Paul Hjulberg, Head Coach
Paul Hjulberg (pronounced JEWL-berg) was hired on July 1, 2000 as director of men’s and women’s golf. The Highlanders had never fielded a women’s golf team prior to the move to Division I in 2001, and the men’s program lay dormant since 1981.
Hjulberg has taken the men’s program to new heights, winning back-to-back Big West Conference championships in 2004 and 2005. In each season, the team qualified for the NCAA West Regionals and Hjulberg was twice honored as the conference’s “Coach of the Year”. On the women’s side, he has led the Highlanders to improvement each season, stronger finishes and better strength of schedule, finishing third in the Big West in 2006.
In total, Hjulberg has coached 30 All-Big West selections, 15 All-Big West Scholar-Athletes, five Golf Coaches Association of America All-America Scholars, five NGCA All-Scholars, and two NCAA All-Pacific Region players. Additionally, the Highlanders have won a combined 13 team tournaments and a further 18 individual wins under his guidance. From 2005-08, Hjulberg will serve on the NCAA Pacific Region Advisory Committee in charge of NCAA postseason tournament selections.
Hjulberg brings to UCR twenty-plus years of experience as a golf professional and extensive experience in teaching, coaching and developing junior golfers. Prior to his arrival at UCR, Hjulberg served as a golf professional at Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside from 1980-2000.
He was responsible for total golf operations as well as planning and coordinating 30-plus member tournaments and group outings each year. To date, he has taught more than 5,000 lessons to golfers of all levels, including individuals, groups, clinics and camps.
He is a 1974 graduate of Palos Verdes High School and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in personnel and industrial relations from Utah State in 1980. He also played golf for the Aggies.
Hjulberg has been a member of the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) since 1983, and is a member of the Quarter Century Club. Hjulberg has participated in over 125 local tournaments over the years. He was honored with the 1998 San Bernardino-Riverside Chapter PGA Bill Strausbaugh Award for Club Relations. He was a San Bernardino-Riverside Chapter Board Member from 1996-2000 and chaired the PGA Chapter Junior Golf Committee in 2000.
In his free time he enjoys being with his family, participating in sports and gardening. He and his wife, Lisa, have four children, Ian, Collin, Clayton and Avery. They reside in Riverside.
Jennifer Dolph, Assistant Coach
Jennifer Dolph was hired as UC Riverside assistant golf coach in February 2004. Dolph will assist Hjulberg with both the men’s and women’s teams.
Dolph is a 2003 graduate of Eastern Washington University, where she received her degree in recreation management with a minor in business. Dolph earned Big Sky All-Conference and Academic-All-Conference honors in 2003, a season highlighted by her second place finish at the Santa Clara Invitational and fifth place finish at the conference championships.
A 1999 graduate of Pullman High School in Pullman, WA, Dolph was the Washington Junior Golf Association District Champ in 1997.
Dolph also holds an assistant golf professional position at Canyon Crest Country Club in Riverside, and she most recently obtained membership in the PGA of America. She is single and resides in Riverside.
Brandon Hillpot, Assistant Coach
Former Highlander Brandon Hillpot joined the coaching staff in 2007 after concluding his four-year collegiate career at UC Riverside in 2005.
During his time with the Highlanders, Hillpot was a three-time All-Conference performer - First Team in 2002 and 2005 and Second-Team in 2004. He won the 2001 Cal State Northridge individual tournament title, and was named 2001-02 Highlander Newspaper Athlete of the Year.
During the 2003-04 season, Hillpot carded a career-low 66 at the Del Walker Intercollegiate tying him for the second lowest round in UCR history. He tied that score a year later at the University of Hawaii Turlte Bay Intercollegiate.
Upon graduation, Hillpot ranked second in Highlanders history in scoring average vs. par, career tournament wins, number of rounds of par or better, and finish percentage.
Hillpot attended Colton HS where he won the 2001 Southern Section CIF championship.
He currently serves as the Director of Rules & Competition at The Ranch at Moreno Valley. In his free time, Hillpot enjoys golfing and playing basketball, fishing, reading, and watching the Los Angeles Lakers.