NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men’s golf head coach Austin Phillips announced on Monday that he has added Sam Gargis to his staff as an assistant coach.
“I’m excited to have Sam join the staff here at ODU and what he brings to the team,” said Phillips. “He is ready to get into the world of coaching, and he will bring a lot of energy to the program. He has learned from some of the best coaches in the country and we can’t wait for him to start.”
A Muscle Shoals, Alabama native, Gargis played Division I golf at North Georgia (2020-23), Stephen F. Austin (2023-25), and Southern Indiana (2025-26). In the fall of his second season with the Lumberjacks, he finished tied for 21st at Nicholls State’s La Tour Intercollegiate with an even 216. He also tied for 25th at the Houston Christian Husky Invitational after turning in a six-over par 222. During the spring, he was named the Southland Conference Player of the Month for March after tying for 11th at the Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate with a three-round total of 211 ( -5). He also owned a 73.5 stroke average for the spring.
Gargis then transferred to Southern Indiana for the 2025-26 season after SFA cut its golf programs. He had the second-lowest stroke average for the Screaming Eagles with a 74.46 and posted a 72.73 average for the fall. He shot a season-low round of three-under 69 in the second round of the Wichita State Grier Jones Shocker Invitational and tied for 26th with a 13-over par 223 to lead his team at the Xavier Invitational.
A four-time All-Area honoree and three-time Alabama 6A state champion at Muscle Shoals High School, Gargis was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at all three schools he attended and was also a part of North Georgia’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes Leadership Team. In the classroom, he was a Dean’s List student and scholar-athlete who earned a bachelor’s in business management degree from SFA and is working towards a master’s in business management degree from USI.
Gargis has worked as a coach at the Chris Haack Bulldog Golf Camp at the University of Georgia, the Matt McCollum School of Golf Summer Camps, and the Cypress Lakes Country Club Junior Golf Camps. He has also provided individual and private lessons and assisted with former PGA Tour member Sam Fidone’s golf lessons.