Golf professionals working at facilities in Canada must give up their amateur status. Visit the Golf Canada website for more information.
Golf professionals work for golf clubs, golf courses, driving ranges, and golf retail shops. After completing an apprenticeship, it may take up to 10 years to secure a position as a head golf professional.
Once employed, golf professionals may advance from assistant professional to associate, head, and executive professional. They may become general managers, which means overseeing clubhouse operations and possibly golf course maintenance. Or they may open their own driving ranges or specialty golf shops.
Golf professionals are part of the larger 2011 National Occupational Classification 5254: Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness. In Alberta, 75% of people employed in this classification work in the following industries:
The employment outlook [pdf] in this occupation is influenced by a wide variety of factors including:
- Trends and events affecting overall employment, especially in the industries listed above
- Location in Alberta
- Employment turnover (when people leave existing positions)
- Occupational growth (when new positions are created)
- Size of the occupation
In Alberta, the 5254: Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness occupational group is expected to have an average annual growth of 1.9% from 2019 to 2023. In addition to job openings created by employment turnover, 270 new positions are forecasted to be created within this occupational group each year.
Employment turnover is expected to increase as members of the baby boom generation retire over the next few years.