Coach Laura Brown is in her 29th season as the head coach of Daytona State’s women’s golf team. Brown is the first and only coach for the team. She helped found the program in 1998 and has been there ever since.
Under her leadership, the Falcons have won 12 championships, three consecutively in the 2003, 2004, and 2005 seasons. Brown has produced 107 All-Americans, and three times over the team won the National Academic Team of the Year award. Brown also coached Olympic golfer Tiffany Chan when she was playing for DSC.
Brown is a real Volusia local. She grew up in New Smyrna Beach, in a home near a golf course. Growing up, she spent many hours a week at local courses, namely the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Golf Course. Her dad was a coach too, but for track, and she was exposed to the mindset of a coach from a young age.
Brown accepted a scholarship to the University of Florida, but it nearly wasn’t so. She hadn’t received an offer from UF until later and was planning on accepting an offer from FSU, until UF reached out right before she committed.
Brown recounted a story from around this time. “My parents had actually gotten me an FSU sweater, which was pretty hard for them,” she said. “But after I got that offer from UF, I told them they can go ahead and take it back.”
Her parents were huge Gator fans, and she gladly chose to take her talents to Gainesville.
At UF, Brown won the SEC Freshman of the Year honors in 1988 and was a member of the 1991 SEC championship team. That same year she was awarded All-SEC and All-American honors.
Coach Brown said she loved her time at UF and has many fond memories of playing there. She remains a Gator fan to this day. “I loved my time at UF, it was full of great experiences,” she said.
From UF, Brown went on to play professionally. She spent 7 years playing first on the mini tour, then on the LPGA tour. Life on the tour is very hectic and fast-paced. It was a life of constant travelling and sporadic living situations. which Brown said “wasn’t for her.”
“I actually lived in private housing for a while,” she said. Private housing consisted of homes that families offered the players while on tour.
“All the families that housed me were very nice, I didn’t have any bad experiences,” Brown said. “But I remember one family did have this little parakeet bird that would always fly around everywhere.”
When the opportunity presented itself, Brown decided to transition to coaching. “I had come down with an injury on the tour, and around the same time I had gotten the offer from Daytona State, so I decided to take it,” she said.
Coach Brown described the first season as a bit of a scramble. It was her first time coaching, and it was Daytona State’s first ever team.
“I got hired in February, and by August I had to have a team,” Brown said.
This was in reference to the ‘98-‘99 season. Coach Brown recalled that season as a “growing process.” Something she says that helped those first years is that DSC was one of the first colleges to offer full scholarships for the sport. Five years later, in 2003, she coached the team to their first national championship.
Brown takes a personal approach to coaching. Golf is an individual sport primarily, and so she likes to focus on individual improvement as a necessary factor for the team’s overall success.
During practice, Brown takes the time to see what each player’s needs are and works with them accordingly. Instead of a rigid practice schedule, Brown favors a flexible approach to provide the opportunity to address what each player needs in that practice.
This personalness extends to players not on the team yet, too. Recruiting is a big part of coaching.
“I hardly ever put my phone down,” Brown said regarding keeping in contact with potential recruits. Brown recruits from all over the country, and gets some international players, too. But regardless of where they’re coming from, she is always looking to establish a connection.
“I reach out to all my recruits personally,” she said. Brown spends most of the year recruiting, as golf has both Fall and Spring seasons. Summer is the only offseason.
“During the summer is about the only time I put the phone down, and not have to worry about it,” Brown commented.
Brown emphasizes the mental aspect of golf as the major key to success.
“What separates a great player from a good player is mental toughness,” she said. During the regular season, the Falcons participate primarily in Division One tournaments, which means the competition is fierce. They’ve played against top universities like Alabama and even Harvard.
Brown coaches all of her players to “keep in control of their emotions” in these tough environments. “Coach Brown has had a big impact on my game, especially helping me with the mental side of things,” said Jamie Lowry, a golfer on the team.
Brown is the only coach on staff for the Women’s golf team, but she said she often will make use of former players who help volunteer. Brown keeps in contact with many former players turned alumni.
“The relationships I build are one of my favorite parts of the job,” Brown said.
The players too hold in high regard their relationship with Coach Brown. “Coach Brown is great. Playing for her has been really good,” said Riley Fletcher, who is now in her 2nd season with Brown.
Brown is now a Port Orange local, and outside of her many hours spent coaching, she likes to remain active. In her free time, she enjoys playing pickleball in local community groups.
It is not common for a local athlete whose played professionally to dedicate their career in the place where they were raised. Now in her 29th season, Coach Brown is still contributing to her community and the college, as the face of a program she helped to found.