The weekend of Jan. 3, 2003, was not a pleasant time for Iowa fans, especially those trapped in Florida.

Thousands of dejected fans had to board planes and buses to head back to Iowa after watching their beloved Hawkeye football team get trounced, 38-17, by Southern California in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

But there was one Iowa fan who stayed in the Sunshine State to pursue his dream of playing in the PGA Tour.

Iowa men’s golf assistant coach Tyler Stith — who played for the Iowa golf program from 2000 to 2002 — packed up his golf clubs and bought a one-way ticket to Miami with no intention of returning to Iowa City in the near future.

He worked outside operations at TPC at Heron Bay Golf Club in Coral Springs, Fla., to make money while working on his golf game in hopes of competing in the professional ranks.

After living in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for nearly four years, the hopes of playing professionally faded, and Stith decided to move back to the Midwest.

“Once I was comfortable with my decision that I had at least given it a try, I decided to move back home,” he said. “But I had no regrets about making an attempt.”

He attended Iowa State in his first year of collegiate play before transferring to Iowa, and he said he regretted his decision in the first week of being in Ames.

“It just didn’t feel like home,” he said. “I felt like going [to Iowa State] was a better opportunity for me to play college golf, but I realized right away that I was wrong.”

Stith said he signed a letter of intent to Iowa State because current Iowa head coach Mark Hankins — also a Mount Pleasant native — was an assistant at the school, and he believed Hankins would fill the recently vacated head coaching job for the Cyclones.

But Hankins did not get the job and left Ames before Stith arrived.

“Aside from my dad, [Hankins] has had the largest influence on my golf career of anyone I’ve ever known,” he said. “I signed assuming he would be there, and then he wasn’t, so it made it more challenging for me.”

After spending seven years coaching Michigan State, Hankins took over at Iowa in 2007; initially, he did not have an assistant.

“I wanted to implement my system to the new players first,” Hankins said. “If I had brought an assistant in right away, I wouldn’t only have to teach my players how I do things but another coach as well.”

Once the team’s ranking began to rise and Hankins was confident the program was moving in the right direction, he went to the administration and said an assistant would be a benefit to the program. He hired Stith in Jan. 2008.

Stith said his main goal is to provide assistance in any area where Hankins needs support.

“I know he doesn’t need me for an extra voice because he has been successful by himself for a long time,” Stith said. “If that means I have more of an administrative role, that is fine with me. I’m very happy with where I am at right now.”