Zach Hamlet knew he wanted to work in sports before arriving in Los Angeles for the 2023 U.S. Open Championship as a member of the USGA Pathways Internship class. What he didn’t know is how many opportunities were available in the golf industry.
“It opened my eyes to see first-hand the number of jobs there were, not only directly in golf, but also with companies whose businesses were connected with the game,” said Hamlet. “That perspective will be really important when I look to pursue my first full-time role after graduation.”
Hamlet, a native of Reidsville, N.C., and a senior at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, was one of 20 individuals from across the country who participated in the internship. Now in its second year, the program is designed to provide diverse college undergraduate and graduate students with exposure to careers in golf while addressing industry imbalances.
Hamlet had already interned with Global Golf Management, which provided on-the-ground experience at a Korn Ferry Tour event, the Rex Hospital Open, and the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship. He saw the Pathways internship as an ideal next step toward a career in sports.
“Based off what I read and saw online, I knew it would be a great opportunity to both dive head-first into the sports industry while at the same time networking with other students and executives,” said Hamlet.
In addition to exposure to key USGA championship functions – including player services, merchandising, operations, media and hospitality – the 10-day internship included career panels and workshops on topics ranging from personal branding to business relationships.
A series of networking sessions also connected interns with executives from industry-leading companies such as Deloitte, Nike and SoFi.
“It truly made a life-changing impact in allowing me to see firsthand how these successful people act and what I need to do to be in that position,” said Hamlet. “The connections I’ve been able to build with executives from places like Deloitte and NBCUniversal have been really great. I’m sure that will lead to more opportunities for me in the future.”
“The other highlight I would say would be connecting with other interns,” said Hamlet. “It was great to learn about everyone else’s stories and see how everyone was so talented in different ways. We were all truly unique in our backgrounds as well.”
Along with the aforementioned professional opportunities, Hamlet is also embracing the recreational ones.
“The program really sparked an interest in me playing the game, too,” he said. “Finding that love for a new sport has been awesome.”
