What is the Tournament Assistant path to PGA Membership?
Reigning Irish PGA champion and 2009 Walker Cup player Niall Kearney is among those currently doing the Foundation Degree and is in his second year.
As a full-time tournament player, Kearney availed of the Tournament Assistant path which allows him to continue playing tournament golf whilst studying.
PGA Trainee Niall Kearney
“I’ve always had an interest in doing it,” Kearney explained, “and [The PGA] brought in the facility that allows a tournament player to do it as opposed to having to work in a Pro-Shop which would be standard for a PGA Assistant Professional. It’s great because the scheme gives me the opportunity to play and study full time.
“You have to have held a card on the DP World Tour or Challenge Tour for three of the past seven years to avail of the Tournament Assistant path, so that opened the door for me.
“But it is quite demanding, especially when you’ve got other things going on, so I tried to put in two or three hours a day and that set me up nicely to submit good quality assignments in the four modules which took a bit of the pressure off when it came to the exams because it’s a combination of both for your overall score.
“I would like to be in the golf industry, and it’s as much a business degree that’s heavily focused on golf as anything else. I’m playing at the moment, but that’s not always going to be the way, and this qualification gives you a level of credibility as well as the opportunity to play competitively. When you’re a pro, if you don’t have Tour status, you can’t just land down to your club and play in the monthly medal, so this gives you the opportunity to play on the regional circuits into your 50s and 60s if you want to.”
Each PGA course blends academic theory and practical elements, guaranteeing well-rounded graduates who are ready to step into the workplace and hit the ground running with intricate knowledge of the principles to make them valuable assets to any golf club or existing professional team, whether it’s in coaching, retail, fitting, management or a variety of other professional aspects across the world.
To find out more about the Tournament Assistant path, please contact admissions@pga.org.uk