Graduating to coaching

Addie Baggarly was an undergrad the first time she took an NCAA recruiting rules test. Sitting in then-Florida assistant coach Janice Olivencia’s office as a sophomore on the Gators roster, Baggarly remembers Olivencia handing over a practice test, inviting her to give it a try.

Baggarly’s score was nearly perfect the first time.

“I would sit in there and take her practice tests for fun,” Baggarly remembers.

This was the start of something.

Baggarly had mentioned to her Florida coaches that if pro golf didn’t work out, she’d love to coach. She was further convinced after a jarring experience at the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur in the spring of her senior season, and again a few months later at the U.S. Women’s Open at Olympia Fields.

“I realized that I was putting so much pressure on myself and I wasn’t having a good time — and I was at the best golf courses in the world,” she said. “I was like, I don’t want to live the rest of my life dealing with this anxiety and this pressure that I pu...