Jess Dengate’s lifelong education in golf has opened new career opportunities

With golf as the regular family outing growing up in Byron Bay on the New South Wales North Coast, Jess Dengate was born to live, breathe and work in the game.

Having played in elite amateur teams, it was a natural choice for Dengate to turn professional. However, while she was plying her trade on the WPGA Tour of Australasia (then the ALPG Tour), she was also completing the PGA Membership Pathway Program at Yarra Yarra Golf Club, becoming a PGA professional in 2017.

“I tried to play a little bit, wasn’t quite good enough, but I had some pretty awesome experiences on tour as well,” Dengate says. 

“I came back in 2017 to settle into, I guess, normal life if you will, in club-land. I wanted to use my PGA qualifications, work in pro shops and coach for a little while. I gradually found my way into the admin team where I am now at Latrobe.”

Working as the operations manager at Latrobe Golf Club in Melbourne’s north-east, Dengate is making use of her vast experience in the world of golf as well as her learnings from studying at the PGA Institute. Then known as the PGA International Golf Institute when she was a student, Dengate undertook the Diploma of Golf Management. That created several opportunities for a tour player such as herself looking at the next step in their career.

“Leaving the tour, I knew I had to find a bridge between the practical sense of the game and getting some business education,” she says. “I wasn’t quite ready for the step into full-time university yet, so the institute was a great stepping stone. That first year, getting those credits for a university degree provided a great pathway into the golf industry.”

The PGA Institute has a proud list of partners with higher education providers. Students today can go on to study selected bachelor degrees with Griffith University, Deakin University, Torrens University, Victoria University and Holmesglen TAFE with the credits they earn.

On top of the pathways the institute opened for Dengate, the flexible nature and self-driven study options suited her well.

“The flexibility was great too, working as well as studying, being able to do both and figure out my path,” she says. “The opportunity to do it remotely, rather than on-site, for me made the biggest difference.”

As well as her role at Latrobe, Dengate has been a proud WPGA Tour of Australasia board member since 2016. Now vice-president, her passion for women in golf stretches from the professionals all the way down to grassroots at club-land.

“When I started on the board, we only had three tournaments for the 2017 season,” Dengate says. “To see where the tour is now is pretty special in terms of growth for women’s golf. Golf Australia, the PGA, and the WPGA all working together in a much closer sense than they used to has definitely helped equality in the women’s game at club level.”

Dengate is an invaluable asset to both Latrobe Golf Club and the WPGA Tour of Australasia. With her wealth of knowledge within the golf industry, coupled with her PGA Institute studies, she understands the needs of the members she works for, and represents them in a meaningful way. 

For information on the education opportunities available through the PGA Institute, visit pgaigi.com