McGuirks Golf are delighted to announce a new and exciting PGA Scholarship Training programme which is open to suitable candidates nationally and internationally.
McGuirks is the largest golf retail operation in Ireland with over 25 stores and they are working on exciting new plans to grow the company even further by recruiting the help of PGA members and trainees.
McGuirks is looking to the future to try and develop the next generation of PGA Professionals. Ultimately, they have decided to spearhead a massive recruitment drive to bring in aspiring and current PGA Professionals for all aspects of the golf industry as the company looks to continue to grow.
“We’re going to take on 15-20 assistant PGA Professionals over the next 20-24 months,” explained Operations Manager Philip Ring.
“We will fully pay for their training where they will get an experience of all aspects of the industry including retail, warehouse, marketing, custom fitting, sports science, fitness and management.”
The goal of the programme is to give aspiring PGA Professionals a step into the industry and develop a career path for eager people who want a career in the golf industry. McGuirks will try to manage that talent pool by paying for their training in the University of Birmingham which equates to €7000 per year.
At the moment, McGuirks is looking to run the programme on a scholarship basis with the help of Maynooth University, Dublin City University and the University of Limerick among others. The Paddy Harrington Golf Scholarship programme has produced an array of talent over the years while Golf Ireland are developing their own elite amateurs through regional and high-performance panels at all age levels.
The company has a burning desire to get colleges from across the country and Golf Ireland involved and give budding young professionals and top amateurs a pathway into the golf industry.
The training programme is a three-year foundation degree course through the PGA and the University of Birmingham via distance learning and upon completion, trainees are able to apply for membership of the Professional Golfers’ Association, the oldest PGA and one of the most exclusive professional organisations in the world.
The Foundation Degree began in 2004/05, it has been continually modified and updated to ensure graduates receive a programme that is current and meets the needs of the golf industry for the coming decade.
A lot of aspiring professionals see tour life as the be all and end all, but the McGuirks training programme shows that there are numerous avenues to go down while also being able to still enjoy golf.
If becoming a club professional isn’t for someone, they can venture down the road of golf marketing or corporate golf. Opportunity will come knocking at the new McGuirks fit and build centre which is currently under construction in Ballymount which will have six custom fitting bays and a health and fitness studio and four club building workshops for their customers.
Many PGA Professionals move around regularly, often becoming a Director of Golf or a General Manager at a golf club and the McGuirk’s training programme aims to give people that versatility.
The company has grown exponentially over the last decade meaning that a variety of opportunities will open for assistant PGA Professionals who are part of the training programme which has been heavily supported by Managing Director Michael McGuirk and senior PGA staff.
“We want to recruit people for all aspects of our industry, we need people to be building clubs, teaching, custom fitting, selling, marketing, online, warehouse management,” said Ring.
“We need to secure staffing for the future and no better place to do that than with the PGA. They have set the standard for golf education.”
The recruitment drive isn’t just exclusively for aspiring PGA Professionals, the programme will be open to current McGuirks staff who want to train and improve. Presently the company has 275 staff across its nationwide stores and offices and McGuirks want to create an avenue for all their staff to be able to train and upskill themselves within the industry whether that be in sales, marketing, custom fitting or club building, while it’s the goal of the company to provide that opportunity through the PGA’s Business Management Group.
“We need to educate our staff,” Ring added. “Staff will feel far more rewarded when they are looked after and given this option rather than just working regularly.
“We want to create avenues for all our staff to train and upskill themselves no matter what interest they take in the industry. We want to be able to provide that platform for them to better themselves.”
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