Ember Holloway knows great things are happening in the community from the Masters Tournament and the Augusta National Women's Amateur to the success of Augusta University's golf program, and she wants to continue adding to it.

Holloway becomes the eighth head coach in women's golf history, replacing two-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year Caroline Haase-Hegg, who resigned in May after nine years.
Holloway and Haase-Hegg are connected to one another, having both been an assistant under legendary Purdue University coach Devon Brouse. Haase-Hegg took the women to seven NCAA Regionals and their only NCAA championship appearance in 2023. Holloway knows she has big shoes to fill this season and is excited to be a part of the Jaguars' legacy.

"I'm a super big fan of Caroline. … She's an amazing person and coach, and I'm blessed to have the opportunity to follow her lead and build upon her legacy and what they've been able to accomplish," said Holloway, who previously served as an assistant coach for the University of Georgia women's golf program.

"There's been such great success here, and it's a place that your game can get better and do so many great things here. I'm very excited about that opportunity to come in and build upon what's been done and continue to have that great success."

At UGA, Holloway coached three All-Americans, three All-Southeastern Conference golfers and four individual title winners. She also had a stellar collegiate golf career at the University of Illinois from 2010-14 where she became the first Illini golfer to participate in three NCAA Regionals and held the program's lowest stroke average in 2013 and 2014. In her senior year, she was named second-team All-Big Ten after leading Illinois individually in six out of 11 tournaments.

She also qualified for two U.S. Women's Amateurs and three U.S. Public Links Amateurs before turning professional, competing in 21 Symetra Tour events and 18 Cactus Tour events.
"It became abundantly clear early in our search that Ember was not only a great coach but would be a perfect fit for our campus and community," Director of Athletics Ryan Erlacher said in a release. "Our women's golf vacancy was highly sought after and produced a tremendous candidate pool. Ember embodied everything we were looking for in our next coach, and we have no doubt she will continue the commitment to excellence coach Caroline Hegg established."

Holloway said her coaching style is a "happy medium," a mixture of the various experiences she's had during her own playing career and the coaches who have been mentors to her. She believes her experiences help her relate to the players, which then allows her to pull from the past to mentor the future of the sport.

"Knowing what their challenges and obligations are, such as tests and homework … just being able to relate those experiences with these young women and just being able to provide that knowledge and expertise," she said. "It's something that I'm excited to do.

"It's going to be a little bit different than the years past being an assistant now that I'm taking on a different role. As a head coach, you're making the final decisions, but I'm excited to be a mentor. I'm excited to be someone to help them grow as not only a golfer but as a person, as a human being. I'm excited to be a part of their lives and build that relationship with them."

Holloway is grateful her team has a competitive schedule ahead of them. They will kick off the year with three events in September: the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin on Sept. 8-10; Lady Paladin Invitational in Greenville, South Carolina on Sept. 20-22; and the Windy City Invitational in Wilmette, Illinois on Sept. 30 to Oct. 1. They close out the fall at The Southern in Savannah, Georgia on Oct. 14-15.

She said having an opportunity to face some of the best teams in the country throughout the whole year instead of having to wait until the very end will benefit them during their attempt to maintain dominance in the conference tournament with eyes on the postseason.

She feels pressure only because she's a competitive person and knows what she wants to accomplish and what she wants the team to accomplish.

"There's already going to be pressure and expectations, but, again, I think everything that's going on here with the girls having access to our facilities and having the support of the community, they're primed for us to continue to do what they've been doing. I hold myself to a high standard, and I'm going to hold our team to a high standard."

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