for the Epilepsy Association of Broward County, Fla., where at the time he was assistant golf professional at The Tournament Players Club at Eagle Trace in Coral Springs.

"I got interested in golf at an early age, and I knew that the PGM program was the avenue to pursuing a career in golf." -Jeff Moyher

Closer to home, 1993 graduate Sean Curry is head professional at the new Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia. The Choctaw Indian-owned, championship-caliber course has 18 holes, with another 18 under construction. Curry's assistant head professional is 1996 PGM graduate Duncan Millar.

"Like so many kids growing up, I wanted to follow in my dad's footsteps," said Curry, whose father is a banker just up the road in Louisville. "But I decided I didn't want to sit in an office in a coat and tie all day. I wanted to do something outside, and the PGM program was a natural for me."

Some PGM graduates are opting for careers away from the golf course, including 1994 graduate Joe Assell, who along with fellow 1994 alumnus Mike Clinton and another golf professional co-own a company called "golftech," headquartered in Denver, Colo.

"We teach high-tech, computerized golf lessons that take the game to another level," explained Assell, whose firm employs eight PGM graduates and also has locations in Atlanta and Chicago. "I always wanted to teach; that's been my main interest. I knew that PGM students came out extremely well-qualified, and Mississippi State's program had the best reputation of the four in the country."

Two of the PGM program's current students are breaking barriers as they prepare for careers in golf.

Pass Christian junior Ashley Cox holds a National Minority Golfer's Association scholarship designed to keep minorities interested in the sport. He aspires to be a golf executive.

"I'm looking into becoming an executive with the PGA, not just a club professional," noted Cox, who also has plans for graduate school. "I want to be involved in the administration of the game."

Wendy Roper of Picayune is one of only three women currently in the PGM program. The one-time swimmer dropped her backstroke at age 16 to take up golf. She began her professional career in June.

"We have an advanced knowledge here that can pay off for the people in less fortunate countries." -Steve Bauerle

"I was playing collegiately at the University of Southern Mississippi, but I knew that I wanted to one day be a part of the golf industry as a professional," said Roper. "I realized the best way to accomplish that was to go through the PGM program. I got the education and completed the PGA training at the same time."

Roper said being female has had its advantages, including as many as 30 job offers. She recently joined fellow Mississippi State alumni at Atlanta's East Lake Country Club, the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones.

"It's naturally different for a female because everyone wants to hire you," said Roper. "There's a gross minority misrepresentation in this field. Mostly because there just aren't that many young women playing golf. But also because it's hard to get into the PGA profession without going through a PGM program."

In the past decade, the number of people playing golf has increased 25 percent, which bodes well for the PGM program, which has nearly 200 students. Maynard believes that as golf grows, the makeup of the PGM program will become more diverse, as will the opportunities for its graduates.

Just ask Steve Bauerle, who will become an assistant golf pro this fall at The Sanctuary Club in Denver. He hopes one day to take his golf game even farther away.

"I have a lot of ideas for helping advance golf in Third World countries," he said. "We have an advanced knowledge here that can pay off for the people in less fortunate countries."

If golf overseas doesn't work out, Bauerle has other options. "Since the program combines a degree in golf with business and marketing, I feel like I can do anything in the marketing field in the future," he said. "That's one of the nice things about the PGM program, it gives you several options."