Waltham teen heads to PGA Golf Management program — with a Big Brother in his corner

When Jake Alpert was connected with high school student Ryan Griffin-Goode via the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Community Based Program three years ago, he figured he might be able to give some golf tips to his younger mentee.

Quite the contrary. Now headed to Coastal Carolina University’s PGA Golf Management Program to pursue a career in the golf industry, Griffin-Goode has been the one coaching Alpert to build up his prowess on the course over what has blossomed into a tremendous friendship.

“Going into the program, I was thinking, ‘Maybe I’ll teach someone about golf,’ and here I am learning,” Alpert, a 26-year-old Wakefield resident, said. “Ryan is an incredible teacher and so patient. That is such a great skill to have when you want to be teaching other people. People definitely receive that style a whole lot better. He gets mad at me because I grip the club like a baseball bat. That’s the one thing I don’t listen to him about.”

Alpert and Griffin-Goode, an 18-year-old Waltham resident and graduate of Xaverian Brothers High School, were matched up by BBBSEM in April 2023. Their shared love of golf provided an opportunity to learn from each other, but the resulting friendship has evolved into so much more. 

“We are just brothers at the end of the day,” Alpert said. “At first, we were feeling it out, getting to know each other, and now it is just a friendship. It’s been great, I love hanging out with Ryan and it has been awesome to grow our relationship, get closer over the years.”

“A ton in common”

Every BBBSEM match begins with a few interviews to identify each participant’s interests and pair mentors and mentees with shared passions. From the jump, Alpert and Griffin-Goode had a ton in common. The two first met up for nine holes of golf at Pine Meadows Golf Club in Lexington that spring and got some ice cream after the round.

“I was like, ‘This is me seven years ago,’ ” Alpert said. “Like it’s exactly how I was. It was a great first day and I knew right then that we would get along.”

It’s hard to keep track of all the fun activities the two have shared since then.

“We’ve done Red Sox games, Celtics playoff watch parties, a concert, going out to eat,” Griffin-Goode said.

“He’s listing off all the big ticket items,” Alpert said. “It’s just been nice, especially as Ryan’s gotten older, just to hang out. We can just talk about anything, really. We both love Mexican food so we have been trying some local joints around the Boston area. I’m trying to get him more cultured in the older films, so we watched ‘Shawshank Redemption,’ my all-time favorite. Ryan has even visited Maine, where my mom lives, and we’ve played golf there. We’ve done a lot of cool things.”

The two were headed to the AMC Burlington Cinema 10 after our conversation to catch a screening of “The Odyssey”.

A new ambition

Alpert has been the perfect role model for Griffin-Goode over the years.

“Jake sharing his experiences with me and how he got through high school and college definitely gave me a new perspective on how I look at it,” Griffin-Goode said. “It’s great to have such a close bond and relationship with someone who has been through the same things, and that is the mentor part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts.”

Griffin-Goode is about to embark on a major life change in moving to Conway, S.C., and Alpert plans to be there every step of the way.

“We’re going to see each other less. But I don’t think we’re going to talk any less, and I’m going to visit him down there, get a round or two of golf in and hang out. When he’s back during Thanksgiving, winter break, and then during the summer, we’ll catch up then, too.”

Griffin-Goode, who tied the course record of 64 at Wayland Country Club before unofficially breaking the mark by scoring one shot better two weeks later, was a prolific golfer in high school, but decided to shift his focus to coaching.

“I originally wanted to get recruited and play golf in college,” Griffin-Goode said. “I had some decent scores, but not good enough to play at such a high level. In high school, I got my friend Danny into golf. He had never picked up a club before and I just taught him the ropes. That sparked me wanting to become a teaching professional. I enjoyed that so much, just seeing him turn into the golfer that he is today.”

While the work will be demanding, Griffin-Goode is enthusiastic about the friends and network connections that he is going to foster in college.

“We [the students] are all going to have similar interests and we’re all going to be together in a separate residence hall,” Griffin-Goode said. “With our tuition and dues, we get a course membership and we also have a class dedicated to managing a golf course and going through PGA of America.”

Griffin-Goode has clear ambitions for his professional future. 

“I would love to be a club professional around Boston and then go down to Florida in the wintertime,” he said. “If not, playing local mini-tours and climbing my way up into the Korn Ferry tour, something like that.”

Thanks to a match made through BBBSEM, no matter where college or life takes him, Griffin-Goode knows he’ll always have Alpert in his corner.