Coach Doug Linde Golf Career
A 1991 graduate and one of the top golfers in Delaware Valley University history, Doug Linde took over the program as head coach in 1996.
Linde led the 2005 Aggies to the program's first-ever conference championship as they won the Freedom crown in the conference's inaugural year for golf. Three golfers placed in the top 10, and Linde was honored by his peers as the Freedom Conference (now MAC Freedom) Coach of the Year.
One year later, DelVal followed with a perfect 5-0 record in the regular season and finished in second place at the conference championship. Senior Mike Everingham captured the individual title and was named the Freedom Conference Golfer of the Year. In 2007, the Aggies went 9-1, placed third at the Freedom tournament and had two golfers earn medals with top five showings.
Over Linde's tenure, he has guided First Team All-Conference golfers Steven McDonald ('02 and '03), Shawn Cooper ('03), Mike Everingham ('05 and '06), Nick Van Hook ('07 and '08), Joe Sciocia ('08), and Dom Foti ('15). Everingham ('06) and Foti ('15) earned Golfer of the Year status. Linde has also pushed ten other Aggies to second-team all-conference honors.
During the 2023-24 season, they won their first large tournament in 19 years, placing first out of 14 teams at the Turtle Creek Invitational. The Aggies carded a 305 (+17), six strokes better than the second-place Arcadia A team. The team score ties for the third-lowest in program history set in the 2004-05 season. The last Delaware Valley Invitational win was April 14, 2004, at the Lebanon Valley College Invitational, hosting 12 teams.
In 2014-15, Linde coached another Freedom Conference Golfer of the Year and individual champion as junior Dom Foti ran away from the field and won the crown by 10 strokes. Foti was a first-team all-conference honoree the following year.
During his rookie coaching campaign in '96, Linde helped the Aggies win four matches (after winning none the year before). He also coached the team's first conference medalist (Todd Hippauf) since he accomplished the feat in 1991.
In 2001, the Aggies won seven of 12 matches, including the last six of the season. One year later, DelVal went 5-1 and placed sixth at the MACs with Steve McDonald earning a medal for a top 10 finish.
The 2003 season saw Linde lead the Aggies to a 6-1 mark and place second out of 14 teams at the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championships. McDonald and Shawn Cooper each earned medals with top 10 finishes at the conference tournament.
Linde was on sabbatical when the 2004 squad - all recruited by Linde - went a perfect 6-0 in head-to-head meets and won the first invitational in program history when they topped 11 other teams at the Lebanon Valley College Invitational. DelVal then went on to finish in fifth place at the MACs.
Linde was a three-time Most Valuable Golfer and team captain while playing at DelVal. He arrived as a freshman in 1988 and helped a team that went 0-16 the year before, finish with a school-record 20-4 mark and place sixth out of 21 teams at the MACs. Linde capped his stellar career by placing eighth out of 105 golfers and winning a medal at the 1991 MAC Championships. Linde was also the 1989 club champion at Wedgewood Golf Course and the 1994 club champion at the Penn State University golf courses.
Linde also received recognition for his work in the classroom as he was a 1990 Golf Coaches Association of America Division III Academic All-American and a three-time member of the MAC Spring All-Academic Team.
Linde received his Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy. He went onto Penn State University, earned his Master of Science in 1993 and his Doctorate in 1996. Linde is a full-time professor of turf management at DelVal. He grew up living, working, and playing golf at Wedgewood Golf Course near Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father was the course's head superintendent.
Champions coached by Dr. Linde
2004 Lebanon Valley College Invitational team champion (11 teams)
2005 Freedom Conference team champion (7 teams)
2006 Freedom Conference individual champion (Mike Everingham)
2008 Lebanon Valley College Invitational individual champion (Nick Van Hook - 110 players)
2009 Lebanon Valley College Invitational individual champion (Mike Kachurak - 110 players)
2015 Freedom Conference individual champion (Dom Foti)
