It has been more than two decades since the Duke golf program, either men’s or women’s, has had a head coaching change. Over those years, men’s coach Rod Myers and women’s coach Dan Brooks—who combined have more than 50 years of coaching experience at Duke—have sculpted their teams into perennial contenders and done so in programs that seem remarkably similar, but they are quite different in reality.
Both golf teams field five players for each tournament, with the top four scores on a given day counting toward the team total. But the similarities end there.
Brooks’ program has undoubtedly experienced more success. His team captured its third national title in the past seven years, while the men’s team placed eighth at the NCAAs—the program’s best finish in Myers’ tenure. But at the root of this discrepancy lies differences in NCAA rules, the coaches’ recruiting tactics and the current state of each sport.
In the 2004-2005 season, when both squads won their respective ACC Championships, Myers and Brooks kept 10 and five members on their teams, respectively.
NCAA regulations allow only four and a half men’s scholarships while a women’s team can have up to six. Combine that with the fact that there are significantly more college-level men’s golfers, and the recruiting strategies for Brooks and Myers must differ to find success.
All five of Brooks’ golfers are attending Duke on a full scholarship, while not a single golfer on Myers’ team received a full ride.
“If I offer a golfer only half a scholarship, they’ll simply go to a school that’s willing to offer them full tuition, and I wouldn’t be able to get top-tier talent on my team,” Brooks said. “In the men’s game, the talent pool is large enough that only the truly great players get a full scholarship, and it’s entirely possible to field a contender with none of your players receiving full scholarships.”
“I’m given three spots by the Duke admissions office, and I do my best to fill all three of those spots every year,” Myers said. “I like to have 12 guys on my team in a given season, and since I don’t even have enough full scholarships to field a team, I’ve relied on splitting the scholarships and walk-ons throughout the years.”
The incoming recruiting classes are a reflection of the coaches’ unique recruiting styles.
After losing Niloufar Aazam-Zanganeh to graduation and Brittany Lang to the LPGA, Brooks added freshmen Amanda Blumenherst and Jennie Lee. Once again the five-person roster leaves little room for injuries or performance slumps, and each golfer will be expected to contribute from the year’s start.
“It’s too late to try and sign another player,” Brooks said. “I’ll take a look at some walk-ons in the fall, but I fully expect to play next season with five players again.”
Coach Myers, on the other hand, reached his quota and will add three freshmen to a squad that lost only one player. His incoming class boasts Justin Hare, winner of the Carolina Golf Association Junior Match Play title, Golfweek’s No. 42 junior Clark Klaasen and Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
“Andrew is a great young man with a fantastic work ethic,” Myers said. “I don’t see him coming in and playing right off the bat, but I think he’ll continue to develop and will turn into a fine player.”
A tribute to the success each coach has had at mastering his field, both coaches received Golfweek’s National Golf Coach of the Year Award in 2005. The duo spoke highly of each other and said their relationship throughout the years has been extremely positive.
“We speak all the time and talk about anything from scheduling concerns, team morale or a player’s swing,” Myers said. “We really have an outstanding relationship.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.