Veteran golf coach retires after 23 years

Men’s golf coach Marsh Shumaker is retiring in December after 23 years of service at Citrus College.

After working seven years as assistant coach and 23 years as head coach of the men’s golf team, Shumaker said, “It just seemed it was a good time for me to retire. I don’t have any regrets.”

His career began while playing under former Citrus head golf coach Jack Kakuuchi.
After graduating from Citrus College and then from UC Santa Barbara, Shumaker attempted to become a professional golf player.

When that plan did not work he came back to Citrus and became assistant coach alongside with Kakuuchi.

He also worked for 10 years under two coaches/athletic directors who hired him in 1979 and with legendary hall of fame baseball coach Skip Claprood for 15 years.

“Both were great coaches and bosses who encouraged and supported me and all the teams through their years at the helm. I have good memories of their leadership,” Shumaker said.

Shumaker’s passion for golf came was inherited from his golf-loving parents. Both were avid golf players, and when Shumaker was 15 years old, he too joined in the craze.

As a coach Shumaker puts education first and athletics second.

“I want my players to take life seriously, and I want to encourage them to go beyond the sport,” he said. “I would always tell them, ‘Do well in your classes and you will succeed.’”

Former Owls golfer Steve Whoolery, an All-Western States Conference honoree this year who has since gone on to continue his education at Sonoma State, said, “He wasn’t only a great coach, but he was a great man. He helped me so much in my personal life.”

“I am extremely happy for Shumaker, he is very deserving of his free time now, he made the golf program great,” said Whoolery.

Shumaker’s wife Sheri retired this year after 28 years working as a librarian at Claremont College.

Now the two of them will be able to enjoy their second home in Oregon and travel.

Also retiring is assistant golf coach and statistician, Josette McGrattan.

“She was a critical to the program,” Shumaker said. “She made sure that the players were very structured.”

Last spring turned out to be one of the Owl’s best seasons. Shumaker waited until the night before the Southern Californian Regional’s at Marshallia Ranch Golf Course to inform his team about his retirement plans.

“We did very well. We placed #6 in Southern California,” Shumaker said.

Taking over for Shumaker is women’s golf coach Trip Horton, who will now be the head coach for both men’s and women’s golf.

Horton is an alumnus of Citrus and currently works at the Driving Range as the Assistant Manager.

“It is going to be so difficult to follow the footsteps of a man who has done it for 23 years of his life,” Horton said,“But I am excited and hope that it all goes well.”

Shumaker said that he may be retiring from coaching golf, but he is not retiring from life. He is merely closing one chapter of his life and starting a new one.

“My job here is done,” he said.