Chicago State University Cougars Are Golf Ready For New Season

Jean Macon, has been the Director of Golf at Chicago State University since March 2024. PHOTO PROVIDED BY CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY.
Jean Macon, has been the Director of Golf at Chicago State University since March 2024. PHOTO PROVIDED BY CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY.

Chicago State University Cougars Are Golf Ready For New Season

By Tia Carol Jones

Jean Macon, Director of Golf at Chicago State University, is looking forward to the golf team’s upcoming season.

Macon has been in the role at Chicago State University since March. Prior to that, Macon was the head golf coach at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, NC. Macon is also a veteran of the Iraq War and was a police officer for 14 years.

Chicago State University has had a golf team since around 1997. Back then, they were in the Mid-Continent Conference. Recently, the school transitioned from the Ohio Valley State Conference to the Northeastern Conference (NEC). Macon is excited about moving into this conference. It is the same conference that Howard University, Norfolk State University, Coppin State University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore are in.

Macon has been playing golf more than 25 years. She was inspired to play by Dr. Charlie Sifford. Sifford was the first African American to play on the PGA Tour.  A golf course is named after him in Charlotte.

“He was like a mentor to me. I met him on several occasions. A very inspiring man, a legend in the African American community when it comes to golf. I wanted to get my LGPA credentials in his honor. So, that’s what I decided to do,” Macon said.

Macon said she wanted to come to Chicago State University because of the University’s demographics, and she wanted the opportunity to help build the program as it goes into the NEC. The women’s team had been without a coach for a year, and she felt the team could use her LGPA background.

“I enjoy being the coach over men’s and women’s golf. It gave me a great opportunity to move up from D3 to D1, so I was really looking forward to that,” Macon said, adding that Dr. Monique Carroll, Vice President & Athletic Director at Chicago State University, is really excited about golf, so Macon was excited to come to the school.

Last season, the women’s team won a tournament and came in third at the Women’s Golf Championship and the men’s team beat opponents they hadn’t beaten previously.

Because Macon came at the middle of the season, her goal for the team was to get through the season. This year, with the recruitment of players from North Carolina and Spain, Macon’s expectations are higher.

Macon is looking to compete in the NEC, with opponents like Howard, who won the conference last year. The team is in a stage of rebuilding and Macon believes that the team can compete and it is going to make some noise this year.

Because Macon is LGPA-certified, she is an instructor in addition to being a coach. She instructs and teaches from the green back to the tee box, and really focuses on short game. She said it is the quickest way to drop strokes from a player’s game. She takes the players to Harborside, which is their home course, to work on short game. They work on putting, pitching and chipping.

Macon’s advice for parents who want to get their children started in golf is to look at the First Tee program. PGA and LPGA also have programs they have launched with the goal of making golf more diverse. Those programs are free to get involved in.

The community can support the golf team at Chicago State University by donating money to the program, or volunteering during tournaments. Macon wants to host a Charity Golf Tournament in June 2025, as well as a Golf Invitational in Fall 2025. She would like to invite all the women’s golf leagues to come out and play.

Macon is also looking at ways the players can give back to the community. The players are required to do 120 hours of community service during the year as a way to give back to the community.

For more information about Chicago State University, visit www.csucougars.com.

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