Michael Carlisle

Biography

Michael Carlisle is a self-described "late bloomer" and the USC Aiken head golf coach who has exhibited remarkable patience over 36 years. He was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in December 2010. In 2003-04, Carlisle guided the Pacers to the program's first-ever NCAA Championship, earning him the Eaton GolfPride NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year award. He won a second consecutive NCAA Title in 2004-05, when USC Aiken won 11 of 13 tournaments, and captured a third-straight NCAA Championship in 2005-06. Carlisle has been named NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year three times (2004, 2005, 2006) and is a seven-time Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year. His career winning percentage at USCA over 33 seasons is .706, with teams capturing 91 tournament titles. He has coached 61 NCAA All-Americans and numerous players who pursued professional careers, including PGA TOUR player Scott Brown. A native of Aiken, Carlisle walked on to play college golf at Clemson University, graduating in 1980. He later competed as an amateur and on mini-tours before taking over as head coach at USC Aiken. He has won the Carolinas Amateur and South Carolina Mid-Amateur Championships and advanced twice to the U.S. Amateur Championship. Carlisle stays active in the Aiken community through his work with the Junior Golf Association and was honored in 2009 with the Thomas Hitchcock and William C. Whitney Award.