You Can Create Your Own Opportunities
May 6, 2010 by Tiffany Gordon
There’s been much discussion recently about the challenges faced by young people entering the business and I think it’s the same whether you’re a young touring professional or a young club professional.
It’s the same as apprenticing for anything. You get into the business because you want to be in it.
I love what I do. I get out of bed every morning and love going to work, but I know I’m not going to be a millionaire doing it.
On the other hand, what’s the cost of going to work and hating what you do? A lot of people go to work, hate their jobs, but get paid a lot to do those jobs.
I understand when I hear people talking about what they get paid. I get that, but at the end of the day, there is a lot that people can do to make a difference.
There are tons of opportunities out there – teaching opportunities, speaking opportunities, promotion opportunities, corporate opportunities and self-promotion. You can’t wait for somebody to do it for you. Go get it.
At the end of the day, opportunities are created, not handed down. Everybody’s got challenges and the better you are at promoting yourself and giving back to the game, the better off you will be.
I really believe that the more you’re giving back, the more the community will rally behind you and things like sponsorships and other benefits will come.
If I’m going to teach more lessons, then people need to know who I am. If you need to tell people who you are, then you need to be involved. There’s a lot of marketing to this industry, a lot of self-promotion and involvement.
On the other hand, I would never want somebody to go out and try to get involved because they think they have to in order to get financial rewards. It comes from the heart.
People who are community-minded and community-spirited want to associate themselves with other people who are community-minded and community-spirited.
Tiffany Gordon is executive professional and general manager of Cottonwood Golf and Country Club near Calgary and also a former president of the Alberta PGA. She frequently chimes in on industry matters through her regular GNN blog.
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I agree Tiffany. If all we think about is the financial gain in this business, we have nothing. I get great joy out of coaching a student to his/her goal. Through playing I have the most fun by meeting and enjoying the company of other professionals who share a similar passion. Financial is and always will be secondary to me in this business. Golf was made to be a past time and I have felt in the recent years its become to corporate and all business. As golf professionals, we need to instill the fun and camaraderie back into the game. If we keep our customers and employees having fun and enjoying their experience, than they will keep coming back. This will result in everyone benefiting in the long run. Unfortunately, there is a lot of pressure put on the young professionals by the management who has lots of pressure from the owners, and the end result is stress and failure. It’s sad our game is being put through this, but I’m confident the younger guys like myself will keep things fresh to make sure the game remains a fun and enjoyable past time.
Hi Tiffany: Although not in the business I really enjoy reading your posts. I met you a few years back at the Canadian Women’s Senior at Cottonwood. You walk the talk and made us Seniors feel very welcome at your Club.
Keep up the good work.