Give us a rundown of your path to being selected. How did you get in? How long did it take?

What position did you apply for?

Do the workers go into a lottery to play to course like the media members do?

For anyone looking to apply, the window opens in October. You'll pick a general area (I went with Merchandising Operations), but don't wait too longteams fill up quickly.

The process involves an online application, followed by a recorded interview and some personality/cognitive tests. Basically, they want to make sure you're a sharp communicator and a good culture fit. As Aggies, we're naturally built for this, so I'm betting any of you would have a great shot!

I got my "yes" in December. My father-in-law and brother-in-law (both Aggies) also applied with me, and we all got in. They ended up at the South Village Golf Shop, and I was assigned to Berckmans.

I applied for Merchandising Operations, which is a large team. After you are selected they narrow down your assignment and location based on your interview and fit.

Once you are in, are you typically automatically offered to come back again the next year? Of course, assuming you didn't do something to get fired/banned

The only workers who get to play the course in late May are the volunteer positions (Gallery Guards, Scoreboard, etc.). Paid positions do not get to come back and play but they have plenty of perks while they are there:

- You get to watch golf every single day
- You get to shop for merchandise when the patrons are gone, basically a private shop, which is incredible because the shops are a bit chaotic during the day.
- Free food/drinks every day
- You have access to employee only areas
- You do get paid overtime after 40 hours, which you will hit quickly. This can easily pay for your trip or merchandise haul.
- In Berckmans you get to meet and interact with AGNC Members and numerous celebrities (mainly those from the sports world).

Also, it is not a lottery for the volunteers, they are guaranteed to play. I have quite a bit of insight into this as several of my family members have been gallery guards.

Yes, that is correct. You don't have to apply again, you get emailed in October asking if you want to come back.

Great thread!

What is the pay?

Did you get to putt on the greens at Berckmans?

Most positions are $10-$20/hr base. OT is paid at 2.5x.

I didn't get to putt but I did walk them and talk with some of the team there. That is a sweet position if you can get it. Each green has a AGNC caddie and several employees.

Do you live in the area? if not did you guys all rent a place together?

Did they cover your housing cost?
Any cool interactions with members/celebs?
What's the most you saw someone spend?

No, we live in central Texas. We just found an AirBnB in Waynesboro (about 45 minutes from AGNC) and shared it. If we do it again we will try to stay closer.

Housing costs is covered for supervisors and for some of the employees who are part of a University work/study. All others, you are on your own. We found a reasonable AirBnB about 45 minutes away for just over $2k for the 10 days.

Yes, one morning, before we were open, when walking down the main corridor in Berckmans, Peyton Manning walked right by me, we were the only 2 in the whole hallway. We just exchanged brief greetings as I knew he was about to get swarmed by patrons. Still pretty cool!

Most I saw was $18k in a single transaction.

wsteed311 said:

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No, we live in central Texas. We just found an AirBnB in Waynesboro (about 45 minutes from AGNC) and shared it. If we do it again we will try to stay closer.

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Did you get upset by all the TexAgs guys (like me) asking for stuff?

do you work the entire week or only specific days? Also, do they offer these positions the prior week for the women's amateur event?

Did you burn up all your PTO, or are you retired or something else?

Ha, no sir, it wasn't that bad.

I trained on Sunday the 5th and worked the 6th-12th. My father and brother in laws trained on the 3rd and worked the 4th (women's amateur) and the 6th-12th.

I am in the medical field so front/back loading schedules is easy to do without losing much PTO.

do you have to commit for the ENTIRE time?
or will they at least do a block of one week?
I'd be shocked if they allowed anything less than a week....would require hiring even more people and headache of coordinating a ton of scheduling

and is the entire time 10 days? 12 days? 14 days?

You have to do the whole time. Most are 9-10 days, depending on the position. However, they are flexible if you need to leave early (ie catch a flight).

When you apply is there a reference needed - ie do you get preferential looks if you have a reference with someone who has worked with ANGC already before?

What are the other areas other than merchandise that are decent positions? ie- sounds awful to be a restroom attendant for 10 hours each day.

Do you have any insight to volunteering? Is it pretty much have to know someone and if they get the bead that someone is retiring they can give you a heads up to apply somehow?

Lastly, what kind of folks did you run across in berckmans? Mostly members' guests? I assume also higher ups with partner companies (mercedes, rolex etc) ?

You don't have to have a reference but there is a section you can list one if you happen to know someone. I do have a family member in a higher up position there, not sure if it helped or not.

Other areas that looked appealing to me would be the concierge areas, gate greeters, all of the golf shop positions. Yes there are some positions that are more appealing to older guys like me and some that have more physical demands that the younger guys like. They definitely keep that in mind when assigning you somewhere.

I do have insight into the gallery guards. There are over 400 of them that work the tournament and only about 10-15 that are new each year. It basically comes down to who you know for those positions, they are not openly applied to.

The majority of patrons I interacted with at Berckmans were corporate. Most were hosting clients or being hosted. I did see several "member guest" badges as well. One gentleman I spoke with told me he had a Berckmans "membership" the last 12 years but wasn't sure if he was going to be able to renew. I am unsure what the qualifications are. All of the patrons were very respectful towards tournament employees. If you told them no to a request or to remove their hat they were very responsive. It's almost like everyone is nervous to get kicked out of the place so they follow directions well. I also noticed several patrons would address us by our first names, which I have always found to be an admirable trait.

In those other positions you saw that you said you may like, do you know their general job description? Do you get a lot of breaks through the day?

How did it feel at the end- like a grind Or was it still magical?

Anything in "merchandising" is going to be tied to the golf shops. I believe my father in law applied as a "greeter" and they put him "greeting" in the golf shop. If you decide to apply once the positions come out in October, DM me and I can guide you.

We got plenty of breaks, basically whenever you needed one, you just take it, very little micromanagement. Just communicate with your team and you are good. The largest breaks were lunch, ample time to grab some food and head to the course.

If definitely is a grind if you are not accustomed to being on your feet all day. Days were long (630am-730pm) but the rewards were worth it to me. My father-in-law is 77 and he survived. We were definitely exhausted but loved our experience.

Appreciate ya going through all this with us.

Did you get any significant blocks of time to go the course?

You have a wife or kiddos? Just curious what 10 days away is like and if it's gets a little lonely after you're done working. I imagine you're probably just dead tired and sleeping when you're not working though !