BRASELTON, GA – This edition of the AJGA Trailblazers Spotlight Series highlights Adam Stover, the current Regional Manager of the Southeast. Stover describes his position as a “hybrid role” and a journey of constant evolution to get to this point.
Originally from State College, Pennsylvania, Stover initially majored in journalism at Penn State before changing to Sports Operations with the goal of attending law school.
“My dad is a lawyer in State College, so I knew I wanted to help out there while also maybe taking a deeper dive into sports law and being a sports agent,” Stover said.
Before graduation, however, Stover was required to complete a sports internship in an area he was interested in. Growing up wrestling as his main sport from kindergarten through high school, Stover only considered himself a “Sunday golfer” but found the AJGA Traveling Internship online.
“This internship sounded really cool, so I wanted to give it a try,” Stover said. “The goal was to do this internship and then look at law school, take the LSAT, all those things … however I did the internship and the rest is history.”
During the traveling internship, Stover fell in love with running tournaments, learning about building relationships in golf, making connections with the full-time staff and also meeting his best friend along the way. He also worked in top junior golf tournaments such as the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic and Wyndham Cup.
From there, he joined the AJGA full-time as a Tournament Director. Building events “from the ground up” was what he enjoyed the most, from making events exciting for players to working through expenses to give back to charity.
After working as a Tournament Director for two years, Stover moved to his current position as Regional Manager, Southeast. This region consists of the events in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
“As I got the opportunity and kept growing as a Tournament Director, something that definitely interested me was the business side,” Stover said. “As a Regional Manager, I get to do that in a hybrid role – that’s what sparked my interest there.”
Stover’s day-to-day now consists of building tournament committees, working with parents and sponsors, bringing top courses into the membership, improving the experience for players, impacting local charity, acquiring sponsorships to support events and planning Junior-Ams in the Southeast. He also runs two to three events a year.
Stover’s journey to Regional Manager has been full of adaptations ,growth and continuously seeking new experiences. His advice to those still progressing through their careers is to maintain the curiosity to pursue opportunities.
“Just be open to what your gut is telling you. If you’re leaning a little bit more towards trying something different when you’re young, it’s great to try something new. I don’t think I could regret this for a day in my life, and I really have enjoyed the journey.”
