Braselton, GA - Patrick McGuire’s journey to the AJGA, although fits into the ‘traditional’ path of having gone through the AJGA’s Internship and then hired full-time, his growth and opportunities throughout his full-time journey have been exceptional. McGuire is currently serving as the AJGA’s Director, International Pathway Series, and is excited to be our next Trailblazer feature.
Growing up, McGuire knew he wanted to be in sports. Getting into golf in high school and later studying sport management at Georgia Southern University, a career in the sports industry was inevitable. It wasn’t until McGuire met a classmate who had done the AJGA Internship the summer prior, who introduced him to the AJGA.
“She said it was awesome and that I should definitely apply. The Traveling Internship applications had just closed but the Player Services Internship applications were open, so I learned about it, applied, and was hired for the summer of 2017.”
Following the AJGA’s Internship, McGuire had one final semester of classes left at Georgia Southern. Upon concluding his classes in December of 2017, McGuire returned to the AJGA in January of 2018 to complete his full-time Internship to graduate, and then in March of 2018 began his full-time career as the Performance Based Entry [PBE] Recognition System Coordinator.
“The people in the [Player Services] Department were so fun, and the work was so interesting...Seeing the back end of how we field tournaments and getting to work in the PBE role specifically I got to see how we interact with all the junior tours in the country and I really enjoyed that.”
McGuire went on to spend six and a half years working within the PBE role, but it wasn’t until 2022 when conversations about the International Pathway Series [IPS] began coming to fruition.
“We hosted an event in Columbia that was sponsored by PGA TOUR player Nicolás Echavarría, and we hosted it as a feeler to see if players would be interested,” said McGuire. “The event was extremely popular, so then knew we had the responsibility to service our members internationally and are continuing to service them as best as we can through more events.”
McGuire had the opportunity to attend that first tournament in Colombia and watch the event while speaking to the players about the AJGA and then later was invited to attend an IPS event in Taiwan. Near the end of 2024, McGuire was promoted to be the Director, International Pathway Series.
In McGuire’s new role, his main goal is communicating with the golf federations of each event’s host country to answer any AJGA questions and provide guidance where needed.
"The goal I have for IPS is to see it grow to a point where we are serving our international members to the same level we serve our US members. We want to create an easier pathway for international members to get to college golf and scholarships.”
Looking back at his journey from 2017 to 2025, McGuire was grateful for everything he learned throughout his time with the AJGA. He learned so much from collaborating with a team to problem solving with parents over the phone.
“Communication amongst a team and within departments was the most transferable skill I learned,” McGuire said. “The In-House Internship really helped me with my communication skills.”
McGuire’s success within the AJGA is attributed to his hard work and dedication, and his ability to ask for more responsibility and opportunities helped him get to where he is today.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for new opportunities or ask questions, especially people in a leadership position,” said McGuire. “The worse they can say is no, and if you want something, you have to ask for it!”
