After successful junior, collegiate and even professional golf careers, four women have found their way to GolfForever, a company that extends golfers’ playing time through proper body warmup and recovery programs and products. Their respective journeys show not only how they leveraged their golf skills within the industry, but also a path for women looking to follow in their footsteps — and the importance in doing so.
These current GolfForever employees’ stories may have started similarly — on the driving range with family as children — but their experiences differ after college golf. How did these four women end up at GolfForever? And how are they changing the golf industry game for other women?
Let’s find out.
Stacy Borkowski, GolfForever's vice president of sales, spent her first 12 years after graduating from the University of Kentucky at Nike Golf. After a short stint selling steel, she realized how much she missed the golf industry and returned to it with Adidas for four years. “I knew I wanted to make a greater impact on the industry, so when my friend Courtney Trimble with Fore Hire told me about the chance to build out the wholesale division for a startup company, GolfForever, I leaped at the opportunity," she says. "I never felt this gratification selling shirts and shoes, so it has been incredible.”
Megan Burnham also found her role as executive administrator at GolfForever through Trimble. Fore Hire, which hosted the Women Who Want to Work in Golf event in May 2023, is all about connecting current and former women golfers with jobs in the industry.
Burnham's path began as a doctor's office manager after college, but she realized that aspect of healthcare wasn’t her passion. She now gets to apply her administrative expertise to a company that combines her two interests.
“I am extremely passionate about golf and fitness," Burnham says. "GolfForever is changing the way that most golfers view fitness, but most importantly, it is helping people do the activities they love for longer, pain free.”
Kerri Costello, national sales manager, has been promoting partnerships well before her time at GolfForever. She worked at the Acushnet Company, home of Titleist and FootJoy, first in customer service and then as the inaugural Player Development Representative. “In this role I supported the women’s amateur game through premium products and exceptional service and it was incredibly motivating," she says. "I traveled the country 150-plus days a year, as a one-woman show, following the world's best women's amateur players while also trying to find those rising stars and building positive relationships.”
Nicole Hage, business development manager, also spent plenty of time on the road as an LPGA Tour player for six years before joining GolfForever in January 2022. In fact, her current role still keeps her on the road quite a bit. “I am constantly on back-to-back-to-back calls meeting new and old friends in the golf industry and feeding each funnel — e.g. marketing, social, sales, etc. with new leads, partnerships or collabs.”
Despite the distinct paths to their respective current positions, they all agree that the culture and mission of GolfForever was appealing to them and will be to any other female looking to transition roles or careers.
“GolfForever recognizes the opportunity to not only provide successful female professionals the space to feel supported in their career, but also empower [them] to be as successful as possible with no ceiling,” Costello says. “Women are undervalued in the golf industry. Unfortunately, I have seen dozens leave [it]. Growing the game is something that takes everyone, in every aspect of the industry. If we continue not investing in some of the best, we will never be able to accomplish the overarching goal of the entire industry to push the game forward.”
The benefits to working in the golf industry are becoming abundantly clear to leaders in this space. Burnham explains the sentiment behind the boom in women working at GolfForever, saying, “I'm extremely proud to work for a golf company that recognizes [women’s unique perspectives] and makes a strong effort to hire the most talented, hard-working women in the business,” she says.
All current and former players looking to break into this industry have an unmistakable advantage. “I think being a woman in golf definitely makes you stand out in the crowd and is huge when it comes to networking," Hage says. "Take advantage of the game and all you've already put into it. The knowledge and skill you have is so valuable. I say it's like being able to speak another language — that is how much value-add you can bring to a company being able to play and speak golf as a woman."
Borkowski expands on the different roles you can find within the golf space.
“As someone who has spent almost my entire career in golf, I have seen firsthand how we can make a difference," she says. "Whether you are a pro at a club, a golf instructor, work in a retail store, sell for a manufacturer, design product, recruit, manage PR or marketing efforts or are an agronomist, there is such a wide variety of roles that could fit with your skill set. I have always felt that when your skills and passions align, it is easy to love what you do and it really never feels like work.”
All four of these women have proven themselves to be ardent supporters of not just the women’s game, but of the women themselves.
“Invest in professional relationships, male and female, that will give you the motivation you need during a roadblock when challenging the golf industry’s current ceiling for women," Costello says. "The women in golf who pushed the status quo depend on you. Every little girl who aspires to work in golf depends on you. You depend on you. If we don’t, why should any decision makers believe in changing the current upward mobility of women in golf?”
