Join us weekly for a skim of highlights from around the AJGA:
1. We maximized playing opportunities last year despite the pandemic.
Even in the face of one of the most challenging years in our more than 40-year history, we achieved our goal of providing the most playing opportunities possible to our membership.
If you weren't paying attention, the @AJGAGolf played 101 tournaments in 2020. 101! It's a remarkable feat for the Year of COVID. Here's how they did it. https://t.co/QaYv1chyTP
— Julie Williams (@Golfweek_Jules) December 18, 2020
2020 Results
- 101 tournaments for a total of 7,964 playing opportunities
- 74 qualifiers for a total of 5,694 playing opportunities
2021 Projections
- 124 tournaments for a total of 9,616 playing opportunities
- 89 qualifiers for a total of 6,912 playing opportunities
2. The average pace of play per round in 2020 was 4:18.
This average came from more than 5,000 tournament rounds (tee-timed threesomes) played across the country last year.
3. AJGA Careers received 1,708 internship applications.
Each year the #AJGAInternship remains one of the most sought after in sports. That proved to be the case again in 2021, as 1,708 candidates applied for the opportunity to expand their skill sets through our spring and summer programs. This year marked the most internship applications since 2017. Of the 1,708 applications, 854 candidates completed an interview.
The internship is the backbone of the AJGA and develops the next generation of golf industry leaders. #GivingTuesday gives you the chance to donate and be an essential part of every intern’s story: https://t.co/wkGVz234KK pic.twitter.com/MkpU1sWKRm
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) December 1, 2020
4. Supporting the local community, one donation at a time.
We started working with City of Hope Athens in January of 2020. Their goal is to bring relief to the needy and homeless in and around Athens, Georgia, by providing meals and warm clothing.
Last year we contributed through quarterly donations. The first quarter of 2020 called for shoes, gloves, knit hats, sweaters, sweat shirts, pants, socks and coats. Our staff rallied behind the cause, ultimately donating dozens of shoes and miscellaneous clothing items.
Unfortunately, second-quarter efforts were derailed by COVID-19. Due to the pandemic, City of Hope Athens was in desperate need of food. According to their team, they served over 5,600 lunches to families, senior adults and the homeless in May of 2020 alone, an increase of over 4,500 meals from May of 2019. Once our staff returned to the office in June however, we immediately sprung into action, collecting hundreds of perishable food items over the summer.
We rounded out the year by collecting various hygiene items.
In 2021, our Wellness Committee has decided to collect one item per month for City of Hope Athens. January's donation (white crew socks) will be delivered later today.
5. D&I remains top of mind entering the new year.
We're expanding on our commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in 2021 through various training sessions for our staff and interns. The first of a two-part series with the full-time staff took place this morning with Fabian De Rozario, who expanded on his unconscious bias training session from 2019.
De Rozario is a community and business leader who has led, coached, and trained thousands of people globally. He's a thought-leader and an energizing speaker in the topics of inclusive leadership, diversity & inclusion, unconscious bias, and cultural agility. In 2020 he delivered 143 webinars. His proprietary unconscious bias model and workshops have been deployed in several corporations globally.
Today's two-hour session focused on a number of topics ranging from understanding unconscious bias and the different realities people face to learning how to relate to others and have a conversation about race.
We're excited for De Rozario to share his expertise with our spring and summer interns over the course of four training sessions over the next several months.