Univ. of Colo. at Colo. Springs Golf Management Program only one in

Tyler Van Kooten was a natural.

When his mother took golf as an elective at a community college, he discovered an innate ability to hit the ball straight. I was just messing around, really, for two or three years. But the first year my high school, Denver Christian, offered golf, I made the varsity team, he said modestly, almost as if embarrassed by his natural affinity. I was a sophomore, he added, as an afterthought.

Although the game came easily to the Denver resident, Van Kooten, 19, is not resting on his laurels. He is attending the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to earn a degree in its brand-new, PGA- accredited professional golf management program.

Entrance into the program is tough. In addition to the stringent academic requirements to earn admission into UCCS, students must have above-average golf skills, with a handicap of 12 or less. Upon completion, graduates will be certified to be a golf pro.

Wrapping up its first year, the UCCS golf management degree program is headed by three faculty members who are striving to make it the best of its kind in the country.

Program Director Doug Wert has been a member of the Professional Golfers' Association of America for 14 years, and earned a degree in professional golf management (PGM) from Mississippi State. He came on the UCCS staff last year to head the fledgling program. We feel it's kind of ironic that I was part of the first class there. Mississippi State's PGM program, which was established in 1985, was the second of its kind in the country.

To his students, Wert brings experience, from managing Penn State's golf courses to four years working in Florida, including a few months at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, considered by some to be a Mecca for golfers.

Having a degree in golf management jumpstarted my career, Wert said. Having a degree in business helped tremendously. But the second part was the internships and having that experience before I graduated. Wert worked his way up the golf course food chain during those internships, starting in outside operations and ending with the coveted assistant professional duties in the golf shop.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is one of the newer faces among 15 PGA/PGM degree programs offered across the country, according to the PGA Web site. The first was Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., which was established its program in 1975, followed by Mississippi State, New Mexico State (1987) and Penn State (1990). Then a veritable flood of programs were approved in 1999: Arizona State University East, Campbell University, Coastal Carolina University, Florida State and Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C. Clemson (2001) was next, followed by the University of Idaho, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and North Carolina State University (2002). The PGA authorized the PGM program at University of Nebraska- Lincoln this year.

It is Wert's experience on the green that might give UCCS an edge over similar college degree programs. Graduating from one of the other programs gave me an idea what to expect, he said. I know what expectations I need to set for my students. They must strive for perfection in academics, because that's the backbone of their education, and the measure of their success when they get out.

That's where Paul Miller comes in. Miller, who has a doctorate in accounting, is the academic director of the degree program. He also headed the team that brought the golf program to UCCS.

Golf's always been a love, Miller said. To bring golf to the classroom, he first had to contact the PGA. The team then got the green light to begin the arduous process of developing a community base and putting together a proposal for the degree program. Two-and- a-half years later, the PGA granted accreditation. I had mixed emotions, actually, Miller said. Joy and elation.

Beginning in 2001, Miller began working with Bobby and Elcio Silva of Escalante Golf Management to build a partnership with Pine Creek Golf Club. That is the students' learning laboratory, he said. Our students play free there.

Playing without fees is a necessity in this program; the students, after all, are not simply earning a business degree with a specialty in golf courses. They are simultaneously part of a PGA/PGM apprentice training program. A few months of experience in the field after graduation qualifies students for a PGA membership.

And being a PGA member, of course, requires passing a playing test, Wert said, and demands a high level of golf skill Miller added. The Playing Ability Test involves playing 36 holes, usually in one day, from the middle tees with a combined score of no more than 15 strokes over the course rating. Female students play the course from the forward tees.

The third faculty member in the UCCS golf management program triumvirate is Sam White, who has a doctorate in business. His role as internship coordinator means that he helps students apply to degree-required internships at golf courses throughout the country. Based on other schools' experience, we expect to place 100 percent of our graduates at great facilities all over the country, White said.

By including internships in the degree program, everyone wins, according to Wert.

The facilities are getting a quality person who has the aspiration of becoming a PGA member, and the students are learning what we can't teach in the classroom on these internships. They're learning how to manage a golf facility.

The process began with students nominating the courses that interested them. Then those courses had to be certified as acceptable for an internship. Now there are about 130 golf courses in the internship database from which students may choose.

Finishing the degree program includes three internships of three, six and nine months each. Van Kooten is working on his first at Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, which is right next to his parents' house. I wanted to sleep in, he explained with a chuckle. He, like Wert, is learning the ropes in outside services, which he said includes golf cart management, golf club repair and being a range attendant among other chores.

Golfer David Duval, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and former Broncos quarterback John Elway are among the private course's celebrity members. We're just supposed to treat them like regular people. I've said hi, but that's it, Van Kooten said. They're just there to relax and we have to keep that in mind.

A bit of serendipity may have been involved in how Van Kooten found out about the UCCS program in its first year. Playing in a Fellowship of Christian Athletes tournament, Van Kooten's father mentioned his son's interest in playing golf as he got older to a committee member.

Enter Miller, and Van Kooten applied and was accepted to UCCS the day classes started last fall. He said he feels blessed to be involved in a degree program that hones his skills and gives him a secure future. Somebody was looking out for me.

Copyright 2004 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.