Long time Clemson golf coach, Larry Penley, retiring after 38th season
CLEMSON, S.C. (BVM) – Larry Penley’s career as head coach is the longest of any sport in Clemson history. He took the head coaching position in 1983 just two years after graduating from Clemson in 1981. During this time he has taken the team to the NCAA tournament all 36 seasons in which a tournament was held, half of which were top ten finishes, marking another Clemson athletics record for team appearances held by a head coach.
In 2003, Penley led the Tigers to win the National Championship which was only the fourth National Championship in Clemson athletics up to that point. This has been Penley’s most cherished memory at Clemson.
“We had a stretch of seven or eight years in a row being in the top ten and half of those years we were in the top five so we were knocking on the door but couldn’t kick it down,” he stated. “We had DJ Trahan coming back and we were ranked #1 throughout that year until we won the tournament.”
During that season the Tigers won six tournaments including the ACC Championship, NCAA Regional, and NCAA Championship making Clemson the first team in NCAA history to win all three of these postseason tournaments in the same year. The 2003 National Championship team was ranked among the best in NCAA history by Golfweek. Coach Penley was awarded the National Coach of the Year becoming only the fourth coach in Clemson history to win that honor in any sport.
Entering his last season this spring, Coach Penley has 79 career victories, only second to Wake Forest’s Jesse Haddock who had 83 career wins. Among these are nine ACC tournaments and seven NCAA regionals. The seven regional titles are more than any other coach in NCAA Division I history. Penley’s Clemson teams have never missed a regional tournament.
Over the course of his illustrious career, Penley has coached incredible talent including two Ben Hogan Award winners- DJ Trahan and Kyle Stanley. A Clemson golfer has won at least one PGA event every year between 2004-2012. Seven of his former Clemson golfers have won 17 PGA events over the years including Jonathan Byrd with five PGA tour victories, as well as Kyle Stanley and DJ Trahan both with two PGA Tour victories. Penley’s first protégé to win a major, Lucas Glover, was the 2009 U.S Open champion and he also posted three other wins on the PGA Tour.
As for advice Coach Penley gives players before embarking on the PGA Tour he remarked, “Try not to change anything. The worst thing you can do when you leave Clemson is doubt your abilities. Many players either think you need to hit it further or their swing isn’t good enough. They’re best golf will not be played until they are 30-35 so let your body mature and work on your short game. Most of the guys that fail try to change and changing is like starting over.”
Coach Penley also mentioned how proud he is that so many players have returned to inspire current teams. “The Tiger Golf Gathering happens every December and tour players come back to help raise money for the program. They hang out with the current team for a few days and they are probably the two best days of my year,“ Penley said.
Coach Larry Penley will be retiring after the spring season this year but the plethora of achievements and accolades attached to his name are endless. As a player, he was an all-ACC golfer from 1977-1981 with a spring stroke average of 72.66 his senior year and was the Iron Duke Classic Champion in 1981. He finished with nine top ten finishes in his player career. He has both played and coached for Clemson in the NCAA Tournament and he has been ACC Coach of the Year seven times most recently in 2016. These awards, Penley said, mean the most to him. He is the first ACC coach to win this award this consecutive years, ‘96, ‘97, ‘98, and the only coach in any league sport to win this award in four different decades. He was inducted into the Golf Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004 at the age of 44, one of the youngest inductees in history, and became a member of the South Carolina Hall of Fame in 2009. Additionally in 2009, Clemson’s new golf building was named in his honor.
Penley also has some wise words for his successor. He stated, “Just be yourself, recruit culture, and recruit parents. Parents are so important and they need to be all in with you. They have a huge say in the culture of your team. We recruit great parents and great players.”
Ben Hogan once said, “The secret is in the dirt,” meaning the dirt of the practice range, and Coach Penley agrees. “I couldn’t agree more and that will never change about the game. Guys wanna get so technical and rely on teachers a lot which is okay to a certain point, but the ones that figure it out on their own on the range, those are your players great players,” he said.
In retirement, Coach Penley has committed to spending more time with his family.
“I have four grandchildren under six. I did not have an assistant coach for 23 years in my career- it was just me. I was on the road a lot,” he mentioned. “I made a commitment to my family now that I want to spend time with them. I enjoy fishing, quail and dove hunting, and maybe I’ll even play some golf!”
As for his greatest takeaway from being a member of the Clemson family for 44 years he said, “Just the opportunity to raise a family here in Clemson. You have no idea how great of a place this is. I met my wife here and we have truly been blessed to just be a part of the Clemson family. I’ve been here since 1977 and the relationships I’ve made with other coaches such as Bill Wilhelm are so special.”
Larry Penley’s long standing period of excellence is astounding and he will leave an unmatchable legacy not only in Clemson, but in NCAA men’s golf history.
