Chances are growing greater each year that the golf club managers, teaching pros and equipment sales reps that golfers encounter will be University of Maryland Eastern Shore alumni.
Since launching its PGA-accredited golf management curriculum in 2008, UMES is producing a steady stream of graduates who are gradually changing the face of a $76 billion industry.
That pipeline starting at UMES is only going to continue to diversify the game.
This past summer, sophomore Darius Davis of Lithonia was an intern at East Lake Golf Club fulfilling an academic requirement to get hands-on experience in the field.
Davis is no stranger to East Lake. He is a “graduate” of the golf club’s First Tee program, a “youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people.”
Davis considered several universities, including other HBCUs, but chose UMES because its academic program combines instruction in hospitality, business and marketing, while also putting a premium on refining pro-level golf skills.
Although he visited Princess Anne in mid-December, during his senior year at Arabia Mountain High School, UMES’ 745-acre campus a short drive from the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay spoke to him.
“I knew the minute I came here this was the place for me,” Davis said. “Here, you get a lot of personalized attention and instruction. I felt if I went someplace else, I would just be a number.”
Davis is among 52 undergraduates in a program with a goal of being fully enrolled at 80 students.
Over the past two years, philanthropists have taken notice of UMES’ trailblazing work in appealing to students like Davis, embracing it by making donations to help those enrolled in the 4½-year program.
Tiger Woods recently made a personal gift of $10,000 to support a newly-created scholarship fund honoring, the late Charlie Sifford, one of his idols. A few days later, the PGATour matched Woods’ gift.
This past June, Lexus donated $100,000 to create the Lexus Endowment for a golf management scholarship that the car company made as a tribute to Sifford.
The Caves Valley Golf Club Foundation in suburban Baltimore is funding two full-ride scholarships to give the program a boost. And Baltimore businessman Carnelious Jones established four scholarships to honor the legacies of Renee Powell, James Black, the late Calvin Peete and the late Ann Gregory, all of whom played key roles integrating the sport in the mid-20th century.
“As we move our program to the forefront of collegiate golf management programs,” UMES President Juliette B. Bell said, “Our goal is to recruit and enroll the highest caliber student who will represent our university with pride and respect traditions of the game.”
UMES is one of 19 universities with a PGA-approved golf management program, and the nation’s lone historically black institution awarding a bachelor’s degree in that discipline. It is part of the university’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management in the School of Business and Technology, which is accredited by the Association to Advance College Schools of Business – AACSB International.
Golf management students take courses that prepare them for a broad spectrum of jobs in and around the sport. They must complete four levels of the PGA golf management curriculum, 16 months of internship assignments as well as pass the PGA Playing Ability Test to qualify for membership in the PGA of America upon eligible employment.
Every UMES student who has completed degree requirements since the first class graduated in December 2012 has had a job offer at graduation.
PGA member Anthony Stepney, coordinator of UMES’ diversity and inclusion initiatives in the golf industry, challenged reception guests to draw inspiration from Sifford and encourage minorities and women to take up the game.
“The time for talking is over,” Stepney said. “The time for action is now. We need you to be part of it.”
"Our students, most of whom are minorities and women, are pursuing a dream of working in the golf industry," said Kimberly Dumpson, UMES’ executive vice president. "We have an obligation to let them know of the impact of Charlie Sifford and remain committed to perpetuating his legacy of diversity and inclusion."
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