Hank Kim was named head coach of the Clayton State men’s golf team for the 2014-15 season and has been with the Lakers since 2012. In 2019, Kim added Athletics Development Officer to his title.
Career Highlights
One Team Title
Two All-American
Five All-Southeast Region Selections
PBC Coach of the Year (2019)
Seven All-Conference Selections
Eight PBC Golfers of the Week
Two PBC All-Tournament Selections
11 PBC Team of Academic Distinction Selections
One College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Selection
Kim joined the Lakers as an assistant coach in 2012 before being named interim head coach for the 2014-15 season. He was officially named head coach for the Lakers for the 2015-16 season.
Since taking over, Kim’s teams have produced numerous program records that include both team and individual performances. During his time as head coach, Kim has recorded the second and third lowest single round, the top-two lowest rounds vs. par, the top-four lowest 36-hole total and the top-five lowest 54-hole total.
The 2022-23 season saw the team reach new heights. Coach Kim's squad climbed up to as high as #11 in the Golfstat rankings, which is the highest ranking in school history. The Lakers also saw their best finish in the South/Southeast Regionals (7th) since the 2008 season where they finished 4th. As a team, Clayton State carried an average score of 289.62 in 10 tournaments. In 29 rounds played, Coach Kim's team saw their best finish come the South/Southeast Regional with a score of 857. The Lakers broke 60 in 14 rounds and turned in 52 rounds of par or better golf. This season also saw Felipe Gomez earn first-team All-PBC and All-Region honors and Daniel Medellin receive second team all-PBC honors. There has never been a season in the program's history where two Lakers earned All-Conference honors. As a team, this season saw the Lakers overtake the 2nd spot in scoring average (289.62), par or better rounds (11), birdies (404), and par four scoring (4.12), while taking over the one spot in finish percentage (73.8%),
This season also saw Augusto Oliva break a couple of school records which include career rounds played (114), birdies (323), and counters (100).
The 2021-22 season saw the team compete in nine tournaments, producing an average score of 290.74. The Lakers finished in the top 10 six seven times and earned three, top-five finishes including a T4 result at the PBC Championships. The team put together its best score at the Queens Invitational where it finished 5-under 847.
That season also saw program-bests in total number of par of better rounds (11) and Par 5 scoring (4.847).
Individually, Nico Cabello led the team with a 72.11 scoring average in six events while Augusto Oliva played in all nine events, averaging a score of 72.48. Cabello was named All-Conference and PING All-Southeast Region.
The 2020-21 season featured only seven tournaments with one coming in the fall and six in the spring. The Lakers had five top-10 results including a pair of top-five finishes to start the spring. At the Hurricane Invitational, Clayton State finished 2-of-16 at 5-over 869.
The 2019-20 season was one of the strongest seasons for the Lakers despite it being cut short due to COVID-19. The men’s golf team appeared in six tournaments and placed in the top five in five of the events. They finished second in the UNG Fall Invitational and the Hurricane Invitational.
In the first round of the UNG Fall Invitational, the Lakers tied the program record for lowest round vs par at 13-under 275.
In the UNG Fall Invitational, Joseph Kim earned Co-Medalist honors, making him the first Laker to earn an individual title since Keith Egan did so in March 17. Outside of that tournament, Joseph Kim turned in one of the best seasons in program history since Will Wilcox’s 2007-09 run.
His program records set were scoring average record (70.88), Par 4 scoring (3.95), lowest round (64 [tied]), lowest round vs. par (8-under 64 [tied]), lowest 36-hole total (13-under 131) and lowest 54-hole tournament (15-under 201).
At the conclusion of the spring, Joseph Kim was named honorable mention PING All-American, PING All-Southeast Region and second-team All-PBC.
As a team, Clayton State produced the best scoring average (287.94), Par 3 scoring (3.21), Par 4 scoring (4.08), Par 5 scoring (4.84), low round vs. par (2x, 13-under 275), low 36-hole total (22-under 554) and low 54-hole total (2x, 21-under 843).
Clayton State’s last NCAA Division II Tournament appearance came in the 2018-19 season, the first since 2013-14. The Lakers put together five top-five finishes, including a 2-of-22 finish at the Bearcat Classic and a 3-of-8 at the UNG Fall Invitational. In the UNG tournament, Nick Woof delivered an 8-under 64, making him one of three Lakers to hit that mark.
The shot 13-under 275 in the third round of that tournament to set the record for lowest round vs. par before the 2019-20 squad tied that mark in the same tournament.
At the end of the season, Andres Caballero would be named to PBC All-Conference team while Kim earned Co-PBC Coach of the Year honors.
The 2017-18 season would see the Lakers take their first team tournament victory since the 2013 season as they won the Matt Dyas Invitational. They also collected a third-place result at the Hurricane Invitational. Nick Woof would finish runner-up in that tournament.
Keith Egan, Kim’s only two-time All-Region and All-Conference golfer would qualify for the 2016-17 and 2015-16 NCAA South/Southeast Regionals. His first would see him finished T32 while he placed T70 in his second appearance.
During his interim head coaching season in 2014-15, he coached two individuals, Egan and Alex Vetnar, to All-PBC Tournament honors. Vetnar would finish runner-up in the tournament where he was just one stroke away from an individual title during a rain-shortened tournament. As a team, the Lakers 4-of-12 finish would be their highest since the 2009 team won the championship and would mark a third straight year with a top five finish, all while Kim had been on staff.
Prior to coming to Morrow, Georgia, Kim played professionally on a number of tours. From 2008-12 he competed on the eGolf Gateway Tour. In his first season (2008), he tied for third in both the Spring Creek Classic (June 18-20) and the River Hills Open (July 16-18) before notching a sixth place tie at the Greater Richmond Open (June 3-5) in 2009.
He has also played in 86 tournaments on the NGA Hooters Tour since 2005, finishing in the money 62 times and averaging 70.82 strokes. Kim experienced tremendous success in just his second tournament, winning the Michelob Ultra Classic at Royal Lakes (March 14-20).
In 2006 he would post three straight Top-10 finishes at one point and deliver four runner-up outings over the next two seasons. His 2009 season would be highlighted by a fourth place tie and sixth place tie within a month's time. Among his career achievements on the tour are the 2005 NGA Hooters Tour Championship and being the 2006 NGA Hooters Tour points leader.
Kim began his pro career in 1996 on the Tear Drop Tour and it didn't take very long for him to be successful. Just two years into his professional career, he earned the 1998 Tear Drop Tour Championship.
Prior to embarking on a 16-year pro career, the native of Jonesboro, Ga. competed collegiately at Division I power North Carolina State for longtime coach Richard Sykes.
In 1994, while a member of the Wolfpack, he competed in the U.S. Amateur Open Championship, claiming Medalist honors with a score of 132. He also shot a first round 64 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Verde Beach, Fla.
Kim delivered his best season in 1995, becoming just the fifth Atlantic Coast Conference Individual Champion in program history. He put forth a 70-68-70-208 performance in the Championships and is still just one of six to accomplish the feat in that program's history. As a team, NC State finished third in the NCAA Division I East Regional, with Kim placing seventh as the team's highest individual finisher.
That season also earned him All-ACC and All-District/All-Region honors. During his career he earned a pair of victories, including the 1995 ACC Championship at the Old North State Club (New London, N.C.) and International Intercollegiate.
Kim graduated from North Carolina State University in 1995.
