Education Abroad
Scotland
Some 500 years ago, the golf industry began to emerge. Edinburgh and St. Andrews were at the forefront of this emergence. Make the golf pilgrimage to this sacred ground and explore the industry in its birthplace! Getting on the course is certainly part of this trip. However, we'll also take you behind the scenes where you'll meet key players and see things that no ordinary tourist would have access to. The program usually involves a 10 day trip with two nights dedicated to Edinburgh where we get to experience the annual Fringe Festival, the largest annual arts festival on the planet. The balance of the time is spent just to the north in St. Andrews. There are opportunities to meet with key industry personnel at each facility we visit. Everyone also gets the chance to experience The Old Course! Cross your fingers for a lucky draw on the Old Course Lottery but if you're unsuccessful, you'll get to experience sunrise over the North Sea while waiting for your chance to jump on! Everyone who's made the pilgrimage had played the old course!
China
In direct contrast to our program offering in Scotland is the opportunity to experience golf in one of the newest markets on the planet. The oldest course in operation in China is Mission Hills Shenzhen, which opened in 1992! Only 29 years ago! in 2006, construction was started on Mission Hills Haikou and it is still under construction today. Haikou will eventually be the largest golf facility on the planet with 396 holes! Students who take part in this trip will get to experience this unbelievable facility. We also spend time on the Shenzhou Peninsula on the South side of Hainan Island (a.k.a the "Hawaii" of China) as well as Beijing and Shanghai. An adventure to say the least! On each stop, we're exploring the golf and tourism/hospitality industries. You'll have the chance to do it all, from teeing it up on the Black Rock Course at Mission Hills to feasting on scropion in Beijing.
Domestic Study Tours
In 2019, we launched a domestic study tour. This tour is designed to bring together the worlds of golf course operation and turf grass maintenance/management. We'll visit facilities on one of many different potential domestic markets. At these facilities we sit down with teams of PGA Professionals, Head Professionals, General Management and golf course Superintendents. This provides a unique opportunity to take about the critical relationship between these two teams at high-performing facilities. On our 2019 trip, we also had the chance to visit the home turf of the Kansas City Chiefs as well as the Royals!
