One of the state's most respected teaching pros, Jim Hamilton has brought energy and success to the University of Evansville men's and women's golf programs since his arrival in 2002. Not surprisingly, Hamilton was chosen in 2006 by the Indiana PGA as one of the state's top 10 golf instructors.
Hamilton has put his fingerprints on the entire UE men's and women's program as he has coached each of the top 10 golfers in the history of both programs. His work saw Tyler Gray assume the lowest men's average at 73.67 in 2018 while Kayla Katterhenry left the program with an average of 75.86, almost five strokes lower than anyone in school history. In his time at UE, Hamilton has seen his student-athletes earn 20 individual championships and 13 team tournament wins. Aside from the on-course success, Hamilton has seen his student-athletes enjoy even more success in the classroom. A total of 32 golfers have earned Scholar-Athlete All-America accolades.
The local ties Hamilton has have seen some of the most talented golfers in the Evansville area join the Purple Aces. Katterhenry came to UE from Newburgh and capped her career off by winning the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Championship. The league's Golfer of the Year was named to the MVC Women's Golf 25th Anniversary Team. She finished her time at UE winning 11 individual championships. Sophia Rohleder, a native of Evansville, is also on her way to one of the top average in the history of the program. Tyler Gray, who is from nearby Huntingburg, Ind., set the UE stroke average in 2018 while another Evansville product - Alex Turner - left the program in 2015 with the top mark of 74.44 and remains second. The third and fourth ranked golfers on the men's list also stayed close to home for the college careers. Kyle Reddington is third on the stroke average list; he is from right in Evansville while Boonville's Griffin Wood is fourth.
Following the graduation of Katterhenry, Hamilton and his team continued to enjoy success, picking up team victories in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The most recent win for the ladies came at the ASU Spring Classic. Gray has led the way for the men, picking up back-to-back medalists at the Butler Fall Invitational in 2016 and 2017. Gray helped the men finish sixth in the 2017 MVC Championship.
Hamilton has built the program into a force in the league on both the men's and women's sides and it culminated in great 2015-16 seasons for the men and women. Kayla Katterhenry won four events in 2015-16 and helped the women take the team championship at the Charles Braun Intercollegiate. She finished in second place at the 2016 MVC Championship and tied the championship mark for the lowest round in its history - a 67. In 2016, Katterhenry earned her second Braun Intercollegiate win in a row while the team also earned its second-consecutive championship.
On the men's side, the Purple Aces picked up a pair of second-place team finishes to open up the spring. Rick Voyvodic was the top performer in 2015-16, culminating in a victory at the Butler Invitational in Florida. He took fourth place in the MVC Championship while Tyler Gray came home in 9th. As a team, UE took 6th place, marking the 9th season in a row the program has recorded a top six finish in the event.
He guided 2014 graduate Cathy Doyle to the second-lowest stroke average in program history. Originally a women's basketball player, he transformed Doyle into one of the top golfers in the MVC. He also helped Kayla Katterhenry to her third medalist honor in just two seasons.
The men's team had one of its best seasons as members of the MVC, coming home in fourth place at the 2015 MVC Championship. The team finished just two strokes shy of second place in the event.
He coached the men to a pair of victories in the spring of 2014 (Don Benbow Intercollegiate and Bradley Invitational). He also saw Alex Turner and Quinn Vilneff turn in two of the top seasons in program history. Turner finished the season with the second-lowest average in the MVC while Vilneff garnered just the second Elite 18 award for UE in 2013. Both made the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team in 2014.
His success helped to bring in talented area native Kayla Katterhenry. In her inaugural season with the Purple Aces, she garnered MVC Newcomer of the Year honors on the strength of a 76.08 stroke average. Her average was the best in UE history. She was medalist in two events (Saluki Invitational and Bradley Invitational) and was named the MVC Women's Golfer of the Week on four occasions.
A certified PGA Professional, and former co-owner of Hamilton Golf Course in Evansville, Jim has carried on the Hamilton name that is synonymous with golf. He is the son of legendary Bob Hamilton, Ryder Cup team member and champion of the 1944 PGA Championship. Jim is an outstanding golfer himself, having won the Evansville city tourney twice, the Tri-State Junior Championship three times, and the Indiana Junior Championship once. Jim was a founder of the Evansville Junior Golf Association.
Hamilton’s teaching skills are reflected in the teams he coaches at UE. The Aces' men rose in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship standings from eighth to seventh to fifth in Hamilton’s first three years. In the fall of 2010, his men's team won both the Butler Fall Invitational and the Dayton Invitational.
In 2012, the UE men earned their third Golf Coaches Association of America honor for their academic performance. His team posted a 3.416 GPA and was just one of 79 DI programs to earn the honor. Aside from the team honors, two of his players earned a pair of academic honors as Michael Sainz and Griffin Wood earned MVC Scholar-Athlete honors while being named Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholars.
The women’s team has produced its top three MVC finishes under Hamilton’s direction, and recently earned the All-Scholar Team award from the National Golf Coaches Association. In addition, Maggie Wood in 2011 was chosen as the Dettwiler Scholarship recipient, given annually to one University of Evansville female athlete who possesses the characteristics of team spirit, hard work and leadership that made Meg Dettwiler an important figure in the Evansville community.
His leadership has assisted the women's team in becoming more competitive each and every year. In the spring of 2012, freshman Cathy Doyle notched a pair of individual second-place outings as the Aces also took second on the team side at the Butler Invitational and the Butler Invitational. The team has also done exceptional work on the academic side as they earned Public Recognition Awards from the NCAA for their classwork in each of the last three seasons.
“I’m proud of how hard the players on both teams have worked,” Hamilton says. “They have goals, and they know it takes dedication to achieve them. We have built a good foundation that will help us compete for a Missouri Valley Conference championship and an NCAA Tournament bid for both the men’s and women’s teams. You do that by recruiting people who really have a desire to succeed academically and athletically.”
Coach Hamilton and his wife, Cinda, have a son, Heath, a 2006 graduate of the University of Evansville.
