John Michael Cole was named head coach of the Fayetteville State University men’s golf program in July of 2018.
During his first season, Cole led the Broncos to a runner-up finish in the 2019 CIAA Golf Championship, the Broncos' best finish since 2012. He coached Sean Burke to the 2019 CIAA Individual Low Medalist and CIAA Player of the Year Awards. At the conclusion of his first season, Cole was awarded the 2019 CIAA Golf Coach of the Year and landed two of his golfers on the All-CIAA Team.
Cole started his coaching career as the first head coach of the men’s and women’s golf teams at Fayetteville Technical Community College in 2016. He built both programs from scratch and started competing in events in Fall 2016. Cole was awarded FTCC Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017 and earned NJCAA Region X Coach of the Year in 2017. He led the Trojans to a victory at the 2018 NJCAA Region X Championship and a berth in the NJCAA DII National Championship.
Cole started his collegiate golf career at Fayetteville State University in 2011. While attending FSU, he had five collegiate victories as a freshman, including the PGA Works DII Collegiate Championship. He was also named the 2011 CIAA Player of the Year. Cole transferred to Appalachian State University and later became the team captain his senior year. He graduated from Appalachian State in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Management and a minor in Communications.
On the professional links following his collegiate career, Cole played on the Swingthough, G-Pro, and Coastal Players Tour. He captured a win at the 2015 Crow Creek Invitational on the Coastal Players Tour.
Cole, a Fayetteville, North Carolina native, attended Cape Fear High School, where he won the 2010 Cumberland County Match Play Championship.
