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 both seasons, 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 served 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.
