Aaron riding the wave to Wake Forest
THE Irish have always done well in America so it’s no surprise to see Cork’s Aaron O’Callaghan move on to bigger and better things in US collegiate golf.
The Douglas standout played alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy on the Irish team in 2005 and 2006 and he’s now made his mark on the other side of the pond by agreeing to join prestigious Wake Forest University as Associate Head Coach to Bill Haas.
He’ll be following in the footsteps of some Irish greats at the great North Carolina university, which was alma mater to Arnold Palmer, Jay Sigel, Lanny Wadkins, Curtis Strange and Webb Simpson not to mention Ireland’s Eoghan O’Connell, Darren Clarke (briefly) and most recently, The Island’s Paul McBride.
“I have admired the golf programme at Wake Forest for a very long time,” said Aaron (31), who graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2009 and has spent the past few seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville, helping the likes of Kinsale’s John Murphy, Oughterard’s Devin Morley and Fortwilliam’s Hugh O’Hare excel.
“It is well known for being Arnold Palmer’s school, but it was also where Eoghan O’Connell made his college debut. When I was in college, we competed against them a few times. Webb Simpson was the standout player at that time.
“In fact, Bill Haas had already left his mark on college golf by the time I was getting ready to begin.
“In recent years, Paul McBride was on the roster, and I started paying even more attention to the school. Paul had a stellar college career and showed rapid development every year.
“I’ve come to know Coach Haas and Coach Dan Walters very well over my last four years as a coach. At the end of the season, an opportunity to join Wake Forest came up, and I couldn’t say no.
“When Coach Haas asked me to be the Associate Head Coach of the Men’s Team, it was quite an honour. Wake Forest is one of the best programmes in the country. I have the utmost respect for Coach Haas, and I know that together we will be a great coaching team.
“It exciting to be around greatness on a daily basis and I know that this will help me improve as a coach.”