Robert “Mac” Gifford was hired as the Colgate University head golf coach in August 2007.
In his first competition, Gifford led Colgate to a win at the Colgate Golf Invitational in September. The Raiders completed the two-day event with a three-stroke edge over the second-place team. Ricky Hayes (’08) won the event with a 4-under-par score of 140, and the only golfer to finish under par. Colgate finished fifth at the 2008 Patriot League Tournament. Hayes finished second, after leading at the conclusion of day one with a three-stroke lead. His second-place finish earned him first-team all-Patriot League honors. In May, Montek Mayal ('09) was named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District, becoming just the second golfer in Colgate history to earn the honors.
An avid golfer, Gifford brings his abilities as a stroke technician to the game, as well as his vast knowledge of Division I college athletics.
Gifford was the head women’s tennis coach at Syracuse University from 1999-2006. He was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 2005 and helped to coach two All-Americans. Over 30 of his student-athletes have earned BIG EAST all-academic awards, and eight have captured over 100 individual victories.
Prior to being named the head coach, Gifford was the Orange’s assistant coach from 1994-99.
He has been a tennis pro at numerous clubs in Central New York, including Pine Grove Country Club in Camillus, N.Y., a position he held for 10 years.
A graduate of Nottingham High School in Syracuse, Gifford received a bachelor’s degree from UC-Berkeley where he was a four-year letterwinner on the nationally-ranked men’s tennis team.
