ELMSFORD, N.Y. (June 2, 2025) – Starting tomorrow, June 3, The Rockaway Hunting Club will host the 101st edition of the Long Island Open presented by Stifel. Matt Dobyns looks to defend his title from last year at Piping Rock.
The Rockaway Hunting Club was one of the founding members of the MGA in 1897 and has been a supporter of the MGA Foundation’s GOLFWORKS program since 1999.
The story appeared in the August/September 2024 Issue of the Met Golfer
For 25 years, The Rockaway Hunting Club in Lawrence, N.Y., has been committed to the MGA Foundation’s GOLFWORKS program, welcoming 124 first-year interns since 1999.
This year, Rockaway Hunting, the oldest country club in the country and a founding member of the MGA, has seven GOLFWORKS interns spending their summers working at the club in the bag room, on the outside operations team, and in the kitchen as part of the culinary team.
“The program is fantastic,” Joseph Abbot, the club’s caddie manager, who oversees many of the interns. “It helps us out in so many ways.
For the past four years, GOLFWORKS intern Luis Pineda has been working in the bag room and assisting the golf staff. What started as a summer job has now been a constant in his life; he began working at the club in high school and now attends SUNY Maritime in the Bronx, where he is studying mechanical engineering.
Prior to working at Rockaway Hunting, Pineda had no experience with golf. “I’ve learned everything about golf, how to run things, having more responsibility for managing people, keeping everything organized, being responsible for my time, and a lot of other skills that you can apply to real life,” he says. “It’s been like that since day one, all the way to today.”
Pineda’s fellow intern, Jeff Castellon-Bojorge, is a five-year veteran of GOLFWORKS. In high school, he started out working in the kitchen and eventually transferred to the outside operations team, washing cars, cleaning clubs, and handling other duties. Castellon-Bojorge attends Oswego State University in upstate New York, where he is majoring in Spanish and adolescent education. His internship at the club made him eligible for a scholarship from the Long Island Caddie Scholarship Fund, and his goal is to become a stenographer in court and translate business transactions.
The opportunity to work at a club like Rockaway Hunting and be able to develop skills that will help them in their studies and future careers was not lost on either of them. Jeff and Luis encouraged younger kids to explore getting involved with the GOLFWORKS program.
“It is a fantastic opportunity,” Castellon-Bojorge says. “Everyone should totally go for it.”
Adds Pineda, “Even if you know nothing about golf, it is the way to go. After the first few weeks, you get motivated and devoted to your craft, and you will stick with it.”
Founded in 1994, the MGA Foundation’s GOLFWORKS program gives high school students exposure to career opportunities within the golf industry. The young adults who participate in GOLFWORKS complete an internship in a golf environment, learning the lessons of honor, integrity, and tradition, as well as an activity that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. In addition, GOLFWORKS provides real-world work experiences, networking opportunities, and a way for interns to learn the skills necessary to pursue their career interests. In its 30th year this year, 233 interns are working at 45 clubs and facilities throughout the Met Area. To learn more or to sponsor an intern, contact Lou Cutolo at lcutolo@mgagolf.org.
