Tag: mens college golf

North Carolina, North Georgia among those atop latest Bushnell/Golfweek coaches polls for men’s college golf

North Carolina, North Georgia, Methodist, Keiser, Odessa, Mississippi Gulf Coast are the No. 1 teams.

The latest Bushnell/Golfweek coaches polls for men’s college golf are out and there’s a new No. 1 in Division I.

North Carolina has flipped spots with Auburn at the top, garnering 12 first-place votes to the Tigers’ 10, while also collecting six more overall points. Vanderbilt received two first-place votes and sits in third with Arizona State and Ole Miss rounding out the top five.

The big movers this week are Texas Tech (up six spots to No. 8 and Alabama (up 12 spots to No. 9).

Texas A&M and Georgia entered the poll this week after being unranked last time.

Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll – March 22

Rank University Points Previous
1 North Carolina (12) 582 2
2 Auburn (10) 576 1
3 Vanderbilt (2) 561 3
4 Arizona State 529 4
5 Ole Miss 491 6
6 Washington 435 5
7 Tennessee 423 7
8 Texas Tech 422 14
9 Alabama 381 21
10 Florida State 360 13
11 Arizona 355 8
12 Virginia 337 12
13 Oklahoma 319 9
14 Arkansas 313 10
15 Georgia Tech 295 11
16 East Tennessee State 241 16
17 Florida 230 15
18 Texas 168 20
19 New Mexico 156 19
T-20 California 144 18
T-20 Illinois 144 17
22 Texas A&M 97 RV
23 Georgia 75 RV
24 Oregon 61 25
25 Duke 32 23

Others receiving votes: Notre Dame (18), Mississippi State (12), Ohio State (9), North Florida (7), Stanford (7), Louisville (5), Oklahoma State (5), Wake Forest (4), Chattanooga (3), San Diego State (1), VCU (1).

North Georgia
University of North Georgia men’s golf.

North Georgia is No. 1 once again in Div. II.

For the sixth straight poll, the Nighthawks swept all 21 first-place votes and collected 596 points overall.

Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll – March 22

Rank University Points Previous
1 North Georgia (21) 596 1
2 Lincoln Memorial 566 2
3 Georgia Southwestern (2) 540 3
4 Grand Valley State (2) 525 4
5 Oklahoma Christian 483 T-9
6 Lee 459 5
7 USC Aiken 443 6
8 Florida Southern 440 7
9 Colorado Christian 394 T-9
10 Lander 379 12
11 Saint Leo 343 8
12 Nova Southeastern 315 18
13 Dallas Baptist 275 19
14 Colorado State Pueblo 233 11
15 Midwestern State 227 16
16 Barton 204 21
17 West Florida 200 17
18 Central Oklahoma 199 23
19 Henderson State 196 14
20 Texas-Permian Basin 167 13
21 Colorado School of Mines 77 20
22 Texas-Tyler 73 NR
23 Coker 69 22
24 Shorter 68 NR
25 Chico State 61 25

Others receiving votes: West Texas A&M (39), Tampa (35), Columbus State (34), Ferris State (30), Barry (25), Cal State East Bay (16), Cal State Monterey Bay (16), Western New Mexico (14), Lenoir Rhyne (11), Missouri S&T (9), Carson-Newman (7), Missouri Southern State (7), Central Missouri (6), Indianapolis (6), Southern Arkansas (5), Union (TN) (4), Cal State San Marcos (3), Flagler (3), Colorado Mesa (2), Tusculum (2), Rollins (1), Valdosta State (1), Virginia Union (1), Wayne State (MI) (1), Wingate (1).

Bushnell/Golfweek Division III Coaches Poll – March 22

Rank University Points Previous
1 Methodist (8) 368 1
2 Emory (7) 367 2
3 Oglethorpe 328 3
4 Illinois Wesleyan 322 4
5 Carnegie Mellon 306 6
6 Washington & Lee 301 10
7 Lynchburg 291 5
8 Bethel (MN) 244 8
9 Sewanee 243 12
10 Aurora 236 11
11 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 230 7
12 Saint John’s (MN) 219 9
13 Huntingdon 213 20
14 Babson 165 13
15 Texas-Dallas 159 14
16 Wittenberg 145 15
17 Pomona-Pitzer 131 17
18 Kenyon 91 25
19 Averett 87 16
20 Christopher Newport 80 18
21 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 78 19
22 Guilford 71 21
23 Trinity (CT) 39 23
24 Rochester 29 RV
25 Hampden-Sydney 28 RV

Others receiving votes: LeTourneau (25), Gustavus Adolphus (14), Willamette (13), RPI (11), Piedmont (10), Whitworth (9), Trinity (TX) (7), Whitman (6), California Lutheran (4), Franklin & Marshall (2), Gettysburg (2), Redlands (1).

Bushnell/Golfweek NAIA Coaches Poll – March 22

Rank University Points Previous
1 Keiser (7) 247 2
2 Dalton State (3) 243 1
3 British Columbia 224 3
4 OUAZ 220 4
5 Lindsey Wilson 201 7
6 Wayland Baptist 200 5
7 Texas Wesleyan 198 6
8 Truett McConnell 177 8
9 Coastal Georgia 161 9
10 Southeastern (FL) 154 12
11 Cumberland (TN) 141 10
12 Bellevue 120 11
13 William Carey 116 14
14 Oklahoma City 109 15
15 Campbellsville 101 13
16 Houston-Victoria 95 18
17 Point 90 T-16
18 Lawrence Tech 88 T-16
19 MidAmerica Nazarene 71 21
20 Columbia (MO) 70 NR
21 Webber International 57 22
22 USAO 39 NR
23 Ave Maria 38 20
24 Southwestern Christian 35 19
25 Morningside 13 23

Others Receiving Votes: Taylor (10), Lewis-Clark State (7), Reinhardt (5), Victoria-BC (4), The Master’s (2), Northwestern Ohio (1).

Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Div. I Coaches Poll – March 22

Rank University Points Previous
1 Odessa (5) 58 T-2
T-2 Indian Hills (1) 48 4
T-2 Midland 48 1
4 New Mexico JC 43 T-2
5 Hutchinson 36 5
6 Central Alabama 26 6
7 McLennan 21 7
8 Ranger 20 9
9 Dodge City 12 8
10 Western Texas 8 10

Others receiving votes: NMMI (4), Eastern Florida State (3), Iowa Western (2), Weatherford (1).

Bushnell/Golfweek NJCAA Div. II Coaches Poll – March 22

Rank University Points Previous
1 Mississippi Gulf Coast (3) 30 1
2 South Mountain 25 2
3 Parkland 23 3
4 Kirkwood 22 4
5 Roane State 17 5
6 Des Moines Area 16 6
7 East Central 11 8
8 Meridian 8 7
9 Jones 5 T-10
10 Iowa Central 4 9

Others receiving votes: Alexandria College (2).

College golf coaches job blog: News from around the coaching community for 2024

News from around the college golf coaching community in 2024.

Interested in the college golf coaching scene around the country in 2024? Get the latest updates on this page.

If you have information to share on this page, please e-mail Lance Ringler or Cameron Jourdan.

Editor’s note: To see previous listings, click here.

January 24

JAMES MADISON

James Madison Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne announced Carter Cheves has been extended as head coach of the men’s golf program through the 2027-28 season.

“Carter has been a positive presence and steadying force for our men’s golf program at James Madison,” Bourne said. “He inherited the program amid the COVID pandemic with his first competitive season a shortened spring campaign in 2021 before then facing CAA ineligibility due to transition in 2022. As the program moved to the Sun Belt, the team had a respectable first season in 2022-23 and has already climbed significantly in Sun Belt rankings based upon Fall results this year. He is a positive role model leading our student-athletes not only on the golf course but in all aspects of their collegiate experience. We’re excited for him to continue leading the young men in our golf program.”

Cheves has been part of the JMU men’s golf program for 10 years, first serving as an assistant coach from 2013-2018. After one year away from the program, he returned in 2019 to serve as associate head coach for one year before being named head coach in the summer of 2020. He served one year as head coach at Ohio for the 2018-19 season before returning to James Madison. He also filled the head coaching role for three seasons at Western Carolina prior to his first JMU stint.

Cheves graduated from UNCW in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Prior to UNCW, he played for two years at NC State.

USC UPSTATE

USC Upstate head men’s and women’s golf coach Todd Lawton has announced the hire of Matt Smith as the program’s assistant coach for the men’s and women’s programs.

Smith joins USC Upstate after two seasons as the head men’s golf coach at his alma mater, Truett McConnell University, in Cleveland, Georgia.

In 2022-23, TMU recorded the best season in program history, being ranked as high as No. 13 nationally at the close of the fall season. TMU would go on to claim the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship, earning a bid to the NAIA National Championships.

Smith was tabbed AAC Coach of the Year with student-athlete Caden Sanders bringing home AAC medalist honors. Both awards were firsts in program history. Competing in the National Championship, the Bears made the cut for the final round as a team and finished 13th (of 29 teams), marking the best finish in program history.

“I am thrilled to add Matt to our golf staff and look forward to his experience and golf acumen giving our players another resource to get the most out of their games on the course and life off the course,” said USC Upstate head men’s and women’s golf coach Todd Lawton. “As an accomplished player on his own, he brings a strong resume that will help him make an immediate impact. As a person, he is a man of high integrity and moral character and that resonated with me in the process of hiring our newest assistant coach.”

January 23

PEPPERDINE

Jason Allred, a 2014 Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and the first-ever recipient of the prestigious Byron Nelson Award, has been hired as an assistant coach at Pepperdine.

“I’m very thankful Jason is with us,” said head coach Michael Beard. “He will bring experience, competitiveness, a passion to serve, as well as a relational approach. Jason’s high character and love for Pepperdine will make this an easy transition for everyone involved with our program.”

Most recently, Allred has enjoyed working with a Christian Ministry called College Golf Fellowship (CGF) and continues to enjoy the opportunity of serving the world of collegiate and professional players through CGF.

Allred competed for the Waves from 1998-2002, helping lead the squad to West Coast Conference titles all four years he was in the lineup. The team advanced to the NCAA Championships twice, finishing in a tie for 23rd place in 2000 and eighth place in 2002.

He also earned a major prize given for the first time in 2002, the Byron Nelson Award, which is presented to a graduating men’s senior by the GCAA. The honor takes into account a nominee’s entire academic career, college golf career and his character and integrity while in college.

Allred, who is from Ashland, Oregon, arrived at Pepperdine with a victory at the 1997 U.S. Junior Championships.

After graduating, Allred reached golf’s highest level when he earned PGA Tour cards in 2005, 2008 and 2014. Other years, he competed on the Korn Ferry Tour. Throughout his career Allred competed in five major championships, 70 PGA Tour events and 152 tournaments on the Korn Ferry Tour.

January 23

TROY

Nathan Griffin is the new assistant coach for the Troy men’s and women’s golf teams. Griffin joins the Troy staff following a stint as the assistant tournament director for the Alabama Junior Golf Organization.

Prior to his run with the AJGO, Griffin was an operations and administration assistant for the Auburn men’s and women’s golf teams during the fall of 2022, following a year as a graduate assistant for the Jacksonville State athletics department during the 2021-22 athletics season.

Griffin began his professional career as a first teaching assistant at Cider Ridge for 15 months before moving into the assistant pro role at the club for 18 months before moving into the collegiate athletics realm at Jacksonville State.

He was a four-year letterwinner at Faulkner.

January 10

NC STATE

North Carolina State women’s golf coach Page Marsh has made the decision to retire effective immediately. Marsh has served as head coach since its re-establishment in 2000,

Darby Sligh, who joined the Wolfpack staff in June 2018, will succeed Marsh as the program’s next head coach. Sligh just wrapped up her fifth season with the Wolfpack after previously serving as the head coach at Illinois State for 11 seasons (2007-18). “After 24 years, the time has come for me to retire from an extremely rewarding career here at NC State,” said Marsh. “I am so proud to have witnessed all the growth and incredible achievements these student-athletes have gained on and off the golf course. Thank you to all who have enriched my life in so many ways. I wish everyone associated with NC State continued success as you navigate the path to fulfill your dreams.”Marsh, who was named 2002 ACC Coach of the Year, has guided NC State to 11 team tournament wins, 19 NCAA Regional Championship appearances and four NCAA Championship team berths over the last 23 years.

January 10

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

Southern Illinois’ Cindy Bodmer announced she will retire at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Bodmer has served as SIU’s women’s golf coach since September of 2022. She is well-known in the local golf community for starting the women’s golf program at Rend Lake College in 1999 and guiding that program to 15 NJCAA National Championship appearances.

“It was an absolute pleasure to work alongside Coach Bodmer these last two seasons,” said SIU Director of Golf Justin Fetcho. “She poured everything she had into the program, and I can’t thank her enough for her contributions both on and off the course. We wish Cindy the absolute best in her retirement and know that she will always be a Saluki.”

After her first season at Southern, Bodmer overhauled the program’s roster by bringing in six freshmen for the 2023-24 campaign.

“Leaving a program is never easy, but I take great comfort in the knowledge it is in great hands moving forward,” Bodmer said. “Coach Fetcho is a proven winner, and I feel fortunate to have worked with him these last two years. I also want to give a shout-out to my dedicated assistant coach, Sarah Haas, for her unwavering commitment to our student athletes. During my time at SIU, teaming with the athletic staff and coaches here was an amazing experience, one I will always hold dear.”

Southern Illinois will conduct a national search this spring to hire Bodmer’s successor.

Here are 5 of the biggest stories from men’s college golf this fall

A busy fall has set the stage for an exciting spring in men’s college golf.

It seems as if national champions were crowned just yesterday, but instead we’re at the end of the fall college golf season in one of the craziest starts to the year in the sport’s history.

Sure, the top teams have claimed tournament titles and new stars have burst onto the scene, but that doesn’t mean the season has been short on drama and storylines and events that have altered the sport.

College golf is entering a quiet time until February, when it will quickly ramp back up as teams begin the pursuit to make it to Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, site of the 2024 NCAA Championships.

Here are some of the biggest stories from men’s college golf this fall.

Meet the 20 golfers on the Haskins Award final fall watch list for 2023-24

Here’s a look at the 20 players on the Haskins Award final fall watch list.

The fall season in college golf is winding to a close, which means it’s time to recognize players who set themselves apart as frontrunners in men’s college golf over the past two and a half months.

The Haskins Award presented by Stifel honors the player of the year in men’s college golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the Haskins Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel reporters.

Here’s a look at the 20 players on the Haskins Award final fall watch list.

Vanderbilt’s Jackson Van Paris claims inaugural St. Andrews Links Collegiate title

Jackson Van Paris picked a good place to pick up his first collegiate win.

Jackson Van Paris picked a good place to pick up his first collegiate win.

The junior at Vanderbilt captured the inaugural St. Andrews Links Collegiate on Tuesday in Scotland, shooting 9-under 131 on the Jubilee Course to win by three shots over teammate Cole Sherwood. The duo helped Vanderbilt lock up the top spot for Wednesday’s match play, where the No. 3 Commodores will take on top-ranked North Carolina in the championship match at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

The St. Andrews Links Collegiate features the North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Georgetown and Notre Dame men’s and women’s golf teams. The squads faced off Monday and Tuesday in 36 holes of stroke play. Come Wednesday, there will be match play on both sides.

On the women’s side, North Carolina will also face Vanderbilt, while the Georgetown and Notre Dame teams will battle for third place.

Van Paris fired rounds of 64 and 67 to take the title. Sherwood shot 68-66 to earn runner-up honors. North Carolina’s Peter Fountain finished solo third at 5 under.

In the team competition, Vanderbilt shot 23 under with the Tar Heels finishing five shots behind. Both men and women used a 6-count-5 scoring system instead of the usual 5-count-4 for stroke play.

Stars Gordon Sargent for Vanderbilt and David Ford for North Carolina didn’t play at the course the duo won the Walker Cup at last month because last week, they helped the U.S. win the World Amateur Team Championship in Abu Dhabi.

Kayla Smith won the 2023 St. Andrews Links Collegiate.

On the women’s side, it was North Carolina’s Kayla Smith earning medalist honors, finishing at 2-under 138. She won by two shots over Vanderbilt’s Ava Merrill. The Tar Heel women also earned the top seed for match play, finishing at 19 over with Vanderbilt coming in second at 29 over.

Here are 15 men’s college golf freshmen to watch in the 2023-24 season

Here’s a look at the future.

Classes are back in session at most schools across the country, which means college golf is set to officially tee off for the 2023-24 season this month.

As colleges and universities across the country are welcoming their student-athletes back to campus, most of the nation’s attention will be fixated on the preseason All-Americans and Haskins Award Watch List, but there are more than a few new faces in the college game that will be contributing immediately for their teams. It won’t take long for many of these golfers to become national stars.

These are the men’s newcomers to college golf that fans may want to keep an eye on this season.

Photos: Dalhousie Golf Club hosts Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff

Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was the site of the Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff.

For the first time this year, Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was among the season-opening venues in college golf. Dalhousie hosted the Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff on Sept. 3-5, testing a 12-team field over its undulating layout.

Dalhousie, a Gary Nicklaus design that opened in 2002, appears among Golfweek’s Best Private Courses in Missouri and the Golfweek’s Best list of residential courses in the U.S. The course has hosted championships at every level, from the Missouri Amateur to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship to Gateway PGA-sanctioned events to the AJGA’s prestigious Rolex Tournament of Champions.

LSU went 20 under for 54 holes to win the Golfweek event, and also claimed the individual medalist in Alex Price, who was 11 under.

“It’s a really good golf course,” LSU head coach Chuck Winstead said of Dalhousie at the end of the weekend. “It’s solid tee to green, good layout, I think it’s a really, really good test.”

Take a look at some scenes from the tournament.

‘It’s such a good test’: Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff puts spotlight on Dalhousie Golf Club

Dalhousie has proven a stout test for a college field and the many other events it has hosted since coming online in 2002.

LSU head coach Chuck Winstead remembers walking Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, in 2009 while recruiting at the AJGA’s Rolex Tournament of Champions.

“It’s a really good golf course,” said Winstead. “It’s solid tee to green, good layout, I think it’s a really, really good test.”

Winstead brought a team back to Dalhousie this past week for the season-opening Golfweek Collegiate Kickoff. LSU went 20 under for 54 holes, edging Missouri by seven shots. Dalhousie has proven a stout test for a college field and the many other events – from the Missouri Amateur to the AJGA Rolex – it has hosted since coming online in 2002. The layout ranks No. 4 in Missouri on Golfweek’s Best list of top private clubs in Missouri.

Sam Houston State head coach Brandt Kieschnick could picture a postseason event there someday.

“The golf course was a great test and could host an NCAA Regional,” said Kieschnick, whose Bears were sixth at 7 over. “We loved the setup.”

Ball State head coach Mike Fleck arrived at Dalhousie and saw shades of home. The Gary Nicklaus design felt like a combination of Indiana’s Pfau Course and Victoria National, two of Indiana’s most challenging golf courses.

“Dalhousie presented itself as a great venue and challenging setup,” Fleck said. “With tight fairways lined with trouble, it definitely rewarded those that drove the ball in play. The fairways and greens were a bit softer than we anticipated, but you really have to be precise on the big undulating greens.”

Dalhousie is a big layout on undulating, South Missouri terrain. Bentgrass tees and greens and Zoysia fairways offered a new look for Stetson’s men, who are used to Bermudagrass back home in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“It was in incredible condition, everything you could probably say how good it was, it was,” Stetson head coach Danny Forshey said. “For us, coming from Florida, it was different. That was one of the reasons we enjoyed it, I think it’s important for our guys to play different venues.”

After two rounds – a practice round and the first round of competition – Stetson was dialed in. The Hatters’ four counters were under par in Round 2, with John Houchin leading the way at 67. Only LSU fired a better second-round score.

“I knew after the practice round, I was thinking this is different, I wish we had seen this place before,” Forshey said. “As you could kind of tell, after we got through the first round, then after they saw it twice and getting into that second round on Monday, getting to see it for the third time, you could see our guys get a little more comfortable.”

Stetson, a team that traveled to the National Golf Invitational last spring for its first postseason start in program history, ended the second round of the Golfweek Kickoff sandwiched between the two SEC programs in the 12-team field. The Hatters trailed LSU by eight but were five ahead of tournament-host Missouri. They subsequently got an SEC pairing for the final round.

Forshey loved that final-round draw for his players just as much as he loved the test Dalhousie brought. Several of the tee shots took discipline – like the par-4 10th that features a double fairway – and lengthy par 3s that required commitment to good targets.

“It’s such a good test,” said Forshey, whose Hatters ultimately finished third at 5 under, the only team beside LSU and Missouri to finish under par. “You can shoot 65 or 66 out there but you’re going to have to play some really good golf.”

LSU graduate transfer Alex Price fired a 65 to start the 36-hole day Sept. 4, and Missouri sophomore Alfons Bondesson closed with 65 the next day. Despite those low rounds, the amateur course record of 64 shared by LPGA winner Rose Zhang and Dustin Korte, who played college golf at Austin Peay, still stands.

Price won the individual title with an 11-under total, while Missouri’s Jack Lundin came in second at 10 under.

“It’s what I’m familiar with, and it’s where I learned to play,” Price said in describing Dalhousie after 36 holes. “I’m always going to love that, and on top of it, there’s a lot of fun shots and cool holes.”

It adds up to an unforgettable season opener.

Golfweek’s 2023-24 men’s college golf preseason team rankings

Take a look at the top men’s college golf teams heading into the 2023-24 season.

Summer is over, the calendar has turned to September and college is back in session. That means college golf is back.

With that, the chase to win an NCAA Championship is on. This year, the championships will be held at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, after being at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, the past three years. La Costa is set to host for three years.

Florida not only won the SEC Championship last year, knocking off top-ranked Vanderbilt, but also the NCAA Championship, going on a special run in the desert for its fifth title in school history. This year, however, there’s a new team on top of the preseason rankings.

Here’s a look at Golfweek’s 2023-24 men’s college golf preseason rankings.

These are the top men’s college golf storylines to watch in 2023-24

It’s going to be an exciting season in men’s college golf.

The summer has come and gone, which means the 2023-24 college golf season is here.

Last season, there was no shortage of excitement. Florida got hot at the end of the year, won the SEC Championship, then went on a run to capture the NCAA Championship for the fifth title in school history.

Now, there’s no shortage of storylines to follow as we head into the 2023-24 season, including the national championship moving to Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, next May. There’s also Florida reloading, the chasers and the early Player of the Year favorite looking to build off a big summer.

Here’s a look at some of the top storylines for the 2023-24 men’s college golf season.