RUSTON, La. -- Louisiana Tech Athletics
Director Derek Dooley announced Thursday that Jeff Parks is stepping down as the
head golf pro at Squire Creek Golf Course to become the head coach for the
Bulldogs, pending approval by the Board of Supervisors for the University of
Louisiana System.
In addition to serving as the head golf pro, Parks has
also served as the assistant coach for the Bulldogs since 2004 under Jean Hall,
who announced his retirement in May after five years at the helm.
“Jeff
will be an outstanding addition to our program,” Dooley said. “He has a proven
track record for excellence in golf instruction and in motivating student
athletes to reach their potential. We are continuing our efforts to elevate the
competitiveness of all of our sports, and I am certain Jeff will help advance
our golf program to a higher level.”
Parks helped lead the Bulldogs to
the 2007 Hal Sutton Invitational title while also improving the team's
scoring average by over 20 strokes per tournament. He has been instrumental in
helping the Bulldogs to some of the top scoring rounds in Tech history as
Matthew Harvey's 64 and Clinton Shepard's 65 rank in the top four. Harvey
and Amrith de Soysa also captured individual titles in the 2007-08 season,
making Tech the only WAC school boasting multiple golfers with individual titles
in 2007-08.
“I appreciate all that Coach Hall has done for this program
and in helping me develop as a coach,” Parks said. “I am excited about this new
role and look forward to continuing to build the competitiveness of the
Louisiana Tech golf program.”
A devotee of modern technology, Parks was
the Director of Instruction at GolfTEC in Denver, Col, where he was also Vice
President of Golf Instruction. Parks was ranked No. 2 by Golf Digest in 2001 as
one of the "Best Teachers in the State of Colorado."
At GolfTEC
Parks helped developed the company's own video, motion and impact analysis
software. He created all the golf solutions for that software which incorporates
the GolfTEC teaching philosophy.
Parks developed that teaching
philosophy by analyzing and segmenting the databases of over 100 touring
professionals and also trained and supervised a staff of over 40 people to teach
golf using video and motion analysis computer incorporating GolfTEC's
teaching methods.
Parks graduated from Mississippi State in 1993,
earning his bachelor's of Business Administration specializing in golf
management.
After graduating from Mississippi State Parks became the
first assistant professional at Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport, La.,
before moving on to GolfTEC in 1996.
Parks is also the author of eight
articles published in Golf TIPS magazine in 1999 and is a certified Class A-14
PGA Professional.