Augusta University recently named Steven Paine as the new head men’s golf coach and director of golf for the Jaguars.
After nine seasons coaching, former head coach Jack O’Keefe, who had served as the college’s director of golf since 2016, and the Jaguars parted ways after the 2022 spring season.
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Paine will now join the Jaguars after leaving his most recent position as Mississippi State University’s assistant golf coach. He joined the Bulldogs in 2020 and helped lead them to a 12th NCAA Regional Appearance.
“I am very excited to be able to coach and compete at the highest level,” Paine said.
Paine was also the head men’s golf coach for Point University for six seasons. Paine led the Skyhawks to three team Appalachian Athletic Conference championships and three NAIA National Championship berths. Paine was named the AAC men’s golf Coach of the Year for three consecutive seasons.
“I consider myself a Georgian, I lived in Columbus, Ga, for 13 years, and my wife is from Columbus, Ga.,” Paine said. “We are very happy to be back in the state of Georgia. It feels like home and to be at a place like Augusta where we can win at the highest level, the excitement is high.”
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Paine spoke on the upcoming season and some goals for his journey as coach at AU.
“We have the history, we have the facilities, and we have the support from the community and the golf courses around us,” Paine said. “We got three new players coming in this year and some guys last year that have done some pretty good work. My ultimate goal is to see every player improve every semester and we should like where we are down the road if we can do that.”
Chris Rickerson is a staff reporter covering Columbia County government and general assignment topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at chris@theaugustapress.com.
