Cheryl Lala enters her second year as Academy of Art University Head Men's & Women's Golf Coach.
In her first year at the helm of the Urban Knights, Lala helped guide the ART U women's golf team to not only a Top 40 Division II ranking according to GolfStat, but she also guided that squad to the highest collective GPA of any Academy of Art University Athletics team. The team also produced
three NGCA All-American Scholars.
Lala brings a comprehensive background within the golf industry after having coached, run operations, tournaments, and facilities along with some work on the LPGA Tour. Most recently, she served as the Director of Instruction at Orinda Country Club and the Assistant Women’s Golf Coach at Sonoma State University. Her responsibilities at SSU included recruiting, fundraising, travel coordination to every fall tournament and during the 2010 spring season, as well as serving as a mentor to 10 student-athletes.
The Bay Area has been not only a home for Lala, but it also houses numerous courses with which she is familiar. For two years, Lala was a Tournament Coordinator and Assistant Golf Professional at the Presidio Golf Course in San Francisco; the home of Academy of Art University’s 3rd Annual Urban Knights Celebrity Golf Classic this past September. Prior to the Presidio, she was the Head Men’s and Women’s Golf Coach at ART U’s fellow Pacific West Conference member Dominican University. Lala worked to develop the Penguins’ fledgling program for three full seasons.
Lala began her own golf career at a young age. She was a nationally ranked junior golfer and eventually received a golf scholarship to play for UC Berkeley. As a Golden Bear, Lala played for all four years and became the first senior to lead Cal to the NCAA National Championships. She also traveled to Asia during her collegiate career to compete as a member of the 2001 NCAA All-Star Team.
After Lala graduated from UC Berkeley in 2001, she joined various women’s professional mini-tours including the FUTURES Tour. That same year, she started working as an Assistant Golf Professional and has enjoyed a career in the golf industry ever since.
Lala is currently in her final year of graduate school at John F. Kennedy University where she is expected to receive her Master’s Degree in Sport Psychology in 2012.
