Making a living as a golf historian

After 8 years cataloging 3,200 artifacts — including a 1901 course map and hickory-shafted clubs — at a state museum, I’m considering moving into a club archivist or brand historian role because courses are repositories of local identity, not just places to play… If you’ve held one of these posts, what titles, expectations, and salary ranges did you see at private clubs or equipment companies?

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When I jumped from a state museum to a private club, I framed it as ‘Heritage & Member Engagement’ and got it funded by marketing — $65–75k at a mid-size club, with KPIs like two oral histories/quarter and a lobby rotation. Caveat: more event nights and social posts; the Golf Heritage Society helped with intros: https://www.golfheritage.org.

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