No coach? No problem: How an emergency fill-in coach led a women's golf team to a title

In early September, Charleston Southern deputy athletic director Courtney Hall sent an unconventional email to all athletics personnel.

The school needed an interim women's golf coach. And fast.

A few weeks prior, former Buccaneer golf head coach Chan Metts had departed the school to become head golf coach at Appalachian State. Assistant Ben Carroll took over both the men's and women's programs on an interim basis while Charleston Southern searched for a new full-time coach.

But they soon faced a dilemma.

From Sept. 15 to 17, the Buccaneers men's and women's golf teams were both set to be in action -- 250 miles away from one another. Carroll, who competed with the men's squad for five seasons before graduating from the university in 2023, was a natural fit to travel with the men's team.

Without another coach on staff after Carroll was promoted, the women's team would need a different interim coach.

Golf expertise wasn't needed -- only the ability to drive the team van.

Up stepped Michael Causey, the assistant AD for athletic communications. A sports information director by trade, Causey was well-versed in the field of being a plug-and-play solution to any roles an athletic department might need to fill. He had even an (extremely) amateur golf pedigree, having helped create -- and once winning -- an annual employee mini-golf tournament at Ice Cream Station in Simpsonville, S.C.

Causey saw an opportunity to give some additional coverage to a team and sport that often doesn't get much shine.

"I kind of knew that was going to be an opportunity with this to get them a little bit of extra coverage [compared] to what they're used to," Causey told ESPN. "Let them enjoy their college experience here a little bit more with getting some photo and video from it."

The team Causey took over was plenty battle-tested and had championship experience as a group. All six players on Charleston Southern's roster are upperclassmen, four of whom were a part of the team's 2023 squad that won the Big South championship last April.

Unsurprisingly, Causey's first course of action as interim coach -- after downloading WhatsApp to join the team's group chat -- was to turn to the team's existing leaders and lean on them for direction. Every planning detail from meals to course arrival times went through the squad's veteran players.

"I was kind of like, 'Hey guys, I don't want to disrupt what y'all have done in the past,'" said Causey. "[I] kind of relied on them for a lot of stuff."

Making the process easier was the fact that the Buccaneers had been here before -- literally, in this case.

Senior Odette Font and junior Katie Stephens had competed with the team in the 2023 iteration of the Elon Invitational the year before, an experience complete with a Buc-ee's trip that caused a missed practice round. The squad was able to turn inward to their veterans for course-specific advice ahead of the competition.

"We had a little team meeting," recalled Font. "We asked the other girls that hadn't played that course before if they had any doubts or any hole that they were concerned about... We're going to be out there by ourselves."

The player-centric leadership approach didn't mean Causey was without a role, however.

Causey did what SIDs do best -- a little bit of everything. He served as the team's chauffeur, driving them from the hotel to the course to meals. He helped set up and submit scorecards and live scoring from the course. He met with officials as the team's representative. He also performed his usual duties as a photographer and writer.

His most impactful role of the weekend though? Delivering mid-competition snacks.

Causey knew that despite his ice cream shop mini-golf tournament title, he wouldn't be able to offer much technical input to the team. What he could provide, however, were tasty pick-me-ups and an encouraging word.

"The role I wanted to assume more was kind of being the on-course guide," Causey said. "Instead of always trying to figure out the better shot, figure out how to attack this more, it's like 'Hey, how are you doing? How's the round going? Anything I can do for you? You want Goldfish or a fruit snack right now?'

"I think the girls really responded to that well. Every time they saw me it wasn't like they also saw an intimidating golf figure who was their coach. It was Michael with the snack cart."

And responded well Charleston Southern did. With "Michael with the snack cart" motoring around Alamance Country Club, the team's experienced leaders helped the Buccaneers come out firing.

Stevens and Font -- who said Causey's consistent upbeat attitude "takes that fear away" -- finished the opening round at 1-under and even respectively, good for the joint-second and joint-fifth best individual scores of the round. Another upperclassman returner, Eugenie Varet, chipped in with an even opening round as well. All told, Charleston Southern carded a course-best 1 over first round as a team.

The momentum continued into the event's second round later in the day. Their lead on the field was whittled down, but the Buccaneers held firm, finishing with a one-stroke lead and setting the stage for Tuesday's decisive third and final round.

The weather had other plans, however. Midway through the third round, the rain that had persisted throughout the event turned into thunder and lightning, suspending play. That suspension would eventually become a cancellation, meaning the standings from the end of the second round would hold as the final result. However anticlimactic, Charleston Southern were champions.

The only team at the event without a full-time coach stood alone at the top of the pack. Causey said even if the idea of getting a trophy out of his volunteer gig started as an amusing thought, he was convinced by the team's mentality as soon as members first stepped up to the tee.

"Just seeing the way that they were approaching the course, and the confidence they had, I knew [winning] was a reality," he said.

Causey is quick to turn the spotlight on the team's players, highlighting their championship performance on the course. But the Buccaneers, however briefly under his tutelage, made sure he got some of the limelight as well.

"We're really grateful to have had Michael with us," Font said. "He was truly amazing. We couldn't have asked for better."