Internship Program

In 2003, we formalized our internship program, and each year we typically receive about 50 applications from around the world. The goal of the program has always been to provide room for the growth of young people who are enthusiastic about golf and design. Our former interns have not only contributed to our success, but have gone on to help build great golf courses for other designers, as well. We are committed to providing such opportunities wherever and whenever we can.

Unfortunately, such positions do not come along at regular intervals these days. It does a student intern little good to sit in our office and wait for the phone to ring, and we can only use applicants to staff projects when our projects are in the proper phase of construction, which is not always during university summer vacations.

We encourage potential applicants to stay abreast of where we are busy (via this web site) and to contact us when the time and situation are appropriate. Timing is everything! You are welcome to visit our offices in Traverse City, or to send in your resume and portfolios for consideration; but we prefer to meet students in the field so we can get a better sense of what their abilities are and how they might fit in, and we will remember you better that way.

If you do wish to contact us by mail, you should address the following questions:

1. What is your interest in golf?
2. Why do you want a job with us?, and
3. What do you think you would bring to one of our projects, if we should hire you?

Anyone interested in pursuing a career in golf architecture should fully understand the cyclical nature of the golf course development business; it is not a career for the faint of heart, nor for those who aren't willing to pick up and move to wherever the work may be. At the same time, I recall that when I was in school back in 1979-82, the market looked equally bleak, and that only helped to sift through the candidates so that there was less competition in the next boom phase. Perseverance is no guarantee of success, but you will get nowhere without it.

Tom Doak

Past & Current Renaissance Golf Design Interns: