Golf professionals give lessons and advice to other golfers. They also play for their club in tournaments. Some specialise in teaching, some specialise in playing and some do both. Those at the top of their game play in tournaments all over the world.

The Work

You could be:

• coaching club members individually or in groups, demonstrating practical aspects (for example swings) and advising on rules
• organising tournaments and other events and helping to referee and keep scores
• organising and coaching juniors
• continuing to practise your own game and playing in tournaments
• running the club shop, stocking and selling equipment and clothing
• keeping accounts and doing administration work
• working in the club shop.

Pay

The figures below are only a guide. Actual salaries may vary, depending on:

• your ability and potential
• where you work
• the size of the golf club you work for.

Starting salaries for trainee golf professionals can start at around £15,000 a year. Salaries for professionals are around £22,000 to £25,000 or more a year. As a well known and respected professional, in a more prestigious club, you could earn £50,000 or more.

You might also supplement your income with prize money and coaching fees. Some golf professionals work on a self-employed basis, renting space in the club and charging fees. You will have to pay regular subscriptions to the PGA.

Conditions

• You might have early starts and long hours, particularly in summer – some golf shops open early and close late.
• You will be busiest in the evenings, at weekends and on public holidays.
• You will sometimes work indoors, but mostly outdoors, in all weathers.
• You must be physically fit – but generally golfing ability and experience are more important than athletic ability.

Useful Subjects

• Physical Education

Getting In

You must be a good player. To improve your game before applying to become a professional you might be able to benefit from one of the following schemes.

• The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews offers individual golf scholarships to students from any university in the UK. It currently supports golf programmes at 15 universities including St Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde in Scotland.
• Some universities, including Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot-Watt, Robert Gordon, Stirling and Strathclyde offer sports bursaries or scholarships to help with costs.
• The Scottish Institute of Sport in Stirling runs a high performance coaching scheme for talented young people.

To be a golf professional you must qualify as a member of the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA). In Scotland, there are three ways to qualify.

• Complete the four-year honours degree in Professional Golf with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).
• Through the three-year PGA training programme by completing the Diploma in Higher Education (DipHE) in Professional Golf, also offered by UHI, which is studied whilst working at a golf facility.
• There are qualification and golf handicap requirements for the DipHE and degree course. See the UHI website for specific entry requirements.
• There is a Modern Apprenticeship programme available in Scotland with the Sports Academy of Scotland, which leads to the Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) in Leisure Management (with a golf focus). On completion it is possible to progress to the DipHE or degree course. For entry see the PGA website.

You would require a satisfactory PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) check to show you are suitable for this type of work. Contact Disclosure Scotland for details.

What Does it Take?

You should be:

• friendly and approachable
• patient and tactful when coaching clients
• confident in your own ability to play well
• determined and dedicated.

You should have:

• a detailed knowledge of the rules of play
• IT skills
• a competitive nature.

Training

• The degree can be taken on a full or part time basis over 4 to 8 years and is based at North Highland College UHI, close to Royal Dornoch Golf Club.
• The DipHE is 3 years part time, whilst also working at a golf facility. It is a blend of distance learning, residential components and work-based learning.
• On completion of either of these courses, you can then become a full member of the PGA, which provides a full programme of Continual Professional Development (CPD).
• The CPD you are required to complete depends on which stage you are at in your career.
• You could complete the Advanced Certificate in Golf Coaching through the University of Birmingham by distance learning.

Getting On

• You would probably start as an ‘assistant pro’.
• With experience you can become a resident professional, a head golf professional and then move on into management.
• You could move from a local club to a larger, better known one.
• You could move into other areas such as golf club management.

Contacts

The following organisations may be able to provide further information.