Virginia Golfer September / October 2015 | Page 9

The Virginia Golfer Conversation Boatwright intern Abby Daniels defines the margin of a lateral water hazard. Career Course How the USGA’s P.J. Boatwright Internship Program Is Developing the Golf Industry’s Future Leaders | by ARTHUR UTLEY MAGGIE WATTS, VSGA STAFF I t’s all right to say that nearly all of the young men and women working for state and regional golf associations under the auspices of the P.J. Boatwright Internship knew little, if anything, about the man the internship memorializes when they applied for the program. Boatwright, a longtime executive director of rules and competitions for the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the foremost authority on the Rules of Golf, died of bone cancer at the age of 63 in 1991. The USGA established the internship program the same year. Most of the current Boatwright interns weren’t even born then. When they decided to apply for what is a coveted internship, they knew what it offered in the way of exposure and experience for a career path in golf administration. “When you’re young and in college, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is you vsga.org want to do, so this internship is a great opportunity to go a