From general manager and head pro to course superintendent and irrigation specialist, there are many career-oriented jobs in the golf business. Here are 18 to consider for those aspiring to work in the industry.

GENERAL MANAGER

SEAN SILVA

• Age: 41

• Course: Lincoln Hills

• Job description: "Manage all aspects of the operation and coordinate/administer the property's policies and procedures."

• Got started: Manager in training program with a course management company

• Job path: Undergraduate college degree; graduate degree in sports management; sports marketing agency; operations manager for course management company; regional tournament and marketing director for course management company; general manager

• Best part of job: Working with a dynamic and diverse group of people

• Worst part of job: Trying to drive financial results in challenging economy

• Must-have quality: Ability to adapt

• Career aspiration: Executive of a course management company or owning a course management company

• Average salary: $137,000 private/ $90,000 public

• It's a fact: The general manager is atop the chain of command at any facility

DIRECTOR OF GOLF

ROB FREDERICK

• Age: 54

• Courses: Diamond Oaks and Woodcreek

• Job description: "Oversee the performance of golf operations and services, and work directly with course maintenance management company and the city of Roseville."

• Got started: Working at golf courses as a teenager

• Job path: Assistant pro; PGA credential; head pro; director of golf

• Best part of job: Coming to work every day

• Worst part of job: Challenging economy

• Must-have quality: Like to interact with people

• Career aspiration: Enjoying what I do

• Average salary: $95,000 private/ $72,000 public

• It's a fact: A director of golf either oversees multiple courses or also serves as a course's head pro

HEAD PRO

DOUG LEVY

• Age: 50

• Course: Plumas Lake

• Job description: "Making golf more enjoyable for people."

• Got started: Taking lessons from a driving range morphed into giving lessons as a driving-range pro

• Job path: Driving-range employee; driving-range assistant pro; PGA apprentice pro; country club first assistant; PGA member; head pro

• Best part of job: Every day is different

• Worst part of job: Inability to please everybody

• Must-have quality: Personality to treat people with kindness and respect

• Career aspiration: Keep doing what I'm doing

• Average salary: $68,000 private/$53,000 public

ASSISTANT PRO

A.J. MUSSER

• Age: 27

• Course: North Ridge

• Job description: "As first assistant, coordinate and advertise all men's and women's events, manage inventory categories and levels, give lessons, run clinics and junior programs, assist in any member needs."

• Got started: Cart attendant

• Job path: Moved from Illinois to California for year-round golf; outside services attendant; third assistant, first assistant

• Best part of job: Seeing members' excitement who've improved their games

• Worst part of job: Long days

• Must-have quality: Patience

• Career aspiration: Head pro

• Average salary: $29,000 private/ $30,000 public

• It's a fact: Most courses have multiple assistant pros, and there's always a hierarchy (first, second, etc.)

GOLF SHOP MERCHANDISER

TIFFANIE BLAYLOCK

• Age: 41

• Course: Catta Verdera

• Job description: "Choosing and ordering product for spring and fall and displaying it, as well as managing a budget."

• Got started: A passion for fashion

• Job path: College degree in fashion merchandising and design; merchandiser

• Best part of job: The golf course atmosphere

• Worst part of job: Having a shop full of fabulous merchandise that's not selling

• Must-have quality: Loving clothes

• Career aspiration: Merchandise and buy for several courses

• Average salary: $36,000 private/ $35,000 public

• It's a fact: Resort areas such as Palm Springs or Monterey are the mecca for merchandisers; Sacramento, not so much.

CLUB REPAIRER/MAKER

PETE COVITCH

• Age: 58

• Business: Owns/operates Grips Fast Golf

• Job description: "Serve the local golf community by giving them a quality product and service that they know is done right."

• Got started: Lost his wedge; watched his brother-in-law make a replacement; became enthralled with components

• Job path: Regripping business out of garage; exhibiting custom-made clubs at trade shows; owning retail club-repair/making business

• Best part of job: Meeting new challenges and people every day

• Worst part of job: Time it takes to learn how to fix what seems simple

• Must-have quality: Know your customer

• Career aspiration: Turn business over to son

COLLEGE COACH

CHRISTOPHER HALL

• Age: 29

• School: Sacramento State (head men's coach)

• Job description: "Facilitate practices, travel, recruiting and eligibility for men's golf team."

• Got started: Played for coaches who influenced me

• Job path: College player; college degree in coaching administration; master's degree in sports psychology; volunteer assistant coach; assistant coach; head coach

• Best part of job: Helping guys create memories they'll have for a lifetime

• Worst part of job: Trying to make everything happen with the budget we have

• Must-have quality: Patience

• Career aspiration: Director of golf somewhere

INSTRUCTOR

ERIC POLLARD

• Age: 61

• Course: Ancil Hoffman

• Job description: "To inspire, educate and motivate people through the journey of golf."

• Got started: Apprenticeship

• Job path: Pro-shop apprentice; PGA member; head professional; director of instruction for Eric Pollard Golf Academy

• Best part of job: Helping people hit the ball solid

• Worst part of job: Long days

• Must-have quality: Sense of humor

• Career aspiration: Teach till I drop

• Average salary: $41,000 private/$49,000 public

MEDIA

MARY BURROUGHS

• Age: 53

• Business: Publishes Eat Play Stay magazine

• Job description: "Finding the best golf courses to photograph and write about."

• Got started: Attended Art Center College of Design

• Job path: Art school; photography training; publishing company; networking; magazine publisher

• Best part of job: People I've met and am still meeting

• Worst part of job: When the bottom line gets in the way

• Must-have quality: Passion for publishing

• Career aspiration: Having publication do so well that I could retire and one of my daughters could take it over

• It's a fact: You can count the number of full-time newspaper golf writers left in the country on one hand

CLUB FITTER

BUCK BONDURA

• Age: 55

• Company: iFit Golf

• Job description: "Take golfers of all levels and fit them with a club that's going to allow them to get the most out of their game."

• Got started: When iFit Golf started in 2004, so did I

• Job path: Assistant pro; club fitter

• Best part of job: Developing relationships

• Worst part of job: Not enough time to play golf

• Must-have quality: Be genuine

• Career aspiration: Have people remember me as a good guy and someone they could count on

• It's a fact: The technology explosion, both in playing equipment and the ability to measure its dynamics, has expanded this field

COURSE SUPERINTENDENT

MOODY AYEB

• Age: 42

• Course: Mather

• Job description: "Provide optimum playing conditions to generate the most possible revenue for my facility."

• Got started: Looking for a job that provided free golf

• Job path: Internship; assistant superintendent; online turf degree; superintendent

• Best part of job: Latitude

• Worst part of job: Not having enough resources to do what you really want to do

• Must-have quality: Motivation

• Career aspiration: Manage multiple facilities or a higher-end facility with a bigger budget

• Average salary: $73,000 private/$69,000 public

MARKETING/ MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR

BONNIE KIRSCHMAN

• Age: 59

• Course: Rancho Murieta

• Job description: "Marketing Rancho Murieta Country Club for events and memberships."

• Got started: Part-time outside event marketing

• Job path: Outside event marketing; event coordinator; marketing and membership director

• Best part of job: Working with members

• Worst part of job: The economy

• Must-have quality: Willingness to listen

• Career aspiration: At my age?

• Average salary: $64,000 private/$52,000 public

SOFT GOODS SALES ASSOCIATE

JENNY KOPLIN

• Age: 30

• Company: Morton Golf (Haggin Oaks)

• Job description: "Help people find the product they are looking for, if it's not a golf club."

• Got started: Selling snacks on the course

• Job path: Beverage cart; cashier; tournament director; retail sales

• Best part of job: The people – those who come to the golf course are happy

• Worst part of job: The bad eggs – there's going to be a few everywhere

• Must-have quality: Ability to read people

• Career aspiration: Move up as high as I can in the golf industry

• Average salary: $21,000 private/$21,000 public

• It's a fact: Resort markets provide more opportunity

IRRIGATION SPECIALIST

J.J. GUERRERO

• Age: 33

• Course: Wildhawk

• Job description: "Maintaining the irrigation system and programming the irrigation computer."

• Got started: Working for construction crew that built Wildhawk

• Job path: Helped build course; raked bunkers as part of course maintenance crew; irrigation seminars; irrigation technician

• Best part of job: Seeing the sun rise every morning, and when I turn the sprinklers on and they have beautiful coverage

• Worst part of job: When I'm 6 feet underground digging up main lines

• Must-have quality: Pride

• Career aspiration: Superintendent

COURSE DESIGNER

KYLE PHILLIPS

• Age: 53

• Business: President of Kyle Phillips Golf Course Design

• Job description: "Golf course architect."

• Got started: Studied landscape architecture in college

• Job path: College degree in landscape architecture; worked for course-design company; started own company

• Best part of job: Whatever I'm doing at the moment

• Worst part of job: Request-for-proposal process

• Must-have quality: Visualize three-dimensionally

• Career aspiration: Keep getting better

• It's a fact: The course-design business has slowed dramatically in America but still hums internationally

MANUFACTURER'S REPRESENTATIVE

DENNIS YOUNGLOVE

• Age: 63

• Company: Represents multiple manufacturers

• Job description: "Responsible for sales to courses and specialty stores of the manufacturers that I represent in Northern California and Northern Nevada."

• Got started: As a competitive amateur player, knew somebody in the business

• Job path: College degree in finance and marketing; sales experience; small-business owner; manufacturer's representative

• Best part of job: Getting to see friends every day

• Worst part of job: Making appointments

• Must-have quality: Perseverance

• Career aspiration: Continuing to enjoy what I do

CADDIE

JOHN WOOD

• Age: 42

• Player: Works for PGA Tour player Hunter Mahan

• Job description: "Be a beast of burden, strategic planner, sports psychologist, swing coach, mathematician, weatherman, punching bag, personal assistant and a friend, depending on the day."

• Got started: Was friendly with Sacramento PGA Tour player Kevin Sutherland

• Job path: Worked for Sutherland, Mark Calcavecchia, Chris Riley and Mahan

• Best part of job: Being in the hunt to win a tournament on Sunday

• Worst part of job: Being in 67th place on Sunday

• Must-have quality: Be organized

• Career aspiration: Help Hunter win as many tournaments as possible

• It's a fact: There is no conventional path to becoming a caddie; having a friend who's a top-notch pro golfer may be the best way to go

TOURNAMENT CONSULTANT

DAWYNE WILLIAMS

• Age: 45

• Represents: The Golf Tournament Association of America in Northern California

• Job description: "Work with nonprofits, corporations and associations putting together better and more effective golf tournaments."

• Got started: A seminar about running golf tournaments piqued his interest

• Job path: Sales; training program with GTAA; certified tournament consultant

• Best part of job: Making a difference by helping organizations make more money

• Worst part of job: Not being able to play golf at all the fabulous courses I get invited to

• Must-have quality: Be a people-oriented person

• Career aspiration: Be the most well-known tournament consultant in California

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