Puggy Blackmon to Retire Following 2018-19 Season

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s golf associate head coach and director of golf development and facilities Puggy Blackmon has announced that he will retire at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. Blackmon has served the sport of golf for more than 35 years, coaching and mentoring many of the best male and female players in the game.
 
Blackmon has lifted two institutions to major success, first at Georgia Tech, starting mid-1983, and then at South Carolina in various roles over the past 24 years, during which he has served as head men’s golf coach, director of golf development and facilities and, for the past decade, as associate head women’s golf coach.
 
Since Blackmon joined the South Carolina women’s golf program, the Gamecocks have made nine consecutive NCAA postseason appearances, captured five NCAA regional titles and, as with his men’s teams at both Georgia Tech and South Carolina, established themselves as a dominant force in collegiate golf.
 
Widely known for his creativity and “outside the box” thinking, Blackmon conceptualized and orchestrated several prestigious collegiate events including the Golf World-Palmetto Dunes Collegiate, the Carpet Capital Collegiate, the Hootie and the Blowfish Intercollegiate and, most recently, the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
 
Blackmon’s coaching success has also earned him induction into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame, the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame and the Carson-Newman University Sports Hall of Fame.
 
In addition to being ACC Coach of the Year four times, Blackmon received the Labron Harris Sr. Award in 2015 for contributions as a PGA professional/coach in growing the game. And, in 2017, Blackmon picked up yet another award when he was named National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches of America.
 
Before he was instrumental in organizing and developing the American Junior Golf Association, Blackmon created the Jacksonville (Fla.) Junior Golf Association in 1975. While at Georgia Tech, he re-organized and grew the Atlanta Junior Golf Association into one of the more successful junior programs in the country.
 
Check back later for an in-depth piece on Blackmon’s incredible career and get perspectives from some of his former student-athletes.