Sourse: Saint Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press
A new program -- the first of its type in the United States -- is being teed up at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
Driven by industry needs, a new major, golf enterprise management, is expected to be offered this fall.
UW-Stout officials started hearing a few years ago from professionals in the hotel, golf and hospitality industries that there was a need for trained golf-course managers.
University officials talked with representatives from the Professional Golfers' Association, which is affiliated with 15 university programs that prepare students to be golf pros, but the PGA said it was not interested in expanding its program.
So Stout created its own. It is the first program covering all aspects of running a golf course, including grounds-keeping, food and beverage service and player recruitment and retention.
"The emphasis of the golf enterprise management degree will be on business acumen, rather than player aptitude," said John Wesolek, dean of the UW-Stout College of Human Development.
The four-year program will require 124 semester credits and include internships and co-op programs with golf courses in western Wisconsin and across the nation.
Wesolek said more than 250 people have inquired about the program, and 50 students are expected to be admitted to the program each year.
It becomes the 28th major at the 8,000-student school, which is known for strong programs in applied knowledge fields such as hospitality and tourism, service management and retail merchandising.
The Menomonie-based university was the first in the state to go wireless in 2002 and the first university to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in 2001. The award, named for a former U.S. Commerce Department secretary, recognizes visionary business and manufacturing firms.
The launch of the new major has been financially supported with $100,000 grants from Toro Corp. and Kohler Co., and $50,000 from alumnus Bill Gehrand.
The National Golf Course Owners Association, which represents about 7,600 golf courses, unanimously endorsed the program, which also has been endorsed by the Golf Course Owners of Wisconsin and the Midwest Golf Course Owners Association.
"It is the only endorsement of its kind NGCOA has ever conferred and was given only after much consideration," said Mike Hughes, the association's executive director. "It was driven in large measure by UW-Stout's attainment of the coveted Malcolm Baldrige Award."
"Golf management is a highly specialized field," said Curt Walker of Bloomington, Minn., executive director of the Midwest Golf Course Owners Association. "There is a need for this program, and there will be a demand for the kind of student Stout will be turning out."
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents is expected to approve the new major in the spring.
About 10 majors are added annually across the system, said Ron Singer, associate vice president for academic affairs for the university group. The most recent to be approved were a bachelor's degree in multimedia digital arts at UW-Whitewater and a master's degree in occupational therapy at UWLa Crosse, both in the fall.
Supplementing the new major, UW-Stout is adding a minor in gaming entertainment and is reinstating men's and women's golf teams. The gaming minor, the first in the Midwest, does not require the regents' approval.
The campus is within driving distance of 40 casinos in Minnesota and Wisconsin, university officials said, and students may need to be familiar with management of both golf courses and casinos as "Las Vegas-type" destinations that combine gambling, entertainment, golf and upscale housing become more popular.
"Golf is a $69 billion industry worldwide," Wesolek said, "and golf is growing worldwide."