Alan Cress, an App State alum who worked as an assistant coach for his alma mater during the 2021-22 season, was named the head coach of App State’s men’s golf program on June 6, 2022.
App State won a team title and had an individual champion in Cress' first two seasons as head coach.
In his debut season, the Mountaineers opened the 2022-23 schedule with a record-setting team victory at the 15-team Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational. With a head-to-head record of 92-63-3, App State had four top-three finishes and six top-five finishes.
The Mountaineers recorded the top two team rounds in program history and the first two team rounds with four individuals in the 60s. The team had 457 birdies and 18 eagles while amassing 12 top-10 individual finishes and 19 top-15 individual finishes. Four different players posted a top-six finish.
In 2023-24, Addison Beam won an individual title at the Surf Club Invitational, was a two-time Sun Belt Player of the Week (the first two-time winner in a single season) and earned All-Sun Belt third-team honors. His season scoring average of 72.06 ranked No. 1 in program history for a season-long average outside the COVID-abbreviated 2019-20 season. Herman Huus averaged a 72.24 as the Mountaineers placed third in an 18-team field in North Myrtle Beach and fifth in a 15-team field at the Irish Creek Collegiate.
Since graduating from App State in 1991, Cress has made a well-respected name for himself in the coaching, teaching, business, administrative and event-planning sides of golf.
He served as a volunteer assistant for the Mountaineers in 2021-22, contributing to several record-setting accomplishments, while still fulfilling his responsibilities as the general manager of The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis and also coaching both golf teams at Concord High School.
Cress began his long-running tenure at The Club at Irish Creek shortly after his graduation from App State and worked as an assistant professional, head professional and general manager during his time at a club that ranked as a top-five course in the Charlotte area and top-200 residential course in the United States. He managed and improved a sizable operational budget while also coordinating community events and supervising five departments that included a staff of 40 people.
As a coach, in addition to overseeing team and individual champions at Concord High School, he had an important role in App State’s achievements in the 2021 fall season and 2022 spring season, which included a coaching transition.
Applying his knowledge in both the technical and mental aspects of golf, Cress helped the Mountaineers post four top-three finishes as a team (all in fields with more than a dozen teams) and enjoy several individual breakthroughs.
After working with Cress to improve his putting stroke, Sverrir Haraldsson made eight birdies in a school-record 63 as App State set a program record with a team score of 272 in the final round of the Bash at the Beach event in mid-March. The Mountaineers placed second in the 15-team field with a 22-under total, with Ryan Marter shooting a 65 in the second round of that tournament.
Jake Lane was a medalist and co-medalist in back-to-back events during the fall, and Timothius Tirto Tamardi repeated as an All-Sun Belt selection following his eighth-place finish at the Sun Belt Championships. App State was two shots out of fourth place in the team standings through 36 of 54 holes in Arkansas.
Cress graduated from App State with a degree in commercial recreation management, plus minors in business management and marketing.
Cress and his wife, Nancy, have two daughters (Kevyn and Katherine, both App State alums) and one son (Walker, an All-CAA golfer during his time at James Madison). Cress has a grandmother (Helen), mother-in-law (Betty) and son-in-law (A.J.) who are also App State graduates.
