Q&A With Dan Hershberg General Manager/Founder, Amateur Golf Society of America

By Joe Burkhardt, Publisher

Q What age were you when you first picked a club up?

Dan: I was 13 years old when I played golf for the first time. My family has a lake house in the mountains of Maine and while we almost never watched TV at the cabin, my mom would occasionally turn on golf, a sport she would watch regularly at home in Philadelphia. During one weekend round, I saw Payne Stewart with his famous argyle socks and decided to imitate him, coming downstairs from my bedroom and suggesting to my dad that we play the sport ourselves. My father, who to that point had never picked up a club, essentially told me to bug off, at which point my mom chastised him for being a jerk. Recognizing an opportunity to do something with his son, my father begrudgingly took us to the local muni, Mingo Springs Golf Course, and a combined 300+ swings later over 18 holes, we were hooked.

Q Who taught you?

Dan: It certainly wasn’t my aforementioned father! Thanks to a long run as a successful softball player growing up in Chicago, he swings a golf club like he’s trying to foul off a series of 0-2 breaking pitches and stay alive in the count. I received a handful of lessons in a variety of places from teaching professionals throughout Philadelphia and Maine, but never really committed to a set routine until much later in my golfing life.

Q What made you get into golf?

Dan: Besides the fashion sense of Payne Stewart? Pretty simply, once I began to play, I caught the bug. Golf is the best. It’s a new experience every time you play, providing opportunities for constant improvement and mental focus that are applicable in all walks of life. On top of that, the people you meet on the golf course--the variety of which is a major perk itself--are often some of the most enjoyable folks around. If you’re crazy enough to keep subjecting yourself to constant punishment while chasing that elusive high of a quality shot, you must have a great sense of humor.

Q Did you play junior golf, high school golf or college golf?

Dan: I didn’t have the opportunity to play competitively growing up; my schools never had teams and even if they did, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have added much value to the roster. I did, however, take recreational golf as my two semesters of PE credit at Cornell, and with a Robert Trent Jones course on campus, I applied myself with great commitment to ensuring I earned a passing grade for that class.

Q You graduated from Cornell, what was your major and focus in business at the time?

Dan: I was an American Studies major, more by default than by a particular passion for that field. I wanted to study sports journalism in advance of a career in sports media, but Cornell didn’t offer a program with that particular focus and I probably spent too much time my Freshman year doing anything but considering the best fit. A friend in my dorm was taking a class in the American Studies department with a professor he liked, who happened to offer a class about Baseball, so I chose American Studies in order to ensure I had access to that class. After that, I declared.

Q How did the AGS Tour come about?

Dan: I previously was a Co-Founder at Workhorse Brewing Company, and due to pandemic-enforced closures of our taproom and event space back in 2020, I created an amateur golf Tour (the Workhorse Tour) in order to take advantage of one of the few safe activities people could do outside of their home. The Tour enjoyed sizable growth over its first two years, scaling from 200 to nearly 700 members with 5x weekly engagement, as its unique format allowing amateurs to play competitive, tournamentstyle golf 100% on their schedule solved a real problem in the market. Towards the end of last season, buoyed by its quick success, I made the decision that the concept was easily scalable as a golf company and made more sense outside of Workhorse than it did as a beer-focused initiative in that organization. GAP expressed an interest in coming on board as a partner and the rest is history.

Q How does it work for the Amateur Golfer? Are there different handicap flights?

Dan: Each week-long AGS Tour event is hosted Monday through Sunday at a participating public course. Members can book any open tee time during that weeklong window and post one score to qualify for the individual tournament leaderboard, as well as the season-long standings. All AGS Tour events feature competition in six divisions: four divisions flighted by handicap, plus one each for women and seniors (55+). Each week, golfers will be automatically entered into a flight based on their Handicap Index at the beginning of that tournament week, while women and seniors will also compete in their respective divisions in addition to their net flight. Women over the age of 55 are eligible to compete in all three divisions (net flight, women and senior).

Q How many events in a season? Any commitment?

Dan: The 2023 AGS Tour season takes place at nearly 60 top public courses throughout

Southeastern PA, NJ and Delaware, running from April-October. There is no minimum commitment required: members can play in as many or as few events as their schedule permits. The more events in which you play, the more opportunities you have to earn weekly and season-long prizes.

Q Are there any sign-up Fees involved or upfront commitments? What do they get for that Fee?

Dan: A standard membership costs $75 for the 2023 season, with a $65 senior membership available for golfers aged 55 and over. We also offer a Premium Membership for $100, which includes early access to purchase spots at AGS Match Play events, a series of five one-day competitions at top private courses in the greater Philadelphia area. The only other costs are greens fees for each Tour event, which are typically identical to the rack rate at the course for that given tee time, so you’re paying the same amount that you’d pay as a daily fee golfer at the course, except members get exclusive, early access to event tee sheets and can win prizes if they perform well.

Q What kind of prizes are they playing for? How do players find results?

Dan: Weekly and season-long prizes range from gifts with Tour sponsors like TRUE Linkswear, Golf Galaxy and our own AGS Pro Shop, up to custom Bettinardi headcovers for major winners and a 7-night stay at the Hilton Dorado del Mar Beach Resort in Puerto Rico. Players are able to view real-time leaderboards--both weekly and season-long--by accessing our progressive web app upon completing registration.

Q Do you have any strategic partners involved?

Dan: The AGS Tour is presented by the Golf Association of Philadelphia, and we have a relationship with both the PGA Section of Philadelphia and the LPGA Amateurs Organization, a supporting partner of our women’s division. We’re also thrilled to have sponsorship support from companies like Comcast Business, Sazerac, Meridian Bank, Conlin’s Print & Copy, Five Iron Golf and Destination Montco Golf from the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.

Q How many states is the AGS Tour in now?

Dan: We currently host events in three states: Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Q Where do you see the potential as far as expanding?

Dan: We believe that the problem we solve-increased access and opportunities for amateur golfers of all abilities--is one that adds value anywhere golf is played. We are also confident that our business model adds value to all stakeholders: our members, our course partners, our sponsors and AGAs. As such, we’re planning on taking the Tour across the country to create a community of AGS golfers for years to come. TSG

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