Julie Garner is one of the most successful and respected head coaches in NCAA Division II women’s golf, serving as the leader of the Rollins College women’s golf program since 2000 in her current tenure — and marking her third overall stint in the role after earlier periods from 1984-87 and 1996-97. Under her direction, the Tars have become a national powerhouse, capturing a record six NCAA Division II National Championships and finishing runner-up five other times, a testament to her ability to build and sustain excellence at the highest level of collegiate golf. Her teams have also dominated the Sunshine State Conference, winning seven of the program’s eight conference titles during her leadership. Garner’s peers have repeatedly recognized her success: she has been named WGCA Division II National Coach of the Year four times and Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year five times, and in December 2018 she was inducted into the Women’s Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame, an honor reflecting her sustained impact on the sport.
Garner’s influence stretches beyond wins and accolades. She has coached multiple National Players of the Year and All-Americans, and her teams consistently maintain high academic standards, often posting some of the highest GPAs among collegiate golf programs. Prior to her long coaching career, she was a collegiate golfer herself, playing as a scholarship athlete and team co-captain at the University of Alabama after beginning her college career at Auburn. In addition to her coaching achievements, Garner has also excelled as an amateur competitor, winning titles such as the 1984 Tennessee Women’s Amateur and multiple regional championships in the mid-2000s. Her holistic approach — emphasizing both competitive excellence and personal development — has shaped generations of student-athletes, making her a central figure in Rollins athletics and collegiate women’s golf nationwide.
