In 1951, the Professional Golfer's Association (PGA) code of ethics included a passage describing the necessity for a professional golfer to uphold the sport of golf above material gains in order to serve the game, fellow golfers, the industry of golf. Coupling five years golf experience with industry knowledge and respect for fellow professionals and golfers formed the foundation for the PGA professional. Clearly, the PGA, for many years, has held a position that the professional golfer must develop a specific identity that enables him or her to uphold the role of golf professional in the eyes of the PGA and in the eyes of the golf consuming public. Beginning in 1975 at Ferris State University, the PGA, and the university, formed a partnership and curriculum to develop future PGA professionals known as the Professional Golf Management University Program. Building from the success of the Ferris State Program, the PGA expanded the PGM University program to an additional 19 institutions within the United States. Since its inception, the PGM University Program has produced hundreds of graduates and boasts a 100% job placement rate (PGA Education, 2013). Through the use of qualitative research methods (i.e., ethnography, participant observation, autoethnography, and interviews), I investigated the impact that a PGM University program has on the identity development of its students. Guided by theories of identity (Brown, 2000; Burke & Stets, 2009; Hogg & Terry, 2000; Hogg et al., 1995; Tajfel, 1974; Tajfel & Turner, 1979), the social theory of Pierre Bourdieu (1978, 1984, 1988) Ericsson and colleagues' theory of deliberate practice (1993), and theory pertaining to self-presentation (Leary, 1996), I provide a conceptual model of golf professional identity formation that is cognizant of personal histories, economic realities, and the influence of deliberate sport practice. Resulting from eighteen months of participant observation and interviews with ten students, I found that the PGM program had a distinct impact on both the role and social identities of the students, and that they formed a PGM influenced social identity prior to a PGM influenced role identity. I also found that deliberate practice was important for the group and was utilized to attain the skill level necessary to pass the Playing Ability Test (PAT); however, the use of deliberate practice tapered off after the completion of the (PAT). Emanating from the results of the project, I offer theoretical and practical implications for the study of identity, and deliberate practice. I conclude by offering future research directions and by offering an informed critique of the focal PGM program.
