Scott Hardy - Men's Golf Coach - SMC California Athletics

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

Scott Hardy

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
shardy@stmarys-ca.edu
Phone:
631-4954

Scott Hardy enters his 26th year as head coach of the Saint Mary’s men’s golf program ahead of the 2025-26 season. Hardy is responsible for all nine NCAA Regional appearances for the Gaels including the program’s first ever regional berth in 2005. Saint Mary’s has advanced to two NCAA Championships in 2008 and 2013, standing as the most successful coach in program history. Hardy also boasts eight West Coast Conference Coach of the Year awards over his tenure for one of the most accomplished coaches in the history of the WCC.

In 2024-25, the Gaels competed in 13 events over the course of the year and recorded eight top five finishes including a fourth-place finish at the 2025 WCC Championships. Saint Mary’s finished the first portion of the conference tournament in a tie for fourth place with the Pacific Tigers but would see its postseason run come to an end after losing a heartbreaking playoff, allowing the Tigers to advance to the match play portion of the event on Sunday. The Gaels finished the season No. 68 in the national Scoreboard Clippd rankings, narrowly missing out on an NCAA Regional bid. Avery Lazarski and Connor Reis earned All-WCC Honorable Mention honors to end the 2024-25 season.

During the 2023-24 season, Saint Mary's won two team titles including the Nick Watney Invitational tournament (Fresno State) and the El Macero Classic (UC Davis). At the WCC Championships, the Gaels finished fourth after the first three rounds to earn a spot in match play but eventually fell to tournament champions San Diego. The Gaels last NCAA Regional appearance came in 2021 when Hardy helped veteran Blake Hathcoat qualify as an individual where he finished t-15th at 4-under-par.

Hardy, who was named SMC's golf coach in the fall of 2000, has helped earn 33 First-Team All-WCC selections, one GCAA All-American, ten GCAA All-America Scholar-Athletes, three WCC Golfers of the Year, and one WCC Freshman of the Year. He has also coached ten individuals to 17 tournament titles, with the latest coming from Aidan Lee who shared the individual title at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational in the fall of 2024.

With Hardy at the helm, the Gaels have won 24 tournaments, the most by any coach in the college’s history. In 20 of the last 22 years, Hardy has led the Gaels to a fourth-place finish or better at the West Coast Conference Championships, taking home the conference title in 2012, 2013 and 2016.

Under his leadership, Joe Lanza became the first Saint Mary's golfer to make the NCAA Tournament field, when he was selected as an individual in 2004. With Lanza as a senior in 2004-05, Hardy guided the team to a 2005 NCAA Western Regional selection, marking the first team appearance for Saint Mary's in school history.

In his playing days, Hardy was one of the top ranked amateurs in California. He has collected more than 20 amateur victories, has been invited to participate on numerous NCGA and Seaver Cup teams, and is an active participant in USGA events nationwide. A 1998 graduate of Saint Mary’s, he was a four-year letter winner in golf. He also served as the team captain for the Gaels during his junior and senior seasons.