FGCU junior lands internship at one of golf’s biggest stages

LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — Inside Florida Gulf Coast University’s swing lab, junior Cole Tolbert is already preparing for a future in golf.

The junior in the PGA Golf Management program is learning the game from every angle, from course management to swing metrics.

Tolbert’s love of golf started with his dad, who introduced him to the game when he was about 6 years old. Now, that game has earned him an internship at one of golf’s biggest stages.

“Coming up in early May, I'll be starting at Aronamink Golf Club,” Tolbert said. “It's a golf course in Philly, but they're hosting the 2026 PGA championship, one of the four golf majors.”

FGCU’s program is built for opportunities like this. It is the only PGA-accredited program in Florida and one of 16 in the country, combining classroom work, hands-on training and real experience across the golf industry.

Marty Hall, assistant director of the program, said students are placed in courses across the country through the program’s internship network.

“We place students all across the United States. Everywhere from Pebble Beach to Nantucket in the summer,” Hall said. “So it's really quite an honor for our program to be represented on a national level.”

For Tolbert, the internship means even more because of the memories he has of watching golf’s majors with his dad.

“Being a golfer, I grew up with golf with my dad, and so we see every major; we always watch it together,” Tolbert said. “So, to be able to be on site and just really see kind of the behind the scenes of one actually happening, that's gonna be a really, really cool experience.”

Tolbert said he hopes to use the experience to keep building toward a future as a PGA professional.

The PGA Championship starts May 14.