The following is a Q&A with Kirkwood Community College Alumni Matt Erger, Class of 1995. Erger is owner and club PGA Professional of Airport National Public Golf Course in Cedar Rapids.
Why did you choose to go to Kirkwood and what was your major? It was as simple as Kirkwood was local and had a golf team. I played golf in high school and wanted to continue to play golf in college. I was not recruited or anything. I attended the tryouts and made the team. That following summer started I started working part time at Airport National. It was close to Kirkwood, so I could work and also practice.
I asked the golf professional that was running Airport National for advice on how to get into the golf business. At that time there was no major that was specific to the golf business. So, I got my Liberal Arts degree at Kirkwood and Business Admiration degree at Mount Mercy. There are now a couple universities with golf management degrees.
What inspired you to go in the direction of owning a golf course? I just love golf and being around the game of golf. I would say the biggest inspiration was the golf professional at Airport National when I started working part time.
For me it’s great to be able to make a living as an extension of my favorite hobby. It’s fun running outings and tournaments, giving golf lessons and the big variety of responsibilities that come with operating a golf course.
How has your degree/major you earned at Kirkwood helped you in this venture? I would have to say that many courses I took for my major helped in some ways. Some courses had nothing to do with golf but surprisingly could relate in some way. The business, marketing, accounting and customer service courses were helpful.
How did you decide on the location? I did not start Airport National from the beginning. The golf pro who hired me was from Waterloo. He and his partner had done research on our type of golf course. They visited similar facilities in a couple surrounding states and decided our facility would be most successful in Cedar Rapids not Waterloo. It opened in early May 1994, and I started working part-time in June.
Once I graduated from Mount Mercy, I started working fulltime as an Assistant Golf Professional. The PGA of America has a Golf Professional Training Program that I completed and became a member of the PGA of America. Some investors and I bought Airport National from the previous owner in 2019. This is my 30th year working here.
Have you ever thought of expanding? I have not thought about expanding during my ownership. The original vision of the old owners was to build two or three more similar facilities during the late 90’s. This was a time when golf was booming and so many other courses were built, they decided the market had too many courses and decided not to expand.
If you were asked to speak at Kirkwood to a class from your major, what advice would you give them? This is a tough question with my occupation of working in the golf business being so specific. I do know other golf professionals who are good at what they do and attended universities with golf business degrees. I also know others who got a degree in something else not related to golf and are very good at running their golf course.
Overall, I would tell them to follow their dreams and try to use what they have learned from Kirkwood whether it’s their major or something else.
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