Men's Golf
Barlow, Zach
Zach Barlow
- Title:
- Head Coach
Zach Barlow enters his sixth season as the head coach of the University of Michigan men's golf program. A Big Ten veteran as a golfer and assistant, Barlow has continued to shape his Wolverine culture and program throughout his half-decade in Ann Arbor.
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Navigating COVID-19 throughout their first two seasons, Hoffman helped Barlow begin to rebuild the Wolverine program despite the cancelation of the 2020 spring season and 2021 fall seasons.Â
During the past three seasons, under their guidance the Maize and Blue have 18 top-five finishes in 35 events, capturing four team titles -- 2022 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 5-6), 2023 Big Ten Match Play Championship (Feb. 3-4), 2023 Island Resort Intercollegiate (Sept. 3-4) and 2023 Virtues Intercollegiate (Sept. 25-26).
Among those team titles, U-M made a run at the 2023 Big Ten Match Play as the No. 8 seed. After a 3-2 win over No. 7 Iowa, the Wolverine knocked off the top three seeds No. 2 Michigan State (3.5-1.5), No. 3 Indiana (3-2), and No. 1 Northwestern (3-2). Hunter Thomson used his unblemished (4-0) mark to help U-M capture a second match play title. He was the third Wolverine to post a perfect 4-0 record and the second under Hoffman as Patrick Sullivan was perfect in 2020 (4-0).
Overall, the Wolverines have garnered five medalist honors as Charlie Pilon won the 2019 Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (Oct. 21-22), Will Anderson won the 2021 Macdonald Cup (Sept. 25-26), Ben Hoagland and Yuqi Liu were part of tri-medalists at the 2023 Virtues Intercollegiate (Sept. 25-26), Jude Kim, claimed the Indy at Forest Hills (Sept. 29) and Thomson captured the 2024 Palmas del Mar Collegiate (Feb. 11-13) crown.
Brent Ito was named to the All-Big Ten second team and PING All-Midwest honors in 2020, while Thomson followed two years later earning All-Big Ten first-team honors and All-Midwest accolades in 2024. The Maize and Blue have 32 Academic All-Big Ten certificates and seven Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards, including three by Pier Francesco De Col (2021, '22, '23).
Using a program record 70.56 scoring average, Thomson helped the Maize and Blue return to the NCAA postseason as an invited individual in 2024. Playing at the Purdue regional, he tied for 27th, missing an advancing slot to the NCAA Finals.
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Before taking over the Wolverine program, Barlow served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Illinois, helping coach Mike Small to five consecutive Big Ten titles, three NCAA regional championships, five consecutive NCAA Finals, and moving on to the NCAA 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, including a school-record nine tournament wins during the 2014-15 season and again in 2015-16.Â
Five Illinois golfers earned 10 All-America citations, while 10 were awarded 21 All-Big Ten first- or second-team accolades. Barlow coached three Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholars and compiled 15 Academic All-Big Ten awards from nine golfers. Eight players earned 17 PING All-Midwest Region honors during his five seasons with the Fighting Illini.
Barlow coached four Big Ten Player of the Year recipients -- 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.
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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 was a member of the Illini Leadership Academy, both in the emerging leaders program as an underclassman and in the veteran leaders program as an upperclassman.
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Before his return to Illinois, Barlow spent a year as a teaching professional at Kokopelli Golf Course in Marion, Illinois, in 2013-14, while also playing professionally on the eGolf and NGA Tours. He played in nine events in 2012 and competed in the first stage of the PGA Tour Q-School.Â
Additionally, Barlow was the 2008 Illinois State Amateur champion and advanced to the championship match of the 2009 Western Amateur. During his prep career at Trico High School, Barlow won the 2003 IHSA Class A state title as a junior. He won the 2012 U.S. Open local qualifier in St. Louis and advanced out of the U.S. Open local qualifier in 2013 with a third-place finish.
In 2022, Barlow and his wife, Abby, welcomed their daughter Shay.
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Navigating COVID-19 throughout their first two seasons, Hoffman helped Barlow begin to rebuild the Wolverine program despite the cancelation of the 2020 spring season and 2021 fall seasons.Â
During the past three seasons, under their guidance the Maize and Blue have 18 top-five finishes in 35 events, capturing four team titles -- 2022 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate (March 5-6), 2023 Big Ten Match Play Championship (Feb. 3-4), 2023 Island Resort Intercollegiate (Sept. 3-4) and 2023 Virtues Intercollegiate (Sept. 25-26).
Among those team titles, U-M made a run at the 2023 Big Ten Match Play as the No. 8 seed. After a 3-2 win over No. 7 Iowa, the Wolverine knocked off the top three seeds No. 2 Michigan State (3.5-1.5), No. 3 Indiana (3-2), and No. 1 Northwestern (3-2). Hunter Thomson used his unblemished (4-0) mark to help U-M capture a second match play title. He was the third Wolverine to post a perfect 4-0 record and the second under Hoffman as Patrick Sullivan was perfect in 2020 (4-0).
Overall, the Wolverines have garnered five medalist honors as Charlie Pilon won the 2019 Royal Oaks Intercollegiate (Oct. 21-22), Will Anderson won the 2021 Macdonald Cup (Sept. 25-26), Ben Hoagland and Yuqi Liu were part of tri-medalists at the 2023 Virtues Intercollegiate (Sept. 25-26), Jude Kim, claimed the Indy at Forest Hills (Sept. 29) and Thomson captured the 2024 Palmas del Mar Collegiate (Feb. 11-13) crown.
Brent Ito was named to the All-Big Ten second team and PING All-Midwest honors in 2020, while Thomson followed two years later earning All-Big Ten first-team honors and All-Midwest accolades in 2024. The Maize and Blue have 32 Academic All-Big Ten certificates and seven Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards, including three by Pier Francesco De Col (2021, '22, '23).
Using a program record 70.56 scoring average, Thomson helped the Maize and Blue return to the NCAA postseason as an invited individual in 2024. Playing at the Purdue regional, he tied for 27th, missing an advancing slot to the NCAA Finals.
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Before taking over the Wolverine program, Barlow served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Illinois, helping coach Mike Small to five consecutive Big Ten titles, three NCAA regional championships, five consecutive NCAA Finals, and moving on to the NCAA 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, including a school-record nine tournament wins during the 2014-15 season and again in 2015-16.Â
Five Illinois golfers earned 10 All-America citations, while 10 were awarded 21 All-Big Ten first- or second-team accolades. Barlow coached three Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-America Scholars and compiled 15 Academic All-Big Ten awards from nine golfers. Eight players earned 17 PING All-Midwest Region honors during his five seasons with the Fighting Illini.
Barlow coached four Big Ten Player of the Year recipients -- 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.
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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 was a member of the Illini Leadership Academy, both in the emerging leaders program as an underclassman and in the veteran leaders program as an upperclassman.
*****
Before his return to Illinois, Barlow spent a year as a teaching professional at Kokopelli Golf Course in Marion, Illinois, in 2013-14, while also playing professionally on the eGolf and NGA Tours. He played in nine events in 2012 and competed in the first stage of the PGA Tour Q-School.Â
Additionally, Barlow was the 2008 Illinois State Amateur champion and advanced to the championship match of the 2009 Western Amateur. During his prep career at Trico High School, Barlow won the 2003 IHSA Class A state title as a junior. He won the 2012 U.S. Open local qualifier in St. Louis and advanced out of the U.S. Open local qualifier in 2013 with a third-place finish.
In 2022, Barlow and his wife, Abby, welcomed their daughter Shay.
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The Zach Barlow File
Born: December 30, 1986
Hometown: Percy, Illinois
High School: Trico High School
College: University of Illinois, 2010
Degree: Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Family: Abby | Children:Â daughter, Shay
Coaching Record
| Year | College | Position | Big Ten  | NCAA Regional | NCAA Finals |
| 2014-15  | Illinois | Assistant Coach  | 1st | 1st (Noblesville) | 1st / t-3rd MP |
| 2015-16 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 1st (Kohler) | 2nd / t-3rd MP |
| 2016-17 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 3rd (West Lafayette) | 3rd / t-3rd MP |
| 2017-18 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 2nd (Columbus)Â Â | 11th |
| 2018-19 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 1st (Myrtle Beach) | t-27th |
| 2019-20 | Michigan  | Head Coach | n/a* | n/a* | n/a* |
| 2020-21 | Michigan | Head Coach | 13th | -- | -- |
| 2021-22 | Michigan | Head Coach | 13th | -- | -- |
| 2022-23 | Michigan | Head Coach | 13th | -- | -- |
| 2023-24 | Michigan | Head Coach | t-10th | [1] Individual (West Lafayette) | -- |
| 2024-25 | Michigan | Head Coach | -- | -- | -- |
* In 2020, the final three spring events and Big Ten/NCAA postseason were canceled due to COVID-19
(1) Hunter Thomson was invited to the 2024 NCAA West Lafayette Regional as an individual (tied for 27th)
Steady Thomson Excited for Individual NCAA Regional Appearance
Friday, May 10
Men's Golfer Sullivan Wins Michigan Amateur Title
Tuesday, June 29
Short-Game Area Renovation Adds New Dimension to Golf Program's Practice Facility
Thursday, October 01
Men's Golf Continues Qualifying
Monday, September 21
