Cory Renfrew wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence when he first arrived on the University of British Columbia campus in the fall of 2005. The Victoria native was an unheralded junior golfer — to use his own words, “a late bloomer.”
He was not highly recruited, but former UBC coach Chris Macdonald saw something in Renfrew and offered him a spot on the Thunderbirds team. Renfrew, a Claremont secondary graduate, remembers some nervous moments as he left home, travelled across the Strait of Georgia and began his collegiate adventure.
“It’s quite different when you grow up at home and then suddenly you’ve got to do everything on your own,” Renfrew says. “I do remember struggling with school, struggling with responsibilities for a bit. But looking back, it taught me a lot and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Why would he. Renfrew went on to have a wonderful career as a Thunderbird. He helped lead the UBC men to their first NAIA championship in 2008, was a three-time first-team All American and his 70.93 stroke average in the 2008-09 season still stands as a UBC record.
And now he is back at UBC as the new head coach of the men’s and women’s teams. Renfrew brings with him lots of great memories and experiences he hopes will serve him well as a coach. That 2008 championship, won with teammates Blake Rowe-Sleeman, Andrew Robb, David Stewart and Brandon Markiw, remains crystal clear in his memory. “You know, I can still picture the golf course (Indiana National Golf Club),” Renfrew says. “It was really cool how our team came together that season.”
Renfrew thinks his successes, his struggles and having lived the hectic student-athlete life will help him connect with his players in his new role. “I just want to share my experience with the men’s and women’s teams,” he says. “I’ve done it before, I kind of know what it felt like, I know how awesome it can be. I also know there’s a bunch of time management to deal with and things to get done in order to have that fun.
“I know there are a lot of different personalities to kind of link together to get a team to mesh and stuff like that. But we have a great support team of coaches who have been around for a while and understand that. Honestly, I’m just excited to bring what I know to help them enjoy what can be some of the best years of their lives.”
Renfrew brings much more than his collegiate golf career to his new job. He played two years of amateur golf after graduating with a psychology degree in 2010 and then turned pro. Renfrew won on the PGA Tour Canada circuit in 2012 and earned an exemption into that year’s Canadian Open. He made the cut after Monday qualifying his way into the PGA Tour’s 2016 Waste Management Phoenix Open and brought the raucous crowd on the par 3 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale to life when he chipped in for birdie in the final round.
Renfrew finally gave up chasing his pro golf dream. He grew tired of all the travel. “It’s a tough grind,” he says. “The ongoing city-to-city lifestyle didn’t sit great with me. And it’s especially tough when you are missing some cuts and not making any money. But I have no regrets. I had some fun and some success and can tell some cool stories. But I’m happy, especially now, with how things have turned out.”
In recent years, Renfrew has worked in the Vancouver area as an instructor and his game remains sharp. The 40-year-old finished seventh at the recent PGA of BC Championship at Kamloops Golf & Country Club. Renfrew won’t be starting from scratch in his new job. After longtime and highly successful coach Chris Macdonald resigned just before last season, Renfrew served as an adviser to the UBC golf program.
The 2025-26 season was a rebuilding year for both of the men’s and women’s teams. The women fared better than the men. They successfully defended their Canadian championship, while the UBC men finished third, 13 shots behind the winning team from UBC-Okanagan. As you can imagine, that did not sit particularly well on the Point Grey campus.
Renfrew knows expectations are high for both teams. Macdonald left behind a legacy that includes numerous Canadian and NAIA titles. The UBC golf program is blessed to have an exceptionally supportive group of alumni who have helped raise lots of money for the program. They are accustomed to seeing their teams win. Renfrew knows that. “I definitely don’t want to be the coach who comes in and takes a step backwards,” he says. “I am going to do my best to uphold those expectations and that work ethic. And I think if we take the necessary steps, the results will come. My goal is keep pushing forward and set new bars.”
Andy Robb, one of Renfrew’s teammates on that 2008 championship squad, thinks Renfrew will do an excellent job as UBC’s new coach. “First and foremost, Cory is an outstanding person and I’m really excited to see him lead the UBC golf program,” Robb said. “Having played alongside him at UBC, I’ve seen first-hand his character, integrity and commitment to the program. He is one of the best golfers UBC has ever had, and I think his passion for UBC and willingness to continue growing as a coach will provide tremendous stability for the program. UBC Golf is in a great place with Cory leading it.”
Asked what kind of coach he will be, Renfrew says he will expect hard and focused work from his players. “I am definitely going to get them to work on specific drills and make sure they are challenging themselves. As a coach I want to be fair and equitable and lead by example, with honesty and integrity. But I am going to set some guidelines and boundaries and uphold them.”
Renfrew says tournament team spots will have to be earned this season. That starts for the first event of the new season, which goes Sept. 7-8 at the Oregon Tech Fall Invitational. It will be preceded by a three-round qualifier in Vancouver. “Both teams will get in 54 holes over two days to essentially qualify for that first event,” Renfrew says.
Renfrew was hired as head coach in late June. He has spent the summer getting organized and settled into his new job. He’s also done some reflecting on the fact he has come full circle, from nervous collegiate rookie, to star player, and now to coach. Renfrew still has his old, faded UBC golf bag, the one he carried in tournaments all over North America nearly two decades ago.
Renfrew plans to make it a permanent fixture in his new office at UBC. It will serve as reminder of some wonderful times in the past and hopefully serve as an inspiration for some special ones still to come. “It’s cool to kind of be back at school,” Renfrew says.