Marty Rinker enters his 17th season at the helm of the Golden Eagle men's golf program in 2025-26. Now one of the longest tenured active head coaches at Clarion, he continues to produce athletes that rank among the best in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the NCAA Atlantic Region.
Clarion took ninth at the 2023-24 PSAC Men's Golf Championship, with a pair of seniors cracking the top-25 on the leaderboard. Will Meyer shot a superb 74 in the final round of action to soar up the boards, finishing in a tie for 22nd overall, while Ryan Robinson took 25 for the weekend. Meyer earned his second consecutive College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District nod to conclude his collegiate career.
The Golden Eagles placed eighth at the 2022-23 PSAC Men's Golf Championship, with Will Meyer tying for 28th overall in the field. He and teammate Hayden Siegel earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors in Spring 2023, highlighting the academic and athletic success of the Golden Eagles under Rinker.
The Golden Eagles saw two seasons disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the team not returning to the course for competition until Spring 2021. They proceeded to enjoy a strong half-season that year, placing fifth at the PSAC Championships at Hershey Country Club. The top three Golden Eagles in terms of lowest round average shot 78.4 or better for the year, led by Mitch Faulkner's 77.7 average.
In 2018-19 Rinker sent multiple golfers to the NCAA Regionals for the first time since the entire team qualified for a spot during the 2011-12 season. Mitch Faulkner and Nate Sandberg finished 17th and 14th, respectively, at the Atlantic/East regional hosted at Totteridge Golf Club. Sean Edgar was another recent NCAA qualifier, earning a spot in the Atlantic/East regional twice during his collegiate career.
In 2012 Marty led the Golden Eagles to their 11th straight NCAA Division II Super Regional appearance - finishing in 8th place.
In 2011 coach Rinker led Clarion to the NCAA Division II regionals where the Golden Eagles finished 6th, while qualifying Jared Schmader to the NCAA D-I Nationals.
In the 2010 season, Rinker led the Golden Eagles to their first NCAA Division II Nationals appearance as a team. The Golden Eagles finished 20th in the nation. Clarion qualified for nationals by finishing 5th at the Super Region I Tournament. Rinker has taken the Golden Eagles to two consecutive NCAA Regional appearances, which give Clarion nine straight regional berths.
Rinker took over the reigns of the men's golf program, following the passing of Al Lefevre on August 8th, 2008. Lefevre, who had coached the Golden Eagles for nine years, had won two PSAC titles and taken Clarion to 7 straight NCAA Division II postseason appearances from 2002-2008.
Rinker, a native of Monaca, Pa., has been the head men's golf coach or the assistant coach at Slippery Rock University since 2004. From 2004-2006 he was the assistant coach at SRU and helped the team with individualized instruction, budgeting and fund raising.
In 2006 Rinker became the head coach at Slippery Rock and was responsible for the entire program. The SRU team became a club team after "The Rock" dropped several varsity intercollegiate sports programs and Rinker continued on as the head coach until taking the Clarion position.
Rinker was the head golf professional at Armco Golf Club in Slippery Rock, Pa. from 1986-2004 and managed the golf pro shop for a membership that exceeded 700. He also was responsible for event scheduling, individual lessons, club repair, while also competing in the Tri-State PGA Golf Tournaments and conducting the junior golf program. From 1983-85 he was the assistant pro at Armco.
Earning a B.A. Degree in Social Science in 1981, Marty played on the Space Coast Tour from 1981-83 before taking the assistant pro position at Armco.
Rinker resides in Slippery Rock with his wife Joanie, daughter Jenna and son Brett. He is the son of Bill and Connie Rinker of Monaca.
