A golfer extricates his ball from a bunker on Mammoth Dunes at Sand Valley in Nekoosa. (Photo: Gary D’Amato / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
What percentage of Wisconsinites have looked out their window this week and thought about golfing? Maybe 50%? Higher?
Now imagine golfing for the entire summer, and getting paid for it.
The Wisconsin State Golf Association has cultivated what might constitute the best internship … ever? … seeking out an applicant willing to play a round of golf at 50 spots across the state for $10 an hour plus expenses for lodging, travel and golf. The WSGA is calling it “America’s No. 1 golf internship.”
“We really wanted to do something fun and unique while Wisconsin will already have a lot of attention on it with Ryder Cup being here,” said Rob Jansen, executive director of the WSGA. “The internship would promote all the great courses we have in Wisconsin. We have highly ranked ones but a lot of people don’t know we have 10 of the top 100 courses in the national rankings right here in Wisconsin.”
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Jansen wants someone who’s ready to play them all.
The job would involve 50 rounds in 10 weeks, with ample photography and social-media documentation to highlight the various spots across the state.
“You don’t have to be the best golfer in the world; we’re looking for other skills that an individual might have,” Jansen said. “You still need a passion for golf, but what you shoot is secondary to how you experience the courses. We’ll look for photography skills, social-media skills, talking about the journey and highlighting what’s great about Wisconsin golf.”
Jansen said the visuals produced would serve as a photographic journal and give some courses promotional materials to use later. He’s looking for all applications by April 1. Applicants don’t necessarily need to be from Wisconsin; he’s already received submissions from across the country.
Applications need to be submitted via social media, either quote-tweeting the WSGA’s call for applicants, or by finding a creative means to share interest on Facebook or Instagram stories using #hiremeWSGA or #1golfinternship hashtags.
Jansen hopes to announce the intern on May 1, and golf begins June 1. In its inaugural year, the job could feature rounds with local dignitaries or perhaps even sports figures around the state.
The best of the best
Erin Hills hosted the men’s U.S. Open in 2017. (Photo: Rick Wood, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Wisconsin courses mentioned on Golf.com’s list of 100 best public courses in the United States (last published in 2019):
- 3. Straits Course at Whistling Straits (Haven)
- 9. Erin Hills (Erin)
- 15. River Course at Blackwolf Run (Kohler)
- 18. Sand Valley (Nekoosa)
- 27. Mammoth Dunes (Nekoosa)
- 43. Irish Course at Whistling Straits (Haven)
- 44. Sentryworld (Stevens Point)
- 57. Meadow Valleys at Blackwolf Run (Kohler)
- 58. The Golf Courses of Lawsonia (Green Lake)
- 69. Troy Burne (Hudson)
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.