We are truly blessed in our town to have the PGA Golf Management program (PGAGM) as part of the College of Business at New Mexico State University. The PGAGM program at NMSU was the third program in the nation to be endorsed by the Professional Golfers Association of America in 1987. Today it is one of a limited number of university programs accredited by the PGA of America. The 4 ½-year program leads to a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) with a major in Marketing and a specialization in Golf Management. Graduates of the PGAGM program are prepared for careers in staff positions at various golf facilities, teaching golf as well as a variety of golf industry positions. The PGAGM program was brought to NMSU in 1987 by the late Herb Wimberly, former NMSU men’s golf coach, and member of the PGA of America Hall of Fame. Since its inception, over 2,000 students have graduated from the program.
Part of the purpose of this article is to formally congratulate Josh Salmon with his appointment as Director of the PGAGM program as of May 1st, 2025. He replaced Pat Gavin who served as director for 32 years. Another kudo goes out to Pat for steering the program to great heights over those 32 years. Salmon had been Assistant Director of the program for the past 15 years. He is also President of the PGA Sun Country Section, which includes New Mexico and El Paso. I have known Josh for all of those 15 years and played many rounds of golf with him. We have shared some special times together on the golf course. He is a very fine golfer, and more importantly, a wonderful person.
NMSU is one of the few PGAGM programs in a university which has its own golf course. The NMSU Golf Course has hosted numerous NCAA golf championships, Callaway PGA Junior Series tournaments, USGA and Section PGA championships. NMSU conducts more than 50 PGAGM sanctioned golf tournaments in an academic year, paying out more than $120,000 in scholarships, prize money and gift certificates. These are some of the reasons that the NMSU program is one of the most popular and respected in the country.
NMSU students enrolled in the PGAGM program are required to complete 16 hours of internship, broken up in several parts. Some serve part of the internship at golf courses here in New Mexico. Some do their internships at very prestigious golf facilities, like Oakmont Country Club, where this year’s U.S. Open was held, and also Pebble Beach Golf Links in northern California. Interns at their host golf courses work in a wide variety of areas, including the cart barn, golf range and pro shop. When they leave college, they have training and real-time experience in all of these areas. Locally three of our golf courses have PGAGM program graduates as their head pros: Jason White at NMSU, Matt Sheehan at Red Hawk and Alex Duran at Picacho Hills.
I have always been personally connected to the PGAGM program. PGAGM graduate Austin Fields happens to be the PGA Pro at Lakewood Country Club, one of the high-end golf clubs in Dallas, where my son, Todd, is a member. My longtime friend Dan Machonde, a 1995 PGAGM program graduate, is the director of finance for all golf operations (792 holes of golf at 14 championship courses and 46 executive courses) at The Villages in central Florida.
Charlie Blanchard is a guest columnist and a retired golf teacher and writer. He can be reached at docblanchard71@gmail.com.
