Glen Millican has spent his adult life at the University of New Mexico. He had never played golf outside of the Lobos until he moved to Columbia, Missouri this fall.
Millican, who played college golf in New Mexico during the late 1990s, joined J.T. Higgins as an assistant coach. He became the head coach at age 26.
Millican became the men’s head golf coach for Missouri about a month prior to the start of 2023-24. He replaced Mark Hankins, who had been set to succeed longtime coach Mark Leroux when Hankins accepted the position at USC.
Millican has a hard time describing what brought him to Missouri.
He said, “I do not have any specific reasons why I would want to leave a place where I’ve lived for so long.” “It’s my alma matter and I had 30 great years there as a coach and player. That place and golf program will always mean a lot for me.”
Millican beat his Missouri players by only a few weeks to campus in the fall of this year. The Tigers’ roster features four returning players and five new ones, including Adam Miller (a freshman), whom Millican, along with assistant coach Sean Carlon, who was Millican’s assistant at New Mexico, had spent considerable time recruiting, and Lobo transfer Virgilio Pac.
Mizzu to host Dalhousie Golf Club
You could say that this weekend, when Millican takes a team other than the Lobos to a tournament, it’s a clean slate at Dalhousie Golf Club, Cape Girardeau. Missouri will host the 2023 Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff. This new event replaces Turning Stone Tiger Collegiate, which is usually the Tigers’ start in Verona.
Millican, who is getting to know the entire team of his new club, said: “We will go to Dalhousie to play golf. That will reveal a lot more to us than we could find out in one week.” “And then it’s off to the races.”
Millican is a history buff, and he cannot ignore the similarities between New Mexico, Missouri, and other states. Millican, who was a New Mexico coach, knew the coaching legends of his predecessors, including Dick Maguire, Duane knight, John Fields, and Higgins. He follows men such as Richard Poe and Leroux at Missouri.
James Erkenbeck, the Isleworth Collegiate’s James Erkenbeck, and Glen Millican of University of New Mexico, head coach, are pictured together.
“Same situation, where you are coming in behind people you respect, men who have done an excellent job with the program, and then enjoyed a great deal of success. They have run it in the right way, built it, made it better during their time here,” Millican stated of Missouri.
Millican led New Mexico to eight Mountain West Conference championships and 20 NCAA Regionals during his tenure. The Lobos placed in the top 25 of the 2023 NCAA Championship. Millican made such an impact that his alma matter issued a thank-you press release after he took the job at Missouri. Millican, just like in New Mexico said that his goal for Missouri is to improve the program.
Millican stated, “I felt there was a lot of opportunity here.” “They’ve already proven that they had really, really great years and had players, All-Americans and future tour players come here. We want to continue this and get more of these guys and continue having great finishes and finding ways to keep improving in a really competitive sport.”
Millican points out that when you’ve never played a course, as is the case for Dalhousie, it can be difficult to know where the course’s teeth are. Bill Morrow went straight to the rough.
He said, “Normally we don’t get the rough.” The golf course is a world class golf course. . . . The course is very scenic with trees and great par-3s.”
Dalhousie is a Gary Nicklaus-designed course that opened in 2002. It appears on the Golfweek’s Best Residential Courses list in the U.S. The course has hosted championships of all levels, including the Missouri Amateur and Missouri Valley Conference Championships. It also hosts Gateway PGA sanctioned events as well as the AJGA’s prestigious Rolex Tournament of Champions.
For a college competition, the closing three holes can be particularly interesting. No. The 16th hole is a downhill, challenging par 4, with a fairway bunker on the left side and a green that is well bunkered. Meanwhile, the 17th uphill is the longest Par 4 on the course. The 18th hole has a green measuring 105 yards in length from the front to the back.
Morrow stated that the green complex was “amazing” from front to rear.
The course is in what Morrow describes as spectacular condition. Millican can tell where his team will start the season by looking at a new venue or event.
He said: “When you play somewhere new, you get to test your preparation and how you handle situations that may arise that you did not expect.” “You won’t know what you don’t know until it happens.”
