Pateros graduate sinks hole in one with PGA scholarship

Aiden Hall

COURTESY OF NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY

PATEROS -- Aidan Hall, a 2021 graduate of Pateros High School and now attending New Mexico State University, shot the equivalent of a hole-in-one when he was selected as one among 25 students at 15 colleges awarded a prestigious $8,000 scholarship from the PGA WORKS John and Tamara Lundgren Scholars Program. 

Hall is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing with a concentration on PGA golf management.

“In our program, every summer, we do internships, so we can go pretty much anywhere,” Hall told the Quad City Herad. “There are so many opportunities in the U.S. and internationally.”

Hall is using his internship tour to explore both options and locations.

“There are three avenues in the PGA, the golf operations side, the teaching/coaching side, and the greens and maintenance side,” said Hall. “Our program defaults to the golf operations side.”

Golf operations appear to Hall.

“I am really into golf clubs and the gear behind it, giving lessons and all of that,” said Hall. “I want to lean more toward the equipment side of things. That requires me to do a little extra work on my internships and find places that may not traditionally have interns to get the specialized training I want.”

Hall played tennis at Pateros. He said his family was very skeptical when he announced his career choice. 

“When I pulled some data a few years ago, golf pros were not making a ton of money,” said Hall. “And the job is kind of seasonal where we are.”

Then, Hall’s father accompanied him to the NMSU campus, where he got a firsthand look at the program.

“I recall him asking for his own application to go back to college to do that,” Hall said. 

Since its inception in 2018, a total of 93 individuals have earned PGA WORKS Golf Management University scholarships totaling $744,000. 

Scholarships were presented to talented and motivated students from diverse backgrounds who are working toward PGA of America membership through one of the 16 accredited PGA Golf Management University Programs across the nation.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media