MOBILE, Ala. – Away from the course the University of South Alabama's Michael Garretson may come off as quiet and unassuming, but his golf game is anything but.  And that's not just because the 5-foot-9, 170-pound senior hits the ball much further than one expects at first glance.

After all, anyone can tee it up and hit it far with no idea where the ball might land.  But that is anything but the case for the Acworth, Ga., native, and he has the numbers to back it up.

Entering the Sun Belt Conference Tournament — which will be conducted in Miramar Beach, Fla., Sunday through Tuesday — Garretson has compiled a 73.62 stroke average that ranks ninth on the school's all-time list, 49 rounds at or below par and 23 top-20 finishes.  While those numbers are impressive on an individual basis, just as important his efforts have helped the Jaguars finish among the top three as a team on 11 occasions while earning the program's first two at-large invitations to participate in an NCAA Regional the last two seasons.

"Looking at the run that our team has experienced over the last four years, we clearly could not have done it without Michael," Jag head coach Ben Hannan observed.  "His production from tournament to tournament has been an integral part to the program's success we have enjoyed.  Michael has been a consistently top performer for us throughout his career as a Jaguar."

The results have been worth the time and effort Garretson has poured into the sport, but a long time ago it wasn't necessarily his dream.


That's because Garretson's first love was baseball, the sport he initially competed in growing up.

"Baseball was everything," he recalled.  "We made it to the Dizzy Dean World Series when I was nine and 10 years old.  Then everyone else got bigger and I was still small, so I didn't get picked for teams because I wasn't powerful enough."

Although he would continue to play on the diamond for another five years, it was around the same time as his teams were experiencing success that Garretson would find his way to the course.

"My dad took me out to the range a few times and I liked it," he explained.  "When I was around 10 he got me some clubs, and after playing some, I started competing in Atlanta junior golf events and really got into it.  We became members at the country club right up the street, and there were a ton of kids around my age also playing.  The big competition was to see who could make the high school team because they were top five in the state."

That was a goal Garretson achieved as a sophomore, as he would go on to earn three letters as a member of the Harrison High School squad.  His first year on the varsity the Hoyas would record a runner-up finish at the state AAAAA championship, but a year later is when he would first make an impact — the team claimed both the region and state titles, as Garretson fired a 2-under-par 70 at the first event then finished fourth at the latter after carding a 73.  It was around that time that he also emerged as a legitimate contender on the American Junior Golf Association tour, which drew the attention of college coaches.

"I started playing the AJGA and came in the top 10 at a preseason event, and later that summer I came in third at our state junior tournament; it was my first three-day tournament, and I played really, really well," Garretson stated.  "There were a bunch of coaches out there watching me just because they were trying to find out who I was, they hadn't heard of me."

He would receive scholarship offers from Louisville and Kennesaw State, but he also drew Hannan's attention.

"I originally saw Michael play at the AJGA tournament at Steelwood [Country Club] across the bay the summer after his junior year," he said.  "I was impressed with his ball striking, particularly his driving ability — ever since I've known Michael, he has always been a very good driver of the golf ball.  I continued to follow him through the recruiting process and got the opportunity to do an in-house visit when I was in the Atlanta area.  After sitting down with Michael and his family, I thought he would be a good fit for us here."

In looking at his options, Garretson would come to the same conclusion.  "I didn't want to go north because of the cold, and it was going to be around a seven-hour drive," he explained.  "It takes five-and-a-half hours to get here, but it feels different, and I liked the warm weather and coach [Hannan] so I thought it would be a good fit."


As Hannan would come to find out, Garretson's ability to strike the ball and the way he attacked the course came from his baseball roots.

"I played baseball when I was young, and I've always had that power motion through the ball," stated Garretson.  "All the kids I grew up playing with, we would always try and hit it further than each other; it was a big competition to see who could hit it the furthest.  If you were a short-ball hitter, you weren't as cool as the other guys.

"I usually drive it well, where I'm hitting it long and straight.  If the par fives are reachable, I'm usually getting there easily with mid irons where the rest of the field is hitting hybrids and three woods in — that's a huge advantage when you're hitting into small targets with a five iron compared to a three wood."

"Over the years Michael has had some entertaining rounds where it will add up to a low score, but how he gets there is far from A to B to C," Hannan observed.  "He makes a lot of birdies, so his rounds are always exciting and because of his talent level, when his putter gets hot, he can shoot a low number on any golf course."

As a freshman, he was the only newcomer to play in all 11 events.  In his collegiate debut, Garretson would tie for 14th place at Southern Mississippi's Sam Hall Intercollegiate with a 2-under-par 211 total over 54 holes; he would add a second top-20 finish while ending the campaign with a 74.60 scoring average.

The following summer he qualified for both the Southern Amateur Championship and the Dogwood Invitational, and he also led the Georgia Amateur Championship after two rounds before going on to tie for third place with a 3-under-par 285 score.  It would portend a new level his game had reached, and both he and the Jaguars would be rewarded as a result.

Garretson would be honored as a first-team all-Sun Belt Conference selection his sophomore season after he paced USA with a 73.79 scoring average while ranking sixth in the league.  He finished among the top 20 in seven of 13 events — including recording four top-10 results — as the Jags placed third at the Sun Belt Championships to earn their first-ever at-large bid to an NCAA Regional.  Competing in Baton Rouge, La., the team tied for sixth, just missing out on an opportunity to move on to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history.

A year later Garretson lowered his stroke average again — this time to 72.74, which was third in the SBC — to not only repeat as a first-team all-league selection but be named the conference player of the year.  He finished in the top 10 in seven of 13 tournaments, shot par or better on 20 occasions, and in the process helped the Jaguars return to postseason action, this time at the NCAA Raleigh Regional, after a final-day comeback at the Sun Belt Championships fell one stroke short of victory.

"I was very happy and proud for him.  I think it's a tremendous honor to receive that award because it's voted on by the coaches, and they look at all the stats," observed Hannan.  "The award is determined by the overall body of work, it's not one event but a decision based on the entire season.  In order to receive it, you have to play consistently well every time you put the tee in the ground.  In addition to that, you have to beat a lot of good golfers in every tournament you play.  That award is special because simply put, golf is a hard game.  The consistent solid golf Michael had to compile throughout the season to not only be nominated but ultimately to win is very impressive.

"To receive the honor is a testament to what he did throughout the course of the year — on paper, in black and white, it was a phenomenal year and deserving of such an award."

"I knew I had played well, but I didn't realize that I was the No. 1 player in the Sun Belt — I had no clue at the time," Garretson said.  "I was excited, I played well enough I guess."

Actually, it was the team accomplishments that registered with Garretson.  "It means a lot, being the first team to earn an at-large bid to regionals was pretty cool," he stated.  "And being so close to making it to the national championship was real exciting, that was a lot of fun; we were one good break away from advancing."


As Garretson's collegiate career nears an end, he looks back upon his time as a Jaguar fondly.  "I've had fun all four years here, not just playing golf but being with the team," he explained.  "I've had great teammates the last four years, we've all gotten along really well.  It went by pretty quick — it was fun, that's why I think it went by so fast."

While many individuals look to move from the collegiate to the professional ranks, that won't be the case for Garretson.  He is set to earn his degree next month in business administration — he's performed well enough in the classroom to be named a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar last summer — and will begin looking at job opportunities in the Atlanta area.  While he hopes to help USA advance to a third straight NCAA Regional, Garretson will turn to his parents for assistance in seeking work.

"My parents are doing networking for me, trying to help me out, because I want to finish golf and school first and then start thinking about work," he stated.  "I don't need too many things going on at once.  I don't have any work experience other than golf, a lot of people don't understand that this is like a full-time job.

"A bunch of my friends have done it [play professionally], some have done all right and some have played for two years and gave it up," Garretson continued.  "I love golf, but I just don't see myself being professional and living that lifestyle of travelling every week.  I'll still play golf all the time and still enter tournaments — if it leads to something later on, great, but I'm not worried about that right now."

Woe be to the Atlanta businessman who underestimates his weekend playing partner in the future.  But as his track record shows, other schools would be unwise to take Garretson and the Jaguars lightly as postseason play begins first.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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