New PSHS boys’ golf coach calculates success

The Philip Simmons High School boys’ golf team has a new coach for 2022. But the Iron Horses hope to continue to build on the success the program has enjoyed since the program was born in 2018.

 

The new coach is Tamyn Garrick, who was already on campus as a math teacher and as an assistant football coach alongside coach Eric Bendig’s staff.

 

He replaces Ashley Harvey, a coach and educator who concluded a 37-year academic career at PSHS. He led the team to a fifth-place finish at the state championships last spring.

 

The golf team was about more than birdies, pars and bogeys under Harvey’s guidance. Last year, the team raised $1,000 for the First Tee of Greater Charleston. In 2020, the team raised money for the MUSC Children’s Hospital. 

 

“It’s going well,” Garrick said of his new position. “I’m working with a great group of young men and we hope to build on what coach Harvey started here.”

 

Garrick graduated from Presbyterian College in 2015 where he played quarterback. He said his connection to golf was when he played on the Williston-Elko High School team.

 

“I’m more of a football guy,” Garrick admitted. “But I have always enjoyed golf and what it has to offer. It’s the one sport you can play for the rest of your life.”

 

The Iron Horses have an abbreviated schedule this spring because they compete in Region 6-AA, and the league doesn’t crown a champ because not enough schools in the league field a golf team.

 

That means the Iron Horses play a schedule that is demanding. Earlier this month, the Iron Horses traveled to Sumter to compete in the two-day Magnolia Invitational at Beech Creek Golf Course. The tourney, celebrating its 20th year, featured many of the best teams in the Palmetto State, and the Iron Horses held their own. South Aiken won the tourney with a score of 452 to win the 22-team tourney, while the Iron Horses claimed third place with a 461.

 

The team’s top four players offer experience, youth and talent.

 

Seniors Shannon Campbell and Stephen Ethridge fared well in Sumter. Campbell carded a 76-77 for a 153. Ethridge shot a 91 on the first day but recovered to card a 79 on the second day to finish with a 170.

 

Seventh-grader Hudson Hatch shot a 156 for the two days, including a 76 on the final day.

 

“He’s very good for a seventh grader,” Garrick said. “He has a chance to be very good.”

 

Sophomore Ryan Propose also has great potential. He finished fourth in the individual standings at Sumter.

 

The Iron Horses recently received an invitation to play in the prestigious Southern Cross Invitational, which will be contested in May at the Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken.

 

“You can argue that it’s not only one of the biggest high school tournaments in South Carolina,” Garrick said. “It’s one of the biggest in the country.”