Staff Directory
Zach Barlow
- Title:
- Head Coach
Zach Barlow enters his seventh season as head coach of the University of Michigan men's golf program. A Big Ten veteran both as a player and coach, Barlow has continued to build a strong foundation of culture, competition, and player development during his tenure in Ann Arbor.
Over the past four seasons, following the COVID-19 disruption of his early years, Barlow and associate head coach Matt Hoffman have guided the Wolverines to 25 top-five finishes in 47 events, including five team titles — the 2022 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, 2023 Big Ten Match Play Championship, 2023 Island Resort Intercollegiate, and back-to-back Virtues Intercollegiate crowns (2023, 2024). Michigan also boasts five runner-up finishes during this stretch.
Among those victories, Michigan's run to the 2023 Big Ten Match Play title highlighted the program's progress. Entering as the No. 8 seed, U-M upset No. 7 Iowa (3-2), No. 2 Michigan State (3.5-1.5), No. 3 Indiana (3-2), and top-seeded Northwestern (3-2). Hunter Thomson's perfect 4-0 record led the charge, joining Patrick Sullivan (2020) as Wolverines to post unblemished marks under Barlow and Hoffman.
Under Barlow's leadership, Michigan golfers have combined for nine medalist honors, highlighted by Charlie Pilon's 2019 Royal Oaks Intercollegiate title, Will Anderson's 2021 Macdonald Cup win, and Ben Hoagland and Yuqi Liu's shared victory at the 2023 Virtues Intercollegiate. Jude Kim added a win at the 2024 Indy at Forest Hills.
Meanwhile, Hunter Thomson has nearly doubled that total on his own, claiming four individual titles — the 2024 Palmas del Mar Collegiate, 2024 Canadian Collegiate Invitational, 2024 Boilermaker Invitational, and the 2024 NCAA Urbana Regional, becoming Michigan's third NCAA Regional medalist in program history.
On the conference and academic fronts, Brent Ito earned 2021 All-Big Ten Second Team honors, while Thomson became Michigan's first-ever back-to-back unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree (2024 & 2025) and a record-setting eight-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week selection.
Barlow's teams have also excelled in the classroom, earning 33 Academic All-Big Ten awards and nine Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors, including three by Pier Francesco De Col. Nationally, the Wolverines have produced 12 GCAA All-America Scholars, led by multi-year recipients Anderson, Hoagland, Kim, Liu, and Thomson.
Before arriving in Ann Arbor, Barlow served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Illinois, where he helped guide the Illini to five consecutive Big Ten titles, three NCAA Regional championships, and five straight NCAA Finals appearances, including three Match Play semifinal runs. A finalist for the Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the Year (2018-19), Barlow contributed to 31 team titles, including a program-record nine in both 2014-15 and 2015-16.
During his Illinois tenure, five players earned 10 All-America citations, 10 received 21 All-Big Ten honors, and eight collected 17 PING All-Midwest Region awards. Barlow mentored four Big Ten Players of the Year — Thomas Detry, Charlie Danielson, Dylan Meyer, and Nick Hardy — and five consecutive Big Ten medalists, helping sustain Illinois' national prominence.
As a player, Barlow was a two-time PING All-Midwest Region selection and part of Illinois' 2009 and 2010 Big Ten Championship teams. A 2010 All-Big Ten honoree, he graduated with the eighth-lowest career scoring average (74.06) in program history and earned medalist honors at the 2008 Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and 2009 Marshall Invitational. He also won the 2008 Illinois State Amateur and reached the 2009 Western Amateur championship match.
Before his collegiate coaching career, Barlow competed professionally on the eGolf and NGA Tours, advancing through U.S. Open local qualifying in both 2012 and 2013.
He and his wife, Abby, have two children, Shay and Beckham.
*****
Over the past four seasons, following the COVID-19 disruption of his early years, Barlow and associate head coach Matt Hoffman have guided the Wolverines to 25 top-five finishes in 47 events, including five team titles — the 2022 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, 2023 Big Ten Match Play Championship, 2023 Island Resort Intercollegiate, and back-to-back Virtues Intercollegiate crowns (2023, 2024). Michigan also boasts five runner-up finishes during this stretch.
Among those victories, Michigan's run to the 2023 Big Ten Match Play title highlighted the program's progress. Entering as the No. 8 seed, U-M upset No. 7 Iowa (3-2), No. 2 Michigan State (3.5-1.5), No. 3 Indiana (3-2), and top-seeded Northwestern (3-2). Hunter Thomson's perfect 4-0 record led the charge, joining Patrick Sullivan (2020) as Wolverines to post unblemished marks under Barlow and Hoffman.
Under Barlow's leadership, Michigan golfers have combined for nine medalist honors, highlighted by Charlie Pilon's 2019 Royal Oaks Intercollegiate title, Will Anderson's 2021 Macdonald Cup win, and Ben Hoagland and Yuqi Liu's shared victory at the 2023 Virtues Intercollegiate. Jude Kim added a win at the 2024 Indy at Forest Hills.
Meanwhile, Hunter Thomson has nearly doubled that total on his own, claiming four individual titles — the 2024 Palmas del Mar Collegiate, 2024 Canadian Collegiate Invitational, 2024 Boilermaker Invitational, and the 2024 NCAA Urbana Regional, becoming Michigan's third NCAA Regional medalist in program history.
On the conference and academic fronts, Brent Ito earned 2021 All-Big Ten Second Team honors, while Thomson became Michigan's first-ever back-to-back unanimous All-Big Ten First Team honoree (2024 & 2025) and a record-setting eight-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week selection.
Barlow's teams have also excelled in the classroom, earning 33 Academic All-Big Ten awards and nine Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors, including three by Pier Francesco De Col. Nationally, the Wolverines have produced 12 GCAA All-America Scholars, led by multi-year recipients Anderson, Hoagland, Kim, Liu, and Thomson.
Before arriving in Ann Arbor, Barlow served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Illinois, where he helped guide the Illini to five consecutive Big Ten titles, three NCAA Regional championships, and five straight NCAA Finals appearances, including three Match Play semifinal runs. A finalist for the Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the Year (2018-19), Barlow contributed to 31 team titles, including a program-record nine in both 2014-15 and 2015-16.
During his Illinois tenure, five players earned 10 All-America citations, 10 received 21 All-Big Ten honors, and eight collected 17 PING All-Midwest Region awards. Barlow mentored four Big Ten Players of the Year — Thomas Detry, Charlie Danielson, Dylan Meyer, and Nick Hardy — and five consecutive Big Ten medalists, helping sustain Illinois' national prominence.
As a player, Barlow was a two-time PING All-Midwest Region selection and part of Illinois' 2009 and 2010 Big Ten Championship teams. A 2010 All-Big Ten honoree, he graduated with the eighth-lowest career scoring average (74.06) in program history and earned medalist honors at the 2008 Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and 2009 Marshall Invitational. He also won the 2008 Illinois State Amateur and reached the 2009 Western Amateur championship match.
Before his collegiate coaching career, Barlow competed professionally on the eGolf and NGA Tours, advancing through U.S. Open local qualifying in both 2012 and 2013.
He and his wife, Abby, have two children, Shay and Beckham.
*****
The Zach Barlow File
Born: December 30, 1986
Hometown: Percy, Illinois
High School: Trico High School
College: University of Illinois, 2010
Degree: Recreation, Sport and Tourism
Family: Abby | Children:Â Shay and Beckham
Coaching Record
| Year | College | Position | Big Ten  | NCAA Regional | NCAA Finals |
| 2014-15  | Illinois | Assistant Coach  | 1st | 1st (Noblesville) | 1st / t-3rd MP |
| 2015-16 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 1st (Kohler) | 2nd / t-3rd MP |
| 2016-17 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 3rd (West Lafayette) | 3rd / t-3rd MP |
| 2017-18 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 2nd (Columbus)Â Â | 11th |
| 2018-19 | Illinois | Assistant Coach | 1st | 1st (Myrtle Beach) | t-27th |
| 2019-20 | Michigan  | Head Coach | n/a* | n/a* | n/a* |
| 2020-21 | Michigan | Head Coach | 13th | -- | -- |
| 2021-22 | Michigan | Head Coach | 13th | -- | -- |
| 2022-23 | Michigan | Head Coach | 13th | -- | -- |
| 2023-24 | Michigan | Head Coach | t-10th | [1] Individual | -- |
| 2024-25 | Michigan | Head Coach | 15th | [2] individual | [3] individual |
| 2025-26 | Michigan | Head Coach |
* In 2020, the final three spring events and Big Ten/NCAA postseason were canceled due to COVID-19
[1]Â Hunter Thomson was invited to the 2024 NCAA West Lafayette Regional as an individual (tied for 27th)
[2] Hunter Thomson won the 2025 NCAA Urbana Regional to advance to the NCAA Finals
[3] Hunter Thomson played at the 2025 NCAA Finals
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