Given Lauren Shelly’s passion for the American Junior Golf Association and growing the game at all levels, it’s hard to imagine she was once unfamiliar with the golf industry.
While her family members were all avid golfers itching to book their next tee time, Shelly did not grow up playing the sport. She had a broad understanding of the game, but her personal experience started and ended with miniature golf.
That all changed in a major way. Shelly has spent the past 16 years with the AJGA and is now the vice president of human resources, making a substantial impact on the organization and beyond.
The unexpected path to the golf industry started after she graduated from Elon University in 2007 with a degree in communications. A family friend recommended the AJGA internship, and Shelly was soon invited to that year’s Intern Recruiting Weekend where she joined other candidates in interviewing and learning more about the organization. After attending IRW, she fell in love with the AJGA and earned a position as a communications intern for the following summer.
During the internship, Shelly discovered her passion for event planning and parlayed that into a job as an AJGA tournament director, where she ran an event in almost every region and found a solid support group that patiently answered all of her questions. Her biggest takeaway was learning how to manage intern teams and how to work with people internally and externally with a variety of roles, from communications staff to tournament sponsors and host courses.
Through hard work and dedicating herself to the new role she found a lot of success – and quickly grew to understand the nuances of golf. In her first year taking the USGA Rules exam, she earned “expert” rules certification with a 96 on the rigorous 100-question test.
“It was the hardest thing that I have studied for in my entire life,” Shelly said. “It beats anything in high school and definitely in college. I had struggled during the class training sessions and have never been a good test taker. But I learned a lot.”
Shelly’s college experience in leadership programs, consulting and overseeing regulations in her sorority, provided her with relevant expertise for a job in human resources. After 10 months as a tournament director, she moved into a role as director of recruiting and special events, a position she would hold for 10 years, from 2008 to ’18. She would then become the director of training and development for nearly five years before being promoted to vice president of human resources in January. The current role, which focuses on recruiting, employee development and overseeing the internship program, is a continuation of what she has been doing throughout her time with the AJGA.
When Shelly first transitioned into her new department, she had to build a team from scratch to conduct staff events, recruit for the internship program and plan the Rolex Junior All-America Awards Banquet.
“Lauren’s tireless commitment to sourcing and cultivating top-tier talent has been instrumental in elevating our organization.” — Stephen Hamblin, executive director of the AJGA
The banquet has been a particular source of pride. The outing, which brings together the best junior golfers around the world each year to celebrate their accomplishments, runs adjacent to the AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions. Shelly has overseen the event for more than 15 years. Coordinating this prestigious event takes hard work and careful planning, but Shelly says it is a very rewarding process.
“I’ve seen big golfers now such as Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Scottie Scheffler, Rose Zhang, Megha Ganne and Ariya Jutanugarn,” Shelly said. “I’ve seen them all as teenagers and have gotten the chance to help them work on their speech. It’s just been super incredible.”
Shelly’s impact is particularly evident in her contributions to the AJGA’s internship program. Under her guidance, the internship program has flourished, evolving from a few hundred applicants to more than 1,000 applications annually. The program has turned into a competitive internship within the golf and sports industry and is recognized by many major golf entities as one of the best internships in sports.
With more than 130 events on the AJGA schedule, 100-plus interns are needed annually to run tournaments in the spring and summer. More than 85 percent of the AJGA full-time staff were once an intern with the organization, so as the schedule grew, so did the internship program and the need to produce quality candidates – not just for the internship but for full-time employment.
Because of that, Shelly has played a significant role in hiring almost every full-time staff member for the last decade-plus.
“Lauren’s tireless commitment to sourcing and cultivating top-tier talent has been instrumental in elevating our organization,” said Stephen Hamblin, executive director of the AJGA. “Her dedication to recruiting, hiring and training the best and brightest interns is a testament to her unwavering pursuit of excellence, remarkably talented staff and ensuring the future success and growth of the American Junior Golf Association.”
To make the AJGA an appealing and valuable workplace, Shelly looked to improve the development and training aspect of the organization. She focused on bringing the best seminars and workshops to the company to promote personal and professional development.
Beyond her impact with the internship, Shelly also has worked to make the AJGA and golf in general more welcoming and inclusive. As a female professional in the sports industry, she recognizes the importance of promoting a space that keeps diversity, equity and inclusion top of mind.
She fosters an environment in which female voices are heard and emphasizes the importance of being bold and strategic in a male-dominated industry. Recently, the Women in Golf Foundation honored Shelly by inviting her to join its board of directors, which speaks volumes on her leadership within the golf industry. As a female representative of the AJGA, her ability to inspire, lead and teach within the industry showcases her passion for the game.
Shelly’s journey within the AJGA symbolizes not only her individual growth, but also the significant impact she has had on the organization over the years. Her journey from a communications major to a pivotal role in HR and recruiting exemplifies the power of dedication, passion and ability to grow within any domain – even if her career in golf was unexpected.
“I would be happy if my career began and ended with the AJGA,” Shelly said. “I don’t know what the timeline on that looks like for me, but the one thing I can say is that in my time here, I will make sure that the AJGA is getting better and better.
“I will continue to pour everything that I have to make sure this place is a great place for our staff and future staff.”
Angela Ding is a communications coordinator at the AJGA.