USCA's Carlisle recipient of prestigious golf award

USC Aiken men's golf coach Michael Carlisle and his affinity for the game of golf has been rewarded a thousand times over - championships won as a player and a coach have lined such accomplishments.

Tuesday, the Palmetto Golf Club recognized Carlisle's work as a contributor to the game of golf in Aiken with the Thomas Hitchcock and William C. Whitney Award, which is named after the club's founders.

Carlisle, a three-time Palmetto Amateur champion, won the award in its initial offering.

"I just came out here to eat, hang out with friends, have a good time and get ready to play golf tomorrow," Carlisle said. "This is a big honor. The two names on this award are very influential in the game of golf and sportsmanship in this area. This is quite a surprise. I'm very fortunate to get to work at something I love to do."

Carlisle is best known as the architect for USCA's wildly successful golf program, which won three straight Division II Men's Golf National Championships from 2004-06.

Additionally, Carlisle has directed the Augusta Area Junior Golf Association (AAJGA) for more than 15 years. AAJGA alums include PGA Tour professional Charles Howell III.

His work as a mentor, at times, tends to overshadow a successful amateur career.

Carlisle, who played golf at Aiken High School, moved on to Elon University and then Clemson University in his college years. Three seems to be Carlisle's magic number - he is a three-time champion of the Palmetto Amateur and the Cadillac Cup. He also won the 1993 South Carolina Mid-Amateur and the Palmetto Golf Club Championship.

Carlisle's golfing career seems to be part of Aiken's golfing fabric - past and present. Carlisle credited Jim McNair Sr. as "very influential in getting me started in the game of golf." McNair's son, Jim Jr., owns and works as the head golf professional at the Aiken Golf Club, only minutes away from Palmetto.

"We gave up baseball, football and everything else to play golf because he made it such a wonderful thing for us," said Carlisle of the elder McNair. "We were able to see quickly that it's a game for your life.

"You don't see too many 72-year-old guys playing pick-up basketball," Carlisle added. "You come out here or any golf club across America, and the same story is played out every day where you see older guys playing golf."

Carlisle's humility seems to accessorize his individual and collective accomplishments. He credited his players at USCA for the school's three straight national titles, and, on Tuesday, he relished in the relationships that the game of golf forged for him and his family.

"My entire life, all my friends, everything I had ... the common denominator was the game of golf," Carlisle said. "It's been tremendous. It's a lot of fun, work and love involved, and it's the friends that share the same things that make it so special."

The award was given out in conjunction with a dinner at the Palmetto Golf Club on the eve of the Palmetto Invitational. That respected tournament will begin today at 7:30 a.m. with the first of four rounds that will eventually determine a champion.

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