One of the first questions Penn State Head Women's Golf Coach Denise St. Pierre asked her former player Katie Futcher, now the current head women's golf coach at Emory University, was, "What is your purpose on Earth?," to which Futcher responded with, "to help other people."
"I think that definitely inspired me to become a coach," Futcher said.
Like Futcher, many former Penn State golf alumni, have been inspired by St. Pierre during her 35 years of coaching to follow in her footsteps.
"I think one of the highest forms of flattery is when someone wants to do what you're doing," St. Pierre said. "I am not going to pretend to think that they all did that because of me—certainly not. One of the things that I will tell any of my players is to make sure to follow your heart and do the thing that you love, because you're going to spend a lot of time at your job."
Along with following one's heart, the principle "consistency is key" is a staple in St. Pierre's methodical approach to succeed in the game of golf. St. Pierre said she tries to be consistent with the primary message she gives to her players and her specific processes in coaching.
This consistency, however, extends beyond Penn State's Blue Course, as she has helped create the consistent line of former players who have become coaches themselves.
"It has certainly been fun to watch them grow through this whole experience, and to watch them go from being a player on the team to leaving Penn State, going out on their own and giving back to the game of golf," St. Pierre said. "You can't ask for more than that. It has certainly been a fun thing for me to see and a humbling thing."
Several Penn State golf alumni from St. Pierre's three-plus decade coaching career have become collegiate coaches themselves while others have become high school coaches. In addition, there have been numerous others who have gone on as PGA/LPGA teaching professionals.
At the collegiate level, Susan Konstalid ('87) - Gettysburg College, Emily Marron ('98) - University of Central Florida, Lisa Francisco ('00) - Bucknell University, Sara Doell ('01) - University of San Francisco, Katie Futcher ('03) - Emory University, and most recently Halley Morrell ('16) - Bradley University have become head women's golf coaches themselves. Sherri McDonald ('94) retired after a successful career as the head women's golf coach at Monmouth University and Mount Holyoke College.
Steph Lesser ('86), Kristin Reboul ('92), Kristen Ludwig ('93), and Katie Aldridge ('98) have all become high school golf coaches.
St. Pierre's advice and unique, passionate approach have been passed along to a plethora of student-athletes in colleges and high school golf programs all over the nation.
St. Pierre, a Penn State golf alumna herself, first became an assistant coach for both the men's and women's golf team under Mary Kennedy-Zierke—when the seed of Penn State's coaching tree was first planted.
When both the men's and women's golf teams would have tournaments the same weekend, Kennedy-Zierke and St. Pierre would split-up to be able to coach each team. This allowed St. Pierre to gain head coaching experience as an assistant coach.
"There are so many of us that have kept coaching because of [Coach St. Pierre]," Halley Morell said.
Morell, a recent Penn State graduate, transferred to Penn State for her last two years, and her decision to play at Penn State was easily made after a visit to the campus and a conversation with St. Pierre.
After graduating, Morell initially did not know coaching was the path she wanted to take. Knowing Morell wanted to stay in the competitive realm of golf, St. Pierre discussed some different options with her including coaching.
St. Pierre assisted Morell in finding a graduate assistant coaching position at the University of Texas El Paso (UTEP), where she helped coach and earn her master's degree simultaneously. She now is the head women's coach at Bradley University.
"If I have questions, she's always quick to answer, and she has helped me throughout my whole coaching career," Morell said.
Morell said she uses St. Pierre's techniques in her own coaching style today, such as focusing on the mental aspect of golf, preparing extensively for tournaments by taking detailed notes, showing her support by walking with the players throughout the courses and showing up to every workout—just like St. Pierre has done.
"As a coach, I kind of noticed how quickly you earn their trust by doing stuff like that, like walking with them, talking with them—figuring out what they need in that moment on the course," Morell said. "I use a lot of things that she taught me, because a lot of those things work really well."
Since coaching was not something Morell originally intended to pursue, St. Pierre said she was slightly surprised when Morell came to her to discuss becoming a coach, but she knew she would be the perfect person to lead a team.
"I know how passionate she is about the game of golf and how she was around her team," St. Pierre said. "She was the one that was always trying to be the cheerleader and get everybody going, so she certainly has lot of qualities you would want to see in someone who is going to lead other players and coach."
According to St. Pierre, those qualities include not only loving the game of golf, but also loving to help people. Many players who became head coaches were first assistant coaches to St. Pierre, which helped them prepare to one day lead a team of their own.
"Being an assistant coach is certainly the groundwork you want anyone to go through to move on to be a head coach," St. Pierre said.
The experience of an assistant coach not only allows one to experience the game differently and from a different perspective, but St. Pierre said it has also taught her to remember to keep an open mind to their suggestions.
"It's good when you have somebody who played for you, and then they're your assistant coach so they can see both sides," St. Pierre said. "They can help me maybe make some better decisions because they bring another element to that process."
Emily Marron, the head women's golf coach at University of Central Florida, was one of St. Pierre's former players who started off as an assistant coach at Penn State. However, Marron, like Morrell, did not have an initial plan to become a coach. It was not until St. Pierre called Marron to offer her the assistant coaching position at Penn State.
"If it wasn't for Denise, I wouldn't be a coach today, and I am so glad I am," Marron said. "It gave me the opportunity to still be competitive in golf without playing myself and satisfy that competitive desire that I think you have as a player. That's kind of how it all started."
Marron was a freshman walk-on who eventually earned a full-scholarship and was the captain of the team her senior year. Marron said she is grateful St. Pierre gave her the opportunity to join the team and for always believing in her.
"Denise just always believed in all of us," Marron said. "She encouraged us, and I think she still believes in me today as a coach. She encourages me, and I think she is so proud of all of us who are in coaching that we've had success. I can tell you probably every day that I coach, I think of Denise."
One of the most important lessons that Marron carries with her from Penn State to Central Florida is St. Pierre's importance of coaching her players as "people first, not just golfers."
"She instilled in us good values in our morals, principles of just getting an education and that you're a student first and the athlete came second," Marron said. "She taught us you've got to care about the person first, and you've got to coach people and not just golfers. That's really important to me, and my values here mirror what Denise taught us at Penn State."
Even though St. Pierre's coaching techniques are passed on to other players at other schools through St. Pierre's former players, she understands there may be some decisions of hers that not everyone agrees with. However, those discoveries and differences, according to St. Pierre, are beneficial, because it will allow those former players to find their own coaching style.
"Ultimately, I think there are various personalities of people who have gone on to be head coaches, and we are not all the same," St. Pierre said. "It is not a cookie cutter thing. Everyone brings their flavor; their way of doing things."
Futcher was also an assistant coach under St. Pierre who said they did not always "see eye-to-eye," but that is what made the assistant coaching experience great.
"I think one of the really cool things about that is it's okay to have different beliefs, it's okay to have different ideas or thoughts," Futcher said. "My respect for her grows beyond coaching. She's a phenomenal person. For me, it was a joy to work for her."
Futcher became a volunteer assistant coach under St. Pierre after she played in the LPGA tour. Futcher then became the assistant coach at James Madison University. In 2019, Futcher was hired to grow the golf program at Emory University from scratch.
According to St. Pierre, Futcher is a "unique person," who is strong, and "knows what she wants."
"What I love about Katie, is she knows exactly what she's doing and what she wants, and she's going to stand by it," St. Pierre said. "She's not going to waiver, and what I said about being a head coach, you have to have that trait. You have to have that sureness of yourself so that you can make the decisions, and Katie has what it takes to do that."
Futcher said coming to Penn State was the best thing that could have ever happened to her, since St. Pierre helped her understand her weaknesses in order to become stronger in the mental aspect of golf.
"You're not going to find too many coaches like Denise, because she 100 percent cares about the student-athlete, beyond any score that they can shoot," Futcher said. "I think one of the things that makes her pretty special is you can tell that she truly cares about the person, and she really wants to help that person in any way that she possibly can—so certainly that has been a huge piece for me in my coaching style and philosophy."
St. Pierre said she saw a trend with every single student-athlete that has become a coach. That trend is overcoming an obstacle.
"They knew they wanted to be one of the best players here and be a starter on the team and contribute to our success, but they really worked hard," St. Pierre said. "They stayed true to themselves. They stayed true to their processes. They didn't give up."
The many branches of Penn State's golf coaching tree are a symbol of the same tenacity St. Pierre has seen in those players who have become coaches, which was first rooted by her.
"[Denise] is an idol for me as a coach, and I'm just trying to be half as good of a coach as she is," Morell said. "There are so many of us that have continued to coach because of her."
Coach Denise St. Pierre’s Coaching Tree Branches Out Across the Nation
