Chattanooga Mocs Head Golf Coach Blaine Woodruff had a lot on his plate when he arrived in early June. Not the least of which was the 2022-23 which he announced Thursday. It’s a 10-tournament journey to the postseason which starts in late April at the Southern Conference Championships with any ending it in Arizona in May.
“I’m really excited about how this year’s schedule came together,” Woodruff shared. “I think we have a good combination of regional and national events. We’re also going to get to play some really good courses.
“Considering the position we were in when I walked in the door, it’s a really, really good schedule.”
It’s a winding road from start to finish beginning in Florida.
Next up is two trips to North Carolina followed by a South Carolina event before a trek west to PEBBLE BEACH to close out the fall. Spring starts at TPC SAWGRASS before rolling through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Indiana with all roads leading to the SoCon Championships back at Reynolds Lake Oconee for the third straight year.
“To be a national contender, we need to play a national schedule,” he added. “I believe we can do that here so it’s important to play on different grasses and in different places in the country seeing teams we don’t usually see. Heading to championship venues like Poppy Hills and Sawgrass are special, but all the courses and clubs we’ll see this year have something special about them.
“Our guys will enjoy competing each week.”
A tourney-by-tourney look:
Fall
Sept. 12-13: Streamsong Invitational | Bowling Green, Fla. (Streamsong Blue Course)
Sept. 26-27: J.T. Poston Invitational | Cashiers, N.C. (C.C. of Sapphire Valley)
Oct. 14-15: Wolfpack Intercollegiate | Raleigh, N.C. (Lonnie Poole G.C.)
Oct. 22-23: Furman Intercollegiate | Greenville, S.C. (Furman G.C.)
Oct. 31-Nov. 2: Saint Mary’s Invitational | Pebble Beach, Calif. (Poppy Hills)
Spring
Feb. 5-6: Hayt Collegiate | Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (TPC Sawgrass)
March 5-7: Jason Dufner Tiger Invitational | Opelika, Ala. (RTJ Grand National)
March 19-21: Linger Longer Invitational | Greensboro, Ga. (Great Waters)
April 3-4: Wofford Invitational | Spartanburg, S.C. (C.C. of Spartanburg)
April 8-9: Hoosier Invitational | Bloomington, Ind. (PFAU Course)
Postseason
April 23-25: SoCon Championships | Greensboro, Ga. (Oconee)
May 15-17: NCAA Regionals | TBA
May 26-31: NCAA Championships | Scottsdale, Ariz. (Grayhawk G.C.)
“I like the mix we have competition-wise,” Woodruff noted. “Some of these fields are really, really good while a few others are a little bit lighter. I think it’s important to have that kind of balance.”
The Mocs are making return trips to the Poston and Linger Longer events. Sophomore Braedon Wear is the defending medalist at the former. The squad has played at the Wolfpack, Furman, Hayt and Tiger events with new opportunities at Streamsong, Saint Mary’s, Wofford and Hoosier tourneys.