This week, we highlight former AJGA Tournament Administration Coordinator Hannah Kolesar and her journey to becoming the Director of Junior Golf Operations with the Southwest PGA Section. Kolesar was an Operations Intern back in 2020 and landed a job in the AJGA Player Services department the following year. After assisting with qualifier and tournament fielding, along with various customer service aspects of the AJGA for a little over two years, Kolesar decided to stay in the golf industry and transitioned back into the operations field in her home state of Arizona.
Throughout college, Kolesar knew she wanted to work in sports. She interned within the baseball, soccer and hockey industries but had no experience within the golf industry. She saw the AJGA internship and, although hesitant, applied for the spring internship to be an Operations Intern.
“I loved the idea of traveling and I loved the operations side of everything and thought it would be a good challenge for me to learn something new,” Kolesar said. “It was super fun, and I met a ton of amazing people through it and once it ended I got an email about the Player Services role and although it meant not being on the road, it still seemed interesting to me.”
Kolesar reflected on her time at the AJGA and said she decided to give the Player Services role a shot even though it meant relocating to Georgia. She stated that it was one of the best decisions she’s made for herself.
Kolesar began full-time with the AJGA in June of 2021 and was thrown right into the thick of fielding qualifiers, and later transitioning to fielding tournaments that same year.
“I started with filling qualifiers, and then the opportunity to field tournaments came along,” Kolesar said. “I told Riley Tracy, VP of Player Services, that it was something I wanted to do and thankfully he trusted me to do the whole tournament fielding and alternate outreach. I also helped select our Rolex Scholastic Junior All-America Teams which was cool to see how the AJGA honors the juniors who work hard in school.”
Following her two years with the AJGA, Hannah decided to take her skills back home to Arizona and switch back into the operations field as the Director of Junior Golf Operations with the Southwest PGA Section. Her day-to-day tasks include everything from operational set-up, fielding tournaments, and even finding courses to host the Southwest PGA Section tournaments.
“The AJGA prepared me in the best way possible because I was able to do the operations internship, which shows everything that running an event entails from hole locations, set-up and course marking,” Kolesar said. “Then working in Player Services full-time taught me how to field events, how to reach out to alternates and be able to multi-task all of our different events.”
The opportunities both the AJGA and the Southwest PGA Section have given Kolesar, grow her love of the golf industry and keep her eager to continue to grow within it.
“I currently love my job and love what I’m doing,” Kolesar stated. “It’s fun to see players go from the Southwest PGA to the JGJA [Junior Golf Association of Arizona], to the AJGA. Right now I want to continue to develop and grow in my role and learn as much as I can. The AJGA will always hold a special place in my heart, and they truly helped me get to where I am today.”
From AJGA Tournament Administration Coordinator to Southwest PGA Director of Junior Golf Operations, Hannah Kolesar’s path reflects the AJGA’s commitment to their staff’s career growth opportunities. It emphasizes the importance of trying something new as it could lead you to the next breakthrough in your career.