Golf School Staff
Chip Watson
School Director
37th year as Wolfpack Golf School Director and Instructor. PGA Professional and General Manager of Lonnie Poole Golf Course, Former Assistant Golf Coach at NC State University (2008-14), Part-Owner of Wildwood Green Golf Club, All-Big South Conference Golfer at Campbell University, 1985 North Carolina Junior Medalist, winner of numerous junior tournaments, 2022 Carolinas PGA Merchandiser of the Year, 2021-22 Youth on Course Leader for the Carolinas, and Member of the NC Golf Panel.
Press McPhaul
Lead Instructor and Head Golf Coach at NC State University
The 2023-24 season will mark the seventh year with Press McPhaul as head coach.
NC State has advanced to the postseason in every season it has been held (no postseason in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic) under McPhaul, appearing in five NCAA Regionals and advancing to the NCAA Championships two times.
In McPhaul’s six seasons as head coach at NC State, the Pack has won 11 tournament titles as a team and golfers under his tutelage have won 10 individual titles. NC State golfers have combined for 86 top-10 finishes in six years under McPhaul, including 47 combined top-five finishes.
NC State has had seven All-ACC selections under McPhaul, including 2018 when Stephen Franken was named ACC Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Academics have always been a priority for McPhaul and he has had at least two golfers be named to the ACC’s All-Academic team and be named to the Golf Coaches Association of American All-America Scholars team every season he’s been a head coach.
In the 2022-23 season, the Wolfpack finished in the top-three in four events, including two runner-up finishes on the season at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate and the Stitch Intercollegiate. Maximilian Steinlechner led NC State with a 70.97 stroke average, just the eighth stroke average under 71.0 in program history.
Five of the eight golfers that have had a season stroke average under 71.0 in program history did it under McPhaul.
NC State’s 2021-22 season, saw the Pack spend many a tournament in contention as the Wolfpack finished seven tournaments with top-five finishes, including two runner-up performances and three tournament wins. The Pack won the Mountaineer Invitational, the Wolfpack Intercollegiate and the Hootie at Bulls Bay.
In a shortened 2021 season, where the team did not compete in the fall of 2020 because of the Covid-Pandemic, NC State saw a historical run as the Pack won four consecutive tournaments from the middle of March to early April. NC State won in succession the General Hackler Championship, the Schenkel Invitational, the Hootie at Bulls Bay and the Stitch Intercollegiate to complete one of the most dominant runs in program history. The Wolfpack won the Stitch Intercollegiate by shooting a program-record 51-under par in the three-round romp.
The Pack’s four consecutive tournament wins were the most in a row for NC State since the 1982-83 team won four straight.
Benjamin Shipp won the Schenkel Invitational individual title with a three-round score of 16-under par. The 16-under par score is the best 54-hole score related to par in program history.
The 2021 season saw the Pack advance to the NCAA Championships after a fourth place finish in the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional.
Overall, the Pack won seven tournaments from 2021-2022. The seven tournaments in two seasons are the most wins for the Pack since the 1994-95 and 1995-96 teams combined to win nine tournaments.
The 2019-20 season was shortened because of the Covid Pandemic, but NC State won its fall tournament, the Wolfpack Intercollegiate.
In 2018-19, NC State won the Wolfpack Intercollegiate title and was selected for an NCAA Regional for the fifth consecutive season. McPhaul molded a team that finished the season with two players (Stephen Franken – 4th and Benjamin Shipp – 6th) ranked in the top-10 on the program’s single-season stroke average list. Both Franken and Shipp were named to the All-ACC team. It was the first time since 2011, the Pack had multiple players named to the All-ACC team.
In his first season, NC State won two team tournaments and finished third in the Raleigh NCAA Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2011. The Pack’s 54-hole score of 21-under-par was the second-best 54-hole score in Regional competition for NC State in program history. Benjamin Shipp’s score of 12-under-par for the tournament was the best score in program history in regional play.
McPhaul helped guide Stephen Franken to one of the best individual seasons in program history in 2017-18. Franken was named ACC Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He tied a program-record for low round with a 62 in Puerto Rico and tied the program-record for best 54-hole score related to par with a 15-under 201 to win the 2017 Wolfpack Intercollegiate. Franken’s season stroke average of 70.56 is the second-best in program history.
McPhaul was selected to lead the NC State men's golf program on June 13, 2017 to succeed retiring Richard Sykes.
McPhaul competed at NC State from 1991-96 and later served as an assistant under Sykes from 1998-2000 before getting his first head coaching position at Vanderbilt.
Prior to NC State, McPhaul spent 11 seasons as head coach at East Carolina.
Under McPhaul's leadership, the Pirates qualified for four NCAA Regionals (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016) and made one appearance in the NCAA Championships (2012). The NCAA Championships appearance in 2012 was the first in the history of the ECU men's golf program. Eleven ECU golfers have earned all-conference honors and the Pirates have won 12 tournament titles during his tenure, the most recent of which was a team victory at the 2016 Wolfpack Fall Intercollegiate at Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh.
McPhaul's teams have placed a combined 81 players on the Conference USA and American Athletic Conference Honor Roll and have had 16 Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar Team honorees. ECU has been named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar Team seven times since 2009 and was the recipient of the C-USA Sport Academic Award in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Prior to his time at ECU, McPhaul was the head coach at Vanderbilt from 2000-06. He led the Commodores to three consecutive NCAA Regional appearances and a pair of NCAA Championships appearances, including the program's first in 2003. He coached four All-Americans and three All-America Scholars while in Nashville.
Throughout his coaching career, McPhaul's former players have won more than $65 million in tournament earnings with 22 victories on the PGA Tour, Web.com Tour, and the PGA European Tour (Marc Turnesa and Carl Petterson of NC State; Brandt Snedeker, Luke List and Jon Curran of Vanderbilt; Harold Varner of ECU). They have combined for more than 75 major championship appearances.
A native of Sanford, N.C., McPhaul played college golf at NC State from 1991-96. A co-captain of the 1995-96 squad, he participated in three NCAA Championships (1993, 1995, 1996) and helped the Wolfpack to an eighth-place finish in 1995 and a 1996 NCAA East Regional title. He also served as an assistant coach for the Wolfpack from 1998-2000.
A member of the College Golf Fellowship National Advisory Board, McPhaul is married to the former Lynn May of Farmville, N.C., and the couple has three daughters: Anna, Emma, and Sarah Kate.
Jacob Hicks
Instructor and Assistant Men's Golf Coach at NC State
The 2023-24 season marks Hicks’ first season as an assistant coach at NC State.
Hicks comes to the Pack after five seasons as head coach of Master’s University men’s golf program and three years as head coach of the women’s program. In 2022-23 he led the men’s team to a runner-up finish at the 2023 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship.
Hicks has been named the GSAC (Golden State Athletic Conference) Men’s Golf Coach of the Year three consecutive seasons as his Mustang men’s program has won the last three GSAC Men’s Golf Championships.
Hicks guided Jack Dudeck to back-to-back GSAC individual championships in 2021 and 2022, as well as earning the national runner-up finish at the 2022 NAIA Championship. This last season under Hicks’ tutelage, freshman Easton Johnson won the 2023 NAIA men’s golf national championship as well as being named NAIA Player of the Year, NAIA Freshman of the Year and the Jack Nicklaus Award winner.
A four-year lettermen under McPhaul at East Carolina. Hicks was a two-time All-Conference selection in The American conference. As a senior he led the Pirates with a 72.32 stroke average and finished the season earning All-America Scholar Team honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America.
A Mebane, N.C., native, Hicks is married to his wife, Sarah.
Jason Cox
School Instructor
Jason Cox is the Executive Director of the HV3 Foundation. Professional golfer Harold Varner III's HV3 Foundation aims to grow the game of golf for junior golfers and raise awareness of the rising cost of entry and access to sports. The foundation will strive to provide financial assistance for equipment, after-school programs, instruction, camps, and various other avenues where an athlete can cultivate his/her passion.
Cox's journey with NC State Golf is both rich and inspiring. After serving as the Director of Operations from 2021 to 2024, his connection with the team dates back to 1988. Initially a walk-on for the NC State men's golf team, Cox's passion for the sport led him to transfer to Pfeiffer College, where he truly shined. At Pfeiffer, he earned accolades as a two-time All-Carolinas Conference and All-District member in 1992 and 1993. Graduating in 1992 with a degree in Sports Management, Cox's dedication and achievements underscore his lifelong commitment to the game.
Cox spent 17 years at the Carolinas Golf Association as Director of Youth Development. In his role with the third largest golf association in the United States, with over 145,000 members, Cox oversaw the junior program of over 100 tournaments and programs. He administered 15 junior championships yearly in the Carolinas and organized and conducted over 40 one-day junior events in North Carolina. He supervised the Youth on Course Carolinas program, organized and published the junior schedule of the Carolinas, and oversaw the North Carolina Boys' and Girls' rankings system.
Cox was also the Director of the Tarheel Youth Golf Association (TYGA) and maintained the association's website. He instructed over 15 rules of golf seminars each year, expanded events into new areas of North Carolina to introduce competitions for junior boys and girls, and started the TYGA Tots programs for juniors ages six to 11. Cox also created a College Golf Night to help inform junior players and parents about the transition from junior golf to college golf.
Cox and his wife, Patricia, have four children: Christopher, Elizabeth, John Henry, and William. He and his daughter Elizabeth are the only father (1987) and daughter (2017) to win the state golf championship in North Carolina.
The remainder of the golf school staff will be completed with PGA Professionals, current NC State golf team members, past collegiate golfers, and area college golf coaches. Former instructors have gone on to the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, LPGA Tour, European Tour, and Champions Tour.
