She didn’t grow up with golf. But now the game is her future

Twenty-one-year-old Anna La grew up in Georgia without meaningful exposure to golf. Today, the University of Georgia senior is plotting a career in the game.

La has blazed her unlikely trail thanks in large part to a three-month social-media internship with Callaway last summer — an opportunity fostered by the USGA’s Pathways Launch, a program that offers 24 participants summer gigs at 10 organizations across the golf industry.

Pathways Launch, which just completed its first year, is designed for graduate and undergraduate students seeking to work in golf or sports. The paid internships are funded jointly by both the USGA and the participating organizations, which include the LPGA, PGA of America and PGA Tour, Dick’s Sporting Goods/Golf Galaxy, Golf Pride, Pebble Beach Company and Pinehurst Resort & Country Club. Each organization offers positions that emphasize the development of on-the-job skills, mentorship and leadership training.

The goal is to widen the pipeline of golf’s next-generation workforce by offering opportunities to individuals with backgrounds that have largely been underrepresented in the sport.

Young people like Anna La.

La’s family immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam when she was 5 years old. Growing up in Dalton, Ga., about 90 miles north of Atlanta, Anna loved sports but golf was never a consideration.

“My family was always busy, so I had never really had the opportunity to try golf or go to lessons, or just have the resources to really be able to give golf a try,” she said. “We all kind of grew up with this idea that golf is only for, like, wealthy families. So, they never really thought that I would have the opportunity to try golf or be exposed to it.”

That changed when La met her boyfriend in college. His family was into golf, and La started accompanying them to the course.

“When I first met him, we were always on the golf course,” she said. “I was picking up a little bit of the golf lingo, learning different terms, just being on the course. I really, really enjoyed it.”

La had long been into sports photography, digital content and website design, and had transferred to Georgia for its sports-media program. But she hadn’t yet landed on a sport in which she had a particular interest. Now she had one.

“I knew I wanted to intern in sports,” she said. “I knew I wanted to look for golf specifically, and [Pathways Launch] was just the perfect opportunity. I was like, I’m gonna give this a shot. I kind of decided, you know what, I really want to work in the golf industry, and you miss all the chances that you don’t take, so I went and I applied and it was just so incredible that I got the experience to go through it and be accepted to the program.”

La moved to Carlsbad, Calif., to work at Callaway, where she created content both onsite and off, reviewed how it performed, edited videos and learned new digital platforms.

“One of my favorite things about being there was definitely the environment,” she said. “It really felt like a close-knit family, because everyone was constantly collaborating. Everyone’s constantly bouncing ideas, like, ‘Hey, I like this, I don’t like this, maybe we should take this direction’ — just that environment where it’s very communicative.

“I felt like I was a part of that team. I never once felt like I wasn’t.”

La returned to Georgia this fall to continue to pursue her master’s in Journalism and Mass Communication with a concentration in Emerging Media, as well as to serve as a USGA College Ambassador, with the aim of sharing her Pathways Launch experience with others on campus.

“I didn’t grow up with the game,” La said. “But I have found this passion through this internship. I got exposure to the careers that exist within it that I didn’t know before, and I found that I have a passion for it. I hope to continue to work in golf in the future.”

Many other Pathways Launch participants also returned to college this fall, but some already received job offers. Of the initial group, one was hired full-time by the organization where they completed their internship, and another received a similar offer. Two other participants found jobs through connections they made during the program. The USGA said 100 percent of surveyed participants reported that they feel better prepared for the workforce, would recommend Pathways Launch to other students and are interested in serving as future program ambassadors, and more than 90 percent of participants said the experience encouraged them to pursue a career in golf.

La’s golf-media journey is already set to continue on its upward trajectory, as she was recently awarded the Golf Writers Association of America scholarship for 2026-27, which will enable her to work alongside golf-media professionals at a marquee event in 2027.

“You don’t have to know everything about golf,” La said. “Anyone can have a career in golf if they really wanted to give it a shot.”

Applications for the 2027 Pathways Launch internship program are currently being accepted. You can learn more here.