The right fit

Coaching college golf gives Julie Garner conflicting thoughts about aging. She certainly gets the feeling that surrounding herself with 18- to 22-year-olds keeps her young. Sometimes, though, the prevailing sense is one of getting older, faster at the hands of her players.
Regardless, Garner, 61, is still going strong 40 years after she entered this business as a 21-year-old straight from the University of Alabama women’s golf roster. Garner, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has only ever known Rollins College, an NCAA Division II liberal arts school in Winter Park, Florida, in her career. It is the brick-and-mortar embodiment of all the principles that have guided her personally.
“It’s kind of like a kid finding the right fit for them in a college program,” Garner said. “Rollins, for me, their mission statement is in lockstep agreement with what I believe to be true, the lessons we should teach our players as well. I think it helps when I’m evaluated on things that are of relevance and importance to me.”

Garner has coached six na...