Former LSU Golfer Chuck Winstead returns to take over Men’s Golf Program
Maybe you would have to be a golfer to understand, because at that moment, very few people would have been as excited that early in the morning as Chuck Winstead.
Granted, it was his first win as head coach of the LSU Men’s Golf program, and granted, they had only played two tournaments by this time. Granted again that two of the teams they beat were No. 3 Florida and No. 11 Tennessee, but he is reenacting a four-foot putt, probably not for the first time that morning, like he is trying to solve the theory of the lone gunman.
Not only did the putt have to negotiate 11 breaks down a slippery, sidewinding slope, there were mines scattered around the green and people honking car horns during his player’s putting stroke.
Well, there may as well have been.
Besides being able to spin a good yarn, Winstead is one of the nation’s top golf instructors. Absent from his resume was experience as a college golf coach, but his pedigree had merit nonetheless. He was named by Golf Magazine as one of the Top 100 instructors in the nation for 2005-06 and was recently named top instructor in Louisiana by Golf Digest.
He has made the rounds on The Golf Channel and appeared in Golf Tips Magazine, where he serves as senior instruction editor.
Before becoming head coach of the men’s program at LSU, he worked as a teaching assistant at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in McKinney, Texas; head instructor for the Bob Toski Golf Learning Center in Sunrise, Florida; and five years at Jack Nicklaus’ Golden Bear Golf Center in North Palm Beach, Florida, where he also served as director of instruction for Golden Bear Golf.
That led to Winstead serving as part of the senior management team responsible for developing, managing, and initiating the start-up of Jack Nicklaus Golf Academies throughout the world.
To get the greatest golfer in the world his morning coffee would be a dream come true for most weekend duffers, much less be at the forefront of one of his major business ventures. But Winstead, a native of Ruston, Louisiana, and a former LSU golfer, wanted to return home with his wife and start a family.
Consequently, in 1998, he became director of instruction at English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans. Two years later, he was back in Baton Rouge at the University Club, where he continues to serve as director of instruction and owner of the Chuck Winstead Golf Academy.
After former coach Greg Jones resigned, Winstead seemed a perfect fit for the head coaching job. The man who once called future PGA pros David Toms, Perry Moss, and Rett Crowder teammates would now guide a new generation of Tiger golfers.
“It’s a tremendous responsibility,” Winstead said. “I took the thought of (coaching at LSU) very seriously. I wanted to do it for LSU and all of the success that I’ve had here. Having been a golf instructor for 13 years and not a college coach, I wouldn’t do this for another university. The love and the passion that I have for this university … I just want to help in any way that I can.”
It also did not hurt to have one of the top players in the world in Toms as a reference when LSU Athletics officials were searching for Jones’ replacement.
“Chuck is someone I have great respect for,” said Toms, who went over the $3 million mark in season earnings in 2005 for the fourth time in his 13-year PGA Tour career.
“He bleeds purple and gold, and that is what I think we need to turn (the golf program) around. I have no doubt that Chuck will lead LSU back into the national picture of college golf.”
Indeed, the LSU Men’s Golf program has won four national titles in its history and holds 15 Southeastern Conference titles, second only to the University of Georgia’s 23. But 1997 was the last time LSU made an appearance in the NCAA Championships and Winstead acknowledges that educating his golfers on the program’s past is as important as preparing them for the next tournament.
“These days, no, (the guys are not aware of the program’s past),” Winstead said. “That’s why it won’t be easy. We found that out (the weekend of the second tournament). They don’t feel the legacy.
“We had success this weekend, but there is work ahead.”
As mentioned earlier, Winstead bleeds purple and gold. Not only does that make transfusions a tricky situation, it gives him a sort of advantage when it comes to helping build up the program – primarily in the arena of recruiting.
“I don’t think anyone can recruit as well if they are not emotionally tied to the school or have passion for the school,” Winstead said. “I can speak honestly about this place and how it changed my life.”
As he says this, Winstead peers out of his office window at the imposing structure of Tiger Stadium. Right now life is good. He just won his first tournament as a college golf coach; he saw his two boys off to school, and has plans to play golf on the weekend with his oldest, 6-year-old Trey.
On second thought, no wonder this guy is bouncing off the walls before noon.
Contact Josh Duplechain | LSU
Office of Public Affairs
Spring 2006
