Posted: June 17, 2009

Golf has provided Adam Schumacher with some unforgettable moments the last few weeks.

The recently graduated Oak Creek senior now hopes the sport will provide him with a career.

Schumacher, who competed in the WIAA Division 1 State Golf Tournament earlier this month and is currently vacationing and golfing in Bermuda with his father, Carl, is enrolled at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., next fall. There, he will participate in the Professional Golf Management program designed for those interested in a career as a golf professional who serves the amateur golfer.

"I think it's going to suit Adam very well," said Barb Schumacher, Adam's mother. "Golf has been such a passion of Adam's. He's had a total focus on golf. It was obviously he wanted to do something with golf. In researching, he somehow found out about this program at Ferris."

The program, establish in 1975 at Ferris State, was the first of its kind in the nation sanctioned by the Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA).

Ferris State Professional Golf Management undergraduate degree students complete a bachelor's degree in business with a major in marketing. Integrated into the 4½-year curriculum is approximately 16 months of paid on-the-job-training and three internships, one each at a public course, a private course and a resort.

Students must complete three levels of advancement to graduate and must also pass a playing ability test.

According to Barb Schumacher, 80 students are accepted into the Ferris State program each year, and approximately 20 colleges or universities offer some sort of golf management programs.

"As his mom, I feel lucky that he has a good head start with what he thinks he wants to do," she said. "Ferris is a good fit. Chances are really good he'll do well."

Adam Schumacher left for Bermuda on Sunday, the day after attending Oak Creek's graduation ceremony, and could not be reached for comment. He finished his prep career with a two-day score of 155 at the state meet at University Ridge in Madison on June 8 and 9. His teammate and fellow senior Michael Fischbach shot a 162.

Both players were consistent. Schumacher shot a 78 the first day and followed with a 77. Fischbach, who plans on majoring in engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee beginning in fall, shot a pair of 81s.

They were the first Knights to qualify for state since 2000.

"Both kids played well," Oak Creek coach Joe Cota said. "Neither really got their putters going and it cost them some strokes. In a tournament with the best in the state, those strokes are going to add up.

"It was nice to see these two get the chance to play in this tournament and end their high school golf years there. Both deserved to be there."

The meet was also the last for Cota, who resigned as the Knights coach after nine years as head coach (13 overall).

"I got to this point last year and I wasn't sure if I could do another year," Cota said. "But I had a senior-dominated year and didn't want to leave them too high and dry. But I have three kids playing Little League and on tournament teams, and I want to spend more time with them."