Augustana College Men's Golf

Del Vecchios first five seasons. Augustanas other top performances included third-place finishes at the 14-team Loras Fall Invitational, the 12-team Dubuque Invitational and the 12-team Scot/Fire Classic, as well as a seventh-place effort among 31 teams at the Midwest Region Classic.   Del Vecchio was named the head mens golf coach at Augustana in August of 2011, replacing Grey Giovanine who stepped aside after 12 years to concentrate full time on his role as head coach of the Viking mens basketball program. For two seasons (2009-10 and 2010-11), Del Vecchio served as a volunteer assistant under Giovanine.   Prior to coming to Augustana, Del Vecchio spent two years as a teaching professional at Cannon Flats Driving Range on the Rock Island Arsenal. He was the head professional at Pinnacle Country Club for seven years after holding similar positions at Fox Run Golf Course in West Branch, Iowa and Brown Deer Golf Club in Coralville, Iowa. In addition, hes held assistant golf pro positions at Short Hills Country Club in East Moline, Illinois and Arthur Pack and Sun City Vistoso Golf Courses in Tucson, Arizona.   Del Vecchio, a Davenport, Iowa native, played collegiately at Pima Community College in Tucson. Hes been a Class A member of the PGA since 1995 and competed in two Ben Hogan tour events as a professional. He recorded six top 20 finishes in mini-tour events as well. He played in two PGA events during his career, the 2000 and 2005 John Deere Classic.   Paul currently owns a pair of Anytime Fitness health clubs in the Quad-Cities and resides in Bettendorf, Iowa with his wife Heather and children Andrew, Sophia and Spencer.   I believe in the simple things and working on the short game, Del Vecchio said when asked about his coaching philosophy. Everybody likes to hit the ball a long way but it is what you do around the green that can really translate into lowering your score. I am a firm believer in repetition in practice and that is what we will work on.   Augustana Director of Athletics Mike Zapolski added at the time of Del Vecchios hiring, "Paul has an extensive golf background, and his long-time affiliation with the PGA and many years of teaching experience will be a tremendous asset for our current players while serving as an attractive bonus in the recruiting process. After volunteering his time with us the last two years, Paul is very familiar with Augustana and has an exciting vision on how he wants to build our men's golf program."