A Desert Golf Empire

November 20, 2014

With vast industry knowledge and a passion for the game, Tony Manzoni built a successful and competitive golf program at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert.

By Matt McKay

There is a vast pool of colleges and Universities in the United States that would pay big money to create the type of successful, competitive men’s golf program currently in place at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert.

Ask program architect and Head Coach Tony Manzoni how the empire was constructed. He’ll tell you it’s the product of a lot of hard work. The wins on the golf course are just a by-product of that effort, and the school’s comprehensive dedication to the game’s development.

In his 20th year as Head Men’s Golf Coach, Manzoni wears three hats at the facility; he’d the men’s golf coach, he serves as general manager of the 20-acre College Golf Center on the COD campus in Palm Desert and is also the director of COD’s two-year Golf Management Program. A long-time desert golf maven, Manzoni took over the men’s program in 1994 when his predecessor, John Coefield, retired. The two have combined to win 27-straight conference championships.

During Manzoni’s 20 years in charge, the team did not lose a league match in the old Foothill Conference, and has carried that streak into a new conference, the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference, which it won last year with a 761 two-day total to finish eight shots clear of Palomar College. Now 78, Manzoni said he has no plans to retire. He works daily to maintain the winning atmosphere and learn new ways to play the game better. That enthusiasm and work ethic rubs off on his players, so those who seek out the school to become a part of the program learn first-hand what drive and motivation are all about.

“I was looking on the internet to see how many out of state and out of the country students we have, and there were 10 last year, which is a lot.” Manzoni said. “We’re not advertising, but people can go on the internet anywhere. And they look at community colleges, they look at records, and obviously our area lends itself in the springtime to beautiful weather. We’ve got all these golf courses, and then they look at my bio and see I’m not your typical college coach - I have an industry background that’s significant. So all those things combined make the package look pretty good.”

Manzoni’s industry connections go back to the formation of Callaway Golf. Manzoni manufactured the old Hickory Stick wedges in a shop on Perez Road, and sold 120 of the clubs at the Vintage Club, where Ely Callaway got his hands on one and fell in love with its look and playability. Callaway eventually bought the company and became equal partners. Their bore-through shaft construction and large-headed drivers revolutionized the equipment business in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The experience and contacts Manzoni made during that time helped make the COD golf center, program and management program possible. After parting ways with Callaway Golf, Manzoni turned to bringing the COD vision to life, starting with the fundraising and construction of the golf center on what was a 20-acre alfalfa field on campus. While the center does provide the community with a place to practice, its primary function is to support the competitive golf program and the Golf Management Program’s mission to turn out industry-ready graduates.

Manzoni calls “the formula” his program’s key to success. He works seven days a week, and the players see that as an example and take up the habit themselves. Manzoni said he’s still passionate about teaching golf and mentoring young players, and the players respond to that enthusiasm. Then, there’s the rather large matter of just making the Roadrunners’ five-man competition team, which was selected from a 22-man squad last spring. As a result of this confluence of golf opportunities, recruiting at COD amounts to Manzoni answering a steady flow of inquiries from players in all corners of the world interested in the school and the program.

“I keep my golf team competing against themselves throughout the season. Nobody on the team can stand pat and think they have a spot that’s going to be there next week,” Manzoni said. “And many of them have told me, “Coach, the most competition we had was keeping our spots.” So by the time we get to the conference championships, they’re pretty hardened when it comes to competition.”

Leobardo Gudino, a 19-year old sophomore from North Shore, Calif., is fighting for one of those spots while studying business administration, with plans to transfer to Cal-Berkeley next year. Gudino said he’s at COD because of Manzoni, and the prospects of taking his game to another level. He did not make the five-man team one time last season, but feels his game is in shape to compete regularly for a spot in the top five this spring.

“At my high school, I was a good golfer and my senior year I made the CIF conference and I realized I might be good at golf and be able to take this far,” he said. “I decided to give it a try (at COD). I heard how good the golf program is and what a good coach Tony is. And it’s been everything I thought it would be.”



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