Michael Carlisle, still going strong with the game, headed to SC Golf Hall of Fame
A member of a high school state championship team, a starter in a high-powered college program, a tournament winner against the best amateurs and on professional mini-tours. Yep, he could play the game.
He could coach, too. His teams have won three national championships, 91 tournaments overall, and compiled a .708 winning percentage. At one stretch, they won an incredible 23 of 28 events. A record to envy.
He paved the way for youngsters to get a taste of the game, organizing a junior golf program in Aiken that spilled into Augusta, and he staged by his estimation more than 600 tournaments over 35 years.
Michael Carlisle is his name, and he is the state’s man for all seasons in his sport. And on Jan. 17, in Golf Day ceremonies at Forest Lake Club, he will become the 80th member of the South Carolina Golf Hall of Fame.
Officials announced Carlisle’s selection for membership in the state’s golf shrine this month as he began his 36th season at the helm of USC Aiken’s golf program.
He deflects accolades like shooing a fly, saying, “I had a lot of good friends supporting me,” and credits his coaching success to “a lot of great student-athletes.” He remembers his first instruction from Jim McNair Sr. at Highland Park Country Club and notes that long-time SCGA executive director Happ Lathrop showed him the ropes in tournament administration.
He’s much too modest, said Larry Penley, the legendary Clemson coach. “He’s done so much for golf in South Carolina — a really good player, his coaching record is spectacular and his junior programs are off the charts.”
Carlisle’s journey into golf began in his native Aiken. He played on Aiken High’s 1975 Class 4A state championship team, lettered three years at Clemson before his success on mini-tours and in the amateur ranks. He helped Clemson make the NCAA national tournament for the first time in 1980, his senior year.
“I’m really proud of the success here at USC Aiken and in the junior programs,” Carlisle said. “A lot of great student-athletes. A lot of them have gone on and made it in golf. A lot of them have gone on and made it in life ... good citizens, good husbands, good fathers.
“The junior association is the same way. I’ll see a player and recognize the name and ask, ‘Who is your dad?’ A lot of time, the dad has played in the junior program. That really makes me feel old, but that also means the dad had a good time and enjoyed it and wants his son to have the same experience.”
A PGA Tour player who wins major championships has the best job in the world, he said, “and second-best is being a college coach. I love golf and I love college athletics.”
Randy Warrick, then USC Aiken’s director of athletics, offered Carlisle the Pacers’ job in 1991. All these years later, he’s still going strong. People remember his team’s three consecutive NCAA Division II national championships (2004-06), but there’s so much more to like, said Scott Brown, probably his best player.
Brown talks about the confidence those teams developed and credits his coach’s calm demeanor.
“I don’t think he’s ever gotten tight,” Brown said. “His ability to instill discipline, integrity and passion to his players has not only shaped champions on the course but also outstanding individuals off it.”
Memories? Oh, yes. One that Carlisle savors is the result of “pushing the envelope and probably breaking a couple of NCAA rules” in taking his team to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas after competing in the national tournament in Phoenix.
He turns 68 this month and has passed oversight of the junior program to Casey Thompson, a former player. “But I’ve to a few more (coaching) years in me,” he said.
He has watched the game change in a myriad of ways: distance on the course, and the introduction of NIL payments and the transfer portal.
Through it all, he remains a self-proclaimed dinosaur. He has Trackman and all the bells and whistles for his players, but he really wants their focus on three clubs.
“Drive, wedge and putter,” he said. “Hit those well and anybody can play golf well.”
Add his “play with confidence” credo, and his record suggest there is no need to change his philosophy.
His coaching colleagues agree that it’s likely going to be another chapter with the same verse this season. They rank the Pacers No. 10 nationally in their preseason poll.
This story was originally published September 12, 2025 at 9:30 AM with the headline "Michael Carlisle, still going strong with the game, headed to SC Golf Hall of Fame."