Val Verhunce
Head Coach
Val Verhunce begins his Fifth season as Sonoma State’s men’s golf coach and his first as Women’s Head Coach in 2007. A PGA Professional with 20+ years of experience and a Class “A” member of the Professional Golfers Association of America and ESPN GolfSchool Instructor, Verhunce has supported golfers in realizing their goals along with providing them with a high level of motivation. Verhunce started the men’s golf program at Sonoma State in 2004 and has been instrumental in the remarkable amount of success the team has enjoyed in its first five years.
The former men’s head golf coach at St. Vincents High School in Petaluma, Verhunce, a proven team player and leader is currently operating at Adobe Creek CC Peacock Gap and Sonoma Mt. Golf Center. Verhunce is the owner and director of instruction for the golf improvement center. Prior to that, he was the director of instruction at Rooster Run. He supervises a staff of PGA and LPGA Professionals and is the host to the ESPN GolfSchools, and Dave Pelz Short Game. Some of his responsibilities include organizing corporate outings, workshops, junior camps, and adaptive physical programs. Verhunce also promotes and markets interested golfers to try private lessons and golf schools. He has developed these outstanding programs for players of all levels. In 2002 he was awarded the honor as NCPGA Club Fitter of the Year, a much deserved award as Verhunce custom fits over 100 sets of golf clubs annually. He also organized and led the largest on course demo day in Sonoma County.
Prior to working at Petaluma’s prized golf courses, Verhunce was the director of golf at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club. There he coordinated all the club events and outside tournaments, such as the US Amateur Qualifying and many NCGA events. He organized and marketed the junior golf and caddy programs and also provided excellent instruction and club fitting to members and guests at all levels. Verhunce, an extremely active member in the community is a volunteer instructor for the Santa Rosa Junior College Physically Challenged Department. From 2002-2003 he has been a committee member of the NCPGA Disabled Golfers of America. He was the President of the Junior Golf Association of Sonoma County and he also is the coordinator for the NCPGA Sonoma County Golf Expo as well as a member of the NCPGA Awards and Nomination Committee. An active player in the NCPGA Section and various Pro-Am’s, and a winner of several NCPGA sanctioned events, Verhunce was a collegiate golfer at Texas Wesleyan University and the University of South Florida. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing and currently lives in Santa Rosa with his wife and two kids.
Brendan Galten
Assistant Coach
Brendan Galten, a recent graduate of Sonoma State University, begins his second year as an assistant with the Seawolves. Having attended a number of universities in his college career, he will complete his BA in English Literature. His ultimate goal is to attain an advanced graduate degree in English Literature.
Sports have always been a part of his life. At Saint Ignatius College Prep (San Francisco) he participated in the sports of soccer, track (400 meter dash), and Crew. His college career includes two years of football at the University of San Francisco and Kings River Community College. He also raced road bicycles, attaining an NCNCA category 3 status, and participated in numerous other sports at a non- organized level. Golf has been a passion for him for the last 7 years. Despite taking up the game only recently, his avid approach to the game has provided him with a good proficiency for the game and an appreciation for it’s finer points. For the last 12 years he has been employed as a software engineer. Eight years as a contractor and the last 4 years as an employee of Apple computer.
