David Synan took the reins of the UNC Pembroke golf program in June of 2005 and the fall of 2011 will serve as the beginning of his seventh year at the helm of the men’s golf program and the sixth in charge of the women’s program. He joined the Braves after serving as assistant coach for two seasons at his alma mater, High Point University.

Synan is no stranger to Pembroke having graduated from nearby Scotland High School in Laurinburg. After a stellar prep career with the Fighting Scots, he played at High Point where he was a key contributor to the Panthers for three seasons after transferring from Georgia Southern. During those three seasons, Synan served as team captain and took home All-Big South accolades. He was a three-time Millis Scholar-Athlete as well as being named to the Big South Conference’s Presidential Honor Roll and High Point’s Dean’s List. Thus far during his career at UNCP, Synan was at the forefront of the starting of the women’s golf program in the fall of 2006 and, since then, both the men’s and women’s golf teams have made numerous appearances in the national top-25 rankings.

The 2010 Durham Amateur Open Champion (-3, 69-70) and 2011 Scotland County Amateur Champion (E, 62-77-77) was named UNCP Coach of the Year during the 2010-11 academic year after leading both the men’s and women’s squads to the NCAA Regional tournament. He has also earned both of the PBC Women’s Golf Coach of the Year awards after the sport was added as a conference championship sport during the 2009-10 academic year.

Under his tutelage, the men’s squad has garnered five All-PBC honors, one two-time All-American, one PBC individual champion and five PBC All-Tournament Team members. During that same span, five Lady Braves have earned All-PBC honors, one has earned a PBC individual championship and one has earned academic all-American honors twice. Katja Dammann earned PBC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors during the 2010-11 academic year, the highest individual honor bestowed upon a student-athlete by the PBC. He has also had three of his student-athletes earn PBC Freshman of the Year honors under his watch.

His men’s teams have taken home four top finishes at tournaments and the women have recorded eight victories under his direction. The 2009-2010 seasons ushered in a new era of success for both programs as the men’s team set a school record for scoring with a 276 in the fall of 2009. The women’s team, meanwhile, set a scoring record of their own of 310 in the fall of 2009. Both teams set scoring average records during the 2009-2010 seasons (Men - 295.2, Women – 326.5) and the women finished first in the PBC in team stroke average by seven shots and the men’s team finished third in the same category.

The 2010-11 season brought even more success, with the women's team spending a large amount of the season inside the top 10 on the Golfstat head-to-head rankings, moving up as high as seventh. The Lady Braves captured six tournament victories during the year, including five consecutive wins at one point, en route to the 2011 PBC Championship and a berth in the NCAA Regional. The women’s squad captured eight of the 11 possible PBC Women’s Golfer of the Week awards during the campaign, with Dammann and Meghan Moore earning the award on three occasions, and Shauna Walor earning the award twice. He also had one of his athletes capture medalist honors in five tournaments, including the 2011 PBC Individual Championship by Dammann. The Lady Braves led the PBC in stroke average (309.8) which set a new school record, and were 12.8 shots per round better than the team that finished second. The squad also sported five of the top-15 golfers in terms of stroke average, including No. 1 Moore, No. 3 Dammann and No. 4 S. Walor, and the Lady Braves also recorded seven of the nine lowest combined scores in the conference during the season. Moore, S. Walor and Damman were all named First Team All-PBC and Dana Watkins was named PBC Freshman of the Year as well as Second Team All-PBC. The Lady Braves recorded a combined 112-13 win-loss record during the season. The women's squad finished at No. 8 in the Golfstat head-to-head rankings.

The men’s team also had a banner year that culminated in a runner-up finish in the 2011 PBC Championship and a berth in the NCAA Regional. The Braves took home top honors at two tournaments during the season, and Jordan Walor captured one individual medalist honor for the squad. The Braves took home two PBC Golfer of the Week honors during the year (J. Walor, Jonathan McCurry) and finished second in the PBC in stroke average with a 294.3 line – setting a new school record in the process. The Braves also had two athletes finish in the top five in terms of stroke average in the PBC, with J. Walor finishing fourth and McCurry finishing fifth. Walor and McCurry were both named First Team All-PBC and Scott Lambert was named Second Team All-PBC during the season. The Braves were ranked as high as No. 15 in Golfstat’s head-to-head rankings, and held a combined 110-39 win-loss record as a squad. They finished the season No. 21 in the Golfstat head-to-head rankings.

Synan earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management from High Point in 2003 and completed his Master of Science degree in Sport Studies in 2005. In addition to his coaching duties, Synan serves as a lecturer in UNCP’s Health, Physical Education, and Recreation department.

He and Jamie, his wife of five years, reside in Laurinburg and welcomed their first child, Summer Leann, on September 12, 2010.