Mercer men’s golf assistant coach leaves corporate office for the green

Jordan Harlacher built a golf program at his alma mater, Kenyon College in Gambio, Ohio, that moved into the category of Top Division III colleges/universities in the country. He is originally from Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania, a town outside of Pennsylvania’s capital, Harrisburg.

Harlacher is the new men’s golf associate coach at Mercer. He played golf at Kenyon for four years and was heavily involved with the development of his team there.

“For the past two years, I was in the financial industry and wanted a change of scenery from the office setting,” Harlacher said for why he came to Mercer.

Harlacher said he will continue his studies as an online graduate student in the Stetson School of Business.

“I wanted to get back into golf after grad school and Mercer had this perfect opportunity for me to do that,” he said.

The men’s golf team has 17 more matches before they qualify for the conference tournament. So far their record includes one tie and two wins.

“My goal is to get the NCAA regional tournament and see where it goes from there. We have solid players, good competition and a strong schedule. If everything goes well, we should have a chance to qualify for nationals,” Harlacher said.

Harlacher said he is looking forward to traveling to play at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, home of where U.S. Opens and Professional Golfers’ Association Championships have been hosted. The team will also participate in the Linger Longer Invitational hosted at Reynolds Lake Oconee.

"I'm excited to have Jordan join our program as an assistant coach,” said Kirk Kayden, Mercer men’s head golf coach. “Jordan brings great qualities to our program and being a collegiate golfer at Kenyon College, he will be able to relate to our players' needs on and off the course.”

Harlacher has only been here for a couple of days but already loves Mercer.

“The best thing you can do is be genuine and honest. Giving honest feedback holds players accountable and allows players to hold you as a coach accountable,” he said as advice to aspiring coaches. “Put in the work and do things the right way. Don’t try to take shortcuts.”