Lynnfield native Abbie Weaver’s relationship with the game of golf has evolved over the years, and what started as a leisurely activity with her father and sister a few times a summer as a kid has now turned into a true career path.
Since April, Weaver has been working as a women’s events intern for Mass Golf under the United States Golf Association’s (USGA) P.J. Boatwright Internship.
“It’s an incredible honor to be given the opportunity to get this internship and work with Mass Golf,” said Weaver, who graduated from UMass-Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management in 2020 with a degree in sport management and marketing.
“I’m excited to gain a more comprehensive knowledge of the game of golf and to grow my network within the golf community. I also look forward to working with female golfers in hopes of growing representation and leadership within our demographic in the sport.”
The internship’s namesake, P.J. Boatwright, was the USGA’s third executive director and was one of the sport’s key founders in terms of developing golf in the United States. Boatwright was an amateur player, a rules expert and served as the executive director of the Carolinas Golf Association prior to joining the USGA in 1959. Boatwright was a recipient of the USGA’s highest honor in the Bob Jones Award, and was also enshrined in the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, the Wofford College Hall of Fame and the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame, among other honors.
The USGA is funding 135 internships across its network of 59 Allied Golf Associations in 2021 through the P.J. Boatwright Internship program. Currently, one-third of all state and regional golf association staff members are alumni of the Boatwright program. That number includes 21 AGA executive directors and 16 USGA staff members.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the P.J. Boatwright intern program. The USGA has invested more than $30 million into the program since it launched in 1991, and those efforts have helped to propel the careers of more than 3,000 individuals.
Weaver never really focused too much on golf during her high school days, as she was busy being a three-sport athlete and team captain in soccer, basketball and softball at Lynnfield High. But as the years went on — and especially last year during the pandemic — Weaver found that golf was really the only place she could meet with and see her friends and family in a safe, fun atmosphere.
“I didn’t focus on golf as much because I was so busy doing my other sports, but I always loved and had a really strong respect for the game,” said Weaver. “With the pandemic last summer, it was really a great way to see friends and family, and eventually I was playing probably once a week.”
That eventually led to her applying for a job within Mass Golf’s First Tee program. After she didn’t get the position, she figured that was the end of that. But then First Tee Director of Operations Kyle Harris called her back and said there was an opening in the internship program which would suit her much better.
And so now she finds herself working women’s events and tournaments for Mass Golf, including hosting women’s clinics during National Women in Golf Day on June 1. She works hand in hand with Mass Golf Manager of Women’s Events and Player Development Naomi Nesenoff.
“(Nesenoff) has so much experience and she has been such a great person to work for,” said Weaver. “Being a woman in the sports industry is always going to be about growing our representation within the game, so it’s nice to be able to make a small impact on that.”
One of the big things that sticks out to Weaver is that of the six Boatwright interns this year, three of them are women — the highest number for one year in the program’s history.
And for Weaver, someone who is relatively late coming into the world of golf, there were never any feelings of unwelcomeness or awkwardness when she showed up to the Mass Golf offices.
“Golf is such a tight-knit community and everyone knows everyone, more so than any other sport I know of,” said Weaver. “That’s really intimidating as someone who’s fairly new to the game in this capacity, but everyone has been so welcoming and helpful. Most of the people on the staff are former Boatwright interns as well, so they all know where we’re coming from and they’ve incredibly helpful.”
As for what’s next, Weaver will be spending the next month or so bouncing around the office to different departments and getting a taste of what other aspects of the organization are like. In addition, she’ll be doing a lot of preparation work for all of the summer tournaments coming up.
“It’s going to be an exciting time for me because I’ll be able to bounce around and see how the big championships are run, then I’ll also get to see how some of the tournament setup things are done and see what all the other departments are doing,” she said. “My goal is to just keep gaining experience and knowledge about how the operations side of the game works.”