Twenty juniors joined the SCGA Foundation last week on a field trip to Lakeside CC as part of the G.A.M.E. program. Along with golf skills challenges, the attendees learned about golf professions, including golf club general manager, superintendant and golf course architect.
The day especially struck a chord with 19-year-old Kristin Grimes, who will be attending Cal State Northridge in the fall. Having always had an eye towards a possible business or accounting major, Grimes was struck by new opportunities learned at last week’s G.A.M.E. Day. She will now select business management as her major, with the goal of one day managing a country club.
“I attended the field trip with the SCGA Foundation and had the pleasure of learning about different jobs golf has to offer,” wrote Grimes after the event. “It was there where managing a country club struck me. Business management will someday give me the opportunity to make a business better and keep it running efficiently.”
In addition to learning about the business side of golf course management, the juniors also heard from Todd Eckenrode, the golf course architect currently working for Lakeside on its renovation project. After short presentations, Eckenrode took the participants out on the course for a first-hand look at the work his team is doing on the Lakeside course.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to see the different stages of golf course renovation,” Eckenrode said. “I want to show them a living laboratory. We can get out there in the dirt and illustrate what we talked about inside and show them what we are doing in the renovation process.”
The G.A.M.E. program is designed for 11-18 year olds, and provides golf opportunities, develops awareness of career options, introduces mentoring and creates educational outings and opportunities.