Barlow Selected as New Michigan Men's Golf Coach
6/5/2019 3:00:00 PM | Men's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Illinois assistant men's golf coach Zach Barlow has been selected as the 10th men's golf coach for the Wolverines, University of Michigan Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel announced Wednesday (June 5).
"We are excited to have Zach join our program as the head men's golf coach," said Manuel. "He brings a wealth of experience, a competitive drive and a pattern of success to our program from his days as a collegiate golfer and from his time as a Big Ten coach. Zach has consistently developed the talents of the student-athletes under his direction, achieving at a high level on the course and in the classroom. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for our team under Zach's leadership."
"I could not be more excited for this opportunity to lead the Michigan Golf program," said Barlow. "I want to express my thanks to Warde Manuel, Lisa Savoury and all the staff for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to guide the current and future stars of Michigan golf.
"I would also like to express my gratitude to Mike Small and the University of Illinois for the opportunity to serve as an assistant coach over the last five years. I am grateful for the experiences and memories from my time in Urbana-Champaign. With that being said, I cannot wait to get to work in Ann Arbor. I'm looking forward to getting the Block 'M' on my chest and hit the recruiting trail."
"I'm excited for Zach and his future as a head coach," said Illinois head coach Mike Small. "As with our players, people enter Illinois to chase their dreams, and coaches are no different. We hire assistant coaches with the intent of them becoming head coaches one day. We're excited for Zach and this opportunity and we wish him well."
Over the last five seasons, Barlow helped Small guide Illinois to five consecutive Big Ten titles, win three NCAA regional championships and advance to five consecutive NCAA finals, and made it to the match play semifinal three times.
A finalist for the Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the Year during the 2018-19 campaign, Barlow was part of 31 team titles during his tenure, including a school-record nine tournament wins during the 2014-15 season and again in 2015-16.
In total, five different Illinois golfers earned 10 All-America citations, while 10 were awarded 21 All-Big Ten first- or second-team accolades. Barlow has coached three Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholars and had 15 Academic All-Big Ten awards by nine different golfers. Additionally, eight players earned 17 PING All-Midwest Region honors during his five seasons with the Fighting Illini.
Barlow helped four Big Ten Players of the Year in Thomas Detry (2015), Charlie Danielson (2016), Dylan Meyer (2017) and Nick Hardy (2018). He guided Hardy (2015, '18), Detry (2016), Meyer (2017) and Adrien Dumont de Chassart (2019) to five straight Big Ten medalist honors at the conference championships. Hardy (2015) and Michael Feagles (2017) were also chosen as the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year.
A two-time PING All-Midwest Region selection, Barlow was part of two Big Ten championship teams in 2009 and 2010 during his four-year collegiate career at Illinois (2007-10). He was an All-Big Ten second team pick in 2010 and finished his career with the eighth-lowest stroke average (74.06) in school history. He was the medalist at the 2008 Olympia Fields Country Club/Fighting Illini Invitational and the 2009 Marshall Invitational.
Barlow replaces Chris Whitten, who left to become the executive director of the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM).
