Michael Burcin (pronounced BUR-sin) was named the men’s golf coach at Wisconsin on May 31, 2011, and has guided the Badgers to steady improvement through his 10 seasons as head coach. Burcin resigned as the Badgers' head coach in May 2021 to focus on his family.
Under Burcin’s instruction, UW has recorded four of the five-best single-season scoring averages in school history. In 2018-19, the Badgers recorded the lowest ever season average of 292.96. In 2014-15 the team averaged 293.25 to hold the third-best team average, despite having just one senior on the roster. The 2019-20 season was cut short but the Badgers finished with the fourth-best average overall at 293.44. In 2017-18 the team averaged the fifth-best score in program history with a 294.10.
In 2015 Burcin guided the Badgers through a first place finish at the NYX Hoosier Invitational in Bloomington, Ind. where the team defeated 16 other teams, including Big Ten opponent and host Indiana. In 2018 the team won the Pinetree Intercollegiate where they defeated 10 other teams and claimed three spots in the top 10 players, as well as the win at the B10 Match Play where they defeated 13 other teams after going 4-0. Most recently, the team won the Musketeer Classic in 2019 with three players finishing in the top 10 and Sam Anderson bringing home second against 12 other schools.
Individually, five of the top 10 career scoring averages in school history are held by athletes who played under Burcin. Jordan Hahn finished his senior season in first place on that list, two strokes ahead of Dan Woltman's school record. Junior Griffin Barela ranks third and graduate Jack Watson sits in sixth with a 74.11. Junior Sam Anderson holds eighth and recent graduate Pete Kuhl holds 10th with a 74.58.
The progress exemplifies Burcin’s goals when he was named the head coach. “Wisconsin is certainly a sleeping giant and I am looking forward to connecting with the golf community in the city and around the state. My No. 1 priority is to recruit the state hard and keep the best players within the borders. If you are able to do that, it usually leads to big things.
“My goal is to develop a program that competes at a high level in the Big Ten Conference. If you are able to do that, because of the quality of the conference, you set yourself up to be a player on the national scene.”
Wisconsin head coach Michael Burcin and men's golf student-athlete Eddie Wajda (2017)
Before taking over at Wisconsin, Burcin spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at South Carolina. In 2010 he was named the Golf Coaches Association of America’s Jan Strickland Assistant Coach of the Year. He was selected to serve as an assistant at the 2011 Palmer Cup, which took place at the Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn. The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style competition for teams of collegiate golfers from the United States and Europe which squared off in a three-day match play event.
In Burcin’s time at South Carolina, the Gamecocks made six-straight NCAA regional appearances (2005-10), including winning the school’s first NCAA regional title in 2007. They advanced to the NCAA championship three times in Burcin’s seven seasons, with their top finish being a share of 11th place in 2007. In 2008-09, Burcin helped South Carolina win a school-record four tournament titles.
In addition, four Gamecocks earned All-America honors and seven earned All-SEC honors during his tenure. With the 2016 addition of three more student-athletes at South Carolina gaining access to PGA Tour Canada last weekend, Burcin has recruited or coached 12 players that have status on the European PGA Tour, PGA Tour, Web.Com Tour, PGA Tour Latin America, and PGA Tour Canada. Among those is Wesley Bryan, winner of the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage in 2017.
In addition to assisting coaches with day-to-day coaching duties, Burcin’s primary role at South Carolina was to implement and coordinate a recruiting program conducive to winning championships. Burcin was also the men’s golf liaison for the academic staff, and the team achieved at least a 3.3 grade point average in each semester and combined for a team-record 3.54 GPA in the fall of 2006.
Before going to South Carolina, Burcin spent seven years as a golf professional in Lancaster, Pa. His last stop in Pennsylvania involved developing an indoor teaching program at a retail golf store in Lancaster. While in Lancaster, Burcin kept an active playing schedule of section and chapter PGA events.
Originally from Salina, Kansas, Burcin graduated from Lampeter-Strasburg High School in Lampeter, Pennsylvania, where he was a 10-time letterwinner in three sports. Burcin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Liberty University in 2009.
A member of the Golf Coaches Association of America, Burcin is married to Dr. Michelle Burcin, who was a standout swimmer at the University of Cincinnati. In 2011, the couple gave birth to their first child, daughter Josie.
