Beginning his 4th season as the Head Coach of both the men’s and women’s golf programs at Piedmont College is Michael McMunn who comes to Demorest from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, an area familiar with championship collegiate golf. McMunn brings varied experience to his first head coaching stint at the collegiate level having served as a club pro and assistant director while also having completed an internship with the University of Alabama men’s golf team, a program which took home back-to-back National Championships in 2013 & 2014.
In his third season directing Piedmont’s golf programs, McMunn guided his men’s squad to the program’s first-ever appearance in the USA South Championship Tournament sparked by the performance of newcomer Sam Hill, the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2014-15.
The Lions started out the year strong posting a runner-up finish in their own event at
| "What they're saying about Coach McMunn..." |
“First of all, Michael is a high character person that any institution would be happy to have. He understands what it takes to be great and he is an extremely hard worker. His passion for the game and his ability to relate well to the student-athletes with their needs both on the course and in the classroom will certainly help him take Piedmont golf to the next level.”
-Scott Limbaugh, Vanderbilt University
Head Men's Golf Coach |
the Orchard, but the highlight perhaps came in the team’s anticipated trip to play in the Bermuda Collegiate Invitational where PC finished 3rd as a team with one its own in veteran Joseph Morris moving up on the 3rd and final day to finish in a three-way tie for 1st at the event.
On the women’s side, it was the season of Cortney Boggs as the graduating senior put together perhaps one of the more memorable career finishes for any Lady Lion golfer posting a medalist showing in the final event of her career needing a sand save up-and-down shot on the third hole of a playoff to win a dual match with Oglethorpe at the Orchard.
With McMunn as her mentor, Boggs posted three straight top ten finishes including a top-five showing at the Emmanuel Spring Invitational as the graduate capped her career with eight top ten showings and six top five finishes to her name.
McMunn’s second season at the helm was highlighted by a season-opening tourney win by his Lady Lions at the Montgomery Country Club Invitational hosted by fellow USA South member Huntingdon College. The team saw program star Katarina Hodge lay claim to the individual title with an event-best 159, 13-over par in the two-round affair, while three Lady Lions finished in the top ten to help give Piedmont the team championship as well. Hodge went on to later post a performance to remember playing well again at the Golfweek NCAA Fall Preview tying for 15th with her 3-round total of 233 including a final round 74, 2-over par.
On the men’s side, McMunn again saw his team start out fast as the team placed 3rd at their own event hosted by the Orchard Golf & Country Club in Clarkesville, the 8th Annual Piedmont College Fall Invitational. It was at that season-opening event when youngster Jake Forbes made his presence known to the collegiate golf world earning medalist honors for his top-five finish, a performance he followed up just four days later by shooting a 1-over opening round 73 at the Tom Kinder Memorial helping PC to an 8th place finish of 18 teams at the prestigious event.
Taking over a program fresh off back-to-back conference championships, McMunn hit the ground running in his first season at the helm in Demorest leading his teams to a pair of tournament titles to go with eight top-5 finishes. His golfers also saw individual success on the links in 2012-13 with women’s golfer Katarina Hodge earning a trio of individual medalist honors to go with a strong showing at the Golfweek NCAA Fall Preview, an event featuring 15 of the top-ranked Division III teams in the nation and held at the site of the 2013 National Championships.
McMunn’s last post was at Ol’ Colony Golf Complex, the home of the Crimson Tide golf programs in Tuscaloosa. Spending the last four years as the Assistant Director of the First Tee of Tuscaloosa at Ol’ Colony, McMunn also spent time as an assistant pro with the club under John Gray Jr., a PGA Apprentice.
In 2010, McMunn served an internship learning from some of the nation’s best collegiate golf coaches in Alabama Head Coach Jay Seawell and then-Crimson Tide Assistant Coach Scott Limbaugh. Formerly the Head Golf Coach at conference member Huntingdon College and now at Vanderbilt as the Head Golf Coach, Limbaugh mentored McMunn along with Coach Seawell in some of the game’s most effective work out drills and practice set-ups – the same techniques that helped Seawell lead his Crimson Tide to a national titles just three years later.
In addition to his internship with the national powerhouse out of the Southeastern Conference, McMunn has also spent the last six summers as a coach and instructor at summer camps and clinics at the University of Alabama with Head Coach Jay Seawell. While on the course, McMunn has mentored some of the nation’s most elite talent developing a keen eye for the key ingredients of successful golfers at the collegiate level.
While in Alabama at Ol’ Colony, McMunn was also vital to the creation of the West Alabama Junior Tour starting the program in 2011 serving as the organization’s director in its foundational days. Having spent his own junior playing days in Alabama, McMunn was a 2005 graduate of Ardmore High School playing throughout the state known for its scenic courses and nationally recognized programs.
With professional playing experience to his name, McMunn spent his playing days on the Dixie Section PGA from 2009-2010 posting his best finish in the 2009 E-Z-GO Pro-Pro held at the Capitol Hill Senator Course at Ol’ Colony. McMunn finished tied for 15th at three under for the tournament, besting more than 20 competitors at the professional event.
McMunn carries certification as a Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) Certified Level I Golf Fitness Instructor and is Level 2 Golf Mechanics certified as well. The Athens, AL native graduated from the University of Alabama in 2010 with a degree in Human Performance Exercise Science.
McMunn also owns professional memberships in both the Golf Coaches Association of America and the Women's Golf Coaches Association.
