As the new head coach of Belmont women’s golf, Olivia Jordan-Higgins is excited to build on her predecessors’ legacy by bringing new ideas to the established program.
Belmont athletics announced last Tuesday Jordan-Higgins is the new head coach of Belmont women’s golf — the third in program history.
Jordan-Higgins joins Belmont after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“I am excited to welcome Olivia to the Belmont family as our next women’s golf coach,” said Director of Athletics Scott Corley.
Prior to her term at UAB, Jordan-Higgins built a professional career on the Symetra Tour, where she won three times and produced 20 top-10 finishes.
And at UAB, she was instrumental in rebuilding its program; she helped improve its Golfstat rank by 37 spots, leading UAB to two championships — breaking multiple records along the way.
“Her playing experience as a collegian and as a professional as well as her work at UAB made her the ideal candidate. Olivia embraces our program’s commitment to academic success and community service, as we compete for conference championships and an increased national profile,” said Corley.
Jordan-Higgins takes the place of Lissa Bradford, who spent 30-years as head coach at Belmont building the program into the best it’s ever been.
“I am really excited to be taking over the program from Coach Bradford. She has built this program around the vision, mission and values of Belmont University, which has created a great foundation for the women’s golf team,” said Jordan-Higgins.
Jordan-Higgins is excited, however, to build off Bradford’s legacy by bringing her own ideas into play.
“She has left the program in a position where I can walk right in and start coaching, which certainly makes the transition easier. I can’t wait to be able to bring my own ideas and use my playing experience to take the team and their success to new heights,” said Jordan-HIggins.
Her first order of business will be implementing new strategies and drills into their program to prepare for tournaments.
“Having played for nine years professionally, I know what it takes to win and get better,” said Jordan-HIggins. “I plan on implementing a lot of the structured practiced and short game drills I used when I played in order for the team to feel prepared for tournaments.”
Most of all, she plans to use her professional experience to instill confidence and mental wellness into her team — two things she said are crucial to the game.
“So much of golf comes down to the mental game and confidence. My time at UAB has shown that by helping the girls believe in themselves and giving them all the tools to feel ready to compete, you can win tournaments.”
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This article written by Julieann Challacombe.