Centennial Golf Club: Fostering a Community Through GOLFWORKS
GOLFWORKS interns are hard at work this summer at Centennial Golf Club where 14 young men and women are a part of the seasonal staff at the 27-hole public facility in Carmel, N.Y. These high school and college students work in the pro shop, on the driving range, and in the cart barn, all as part of the MGA Foundation’s student intern program that places students at MGA member clubs and facilities.
Scott Klemme, Centennial’s general manager and director of instruction, strives to provide a welcoming environment for the interns, as well an introduction to the business side of golf. He’s been involved with GOLFWORKS since 2011 and oversees many of the interns. “The program has exposed the kids to potentially having golf as part of their career, or at least being able to build a resume that could get them in the door to the golf industry or could open the door to another career path,” he says. “We’ve had a couple of interns go through the program who are trying to get into the golf business and some who have. It allows kids to possibly go in directions they never thought of going.”
More than a summer job, GOLFWORKS interns learn important life skills, too. “It’s great to be able to get some kids within the program that we’re able to teach how to interact with people, how to give people a handshake, and look people in the eye,” Klemme says. “There’s a lot of kids that have grown and matured.”
Joe Mascetta is wrapping up his first summer working in the pro shop, where he is focused on ensuring the golf operations run smoothly. “I make sure everybody gets out on time, make sure they paid, make sure all the rangers and starters know when players are teeing off, just try to keep the flow of the course going,” he says.
Mascetta is senior at SUNY Cortland, where he is the student-body president as well as a member of the track team and club golf team. “I’m studying business and sports management, so this is a great experience for me. You get a variety of different personalities in here, and they come in so quickly, so I feel like getting to know everybody and how people like to interact in different ways … some people are talkers, some people aren’t. It’s been beneficial for me to get to know so many personalities.”
Liam Dima is spending his second summer at Centennial. The rising first-year student at Susquehanna University, where he will study finance and compete on both the hockey and golf teams, works on the driving range, keeping the range stocked with balls and assisting golfers. “I’ve learned a lot socially. I learned how to talk to people, meet new people, how to read them,” he says. “It just makes work fun, and I want to come to work and be around the sport I love.”
Another fellow intern, Kevin Thompson, is one of seven second-year interns at the course this summer and echoes Mascetta’s and Dima’s sentiments. “Working at Centennial has impacted me a lot outside of work,” he says. “For starters, my social skills and ability to talk to others have tremendously improved. It has also given me many connections that may last a lifetime, which is irreplaceable.”
It’s a family affair for the Klemme family at Centennial: Scott’s children have worked at the club in various capacities throughout the years. His daughter Kaylie was a GOLFWORKS intern throughout high school and has been around the club her whole life, including this summer before she returns to The College of Saint Rose in Albany, where she received her bachelor’s degree in finance, for the final semester of her master’s and another year on the women’s golf team.
“I love it. The internship introduced me to different aspects of golf,” she says. “Working at a golf course is a great way to network and meet new people, and I’ve met a lot of people in business, learned a lot more about what I’m passionate about, which is finance and golf. It just kind of all ties it together. It’s awesome working here.”
At Centennial, it’s more than a summer job that brings these young men and women back each summer; it’s the sense of community and fun that Klemme and his team provide. “We have a real tight-knit family orientation here, it’s great,” he says. “They all know they can call us at any time regarding anything. We just had (a former intern) come up from Tampa just last week and play in our employee outing.”
“I’ve learned a lot from other employees,” Thompson says. “I’ve learned that working with people you are close to and care about makes the job much easier.”
Who knew work could be so much fun?
“I love everyone I work with,” Mascetta says. “Everyone is just fun, everyone’s happy. I honestly haven’t had a bad day here.”
For more information on GOLFWORKS or to help fund an internship, visit mgagolf.org/foundation or contact Lou Cutolo at lcutolo@mgagolf.org.