Photo by: Daniel Hooker
Men’s Golf at the Turn
1/19/2023 9:59:00 AM | Men's Golf
Coach Blaine Woodruff and the Chattanooga Mocs took positive strides over the first half of the season.
STATS/NOTES | ABOUT CHATTANOOGA GOLF
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team is at the turn of the 2022-23 season. There is a lot of optimism with where the program is after just one semester under Coach Blaine Woodruff. The squad is already in position to push for postseason play ranked among the top 75 programs in the country.
"That's not something we are focused on," Woodruff began. "From the beginning of the year, our focus has been about controlling what we can control and trying to get 1% better every day. If we give our best effort in every opportunity – especially the day-to-day details – we can hang our hat on whatever result comes of it."
There are two noteworthy occurrences fueling the drive from 135 in the country in spring 2022 compared to 63 on Golfstat heading into this spring slate. One, the squad is 32 under 15 rounds thus far. No Mocs squad has ever completed a season par or better. That includes the 2009 and 2010 teams that both ranked No. 1 in the country during their campaigns.
The other is eye-catching in the same vein. Samuel Espinosa (-20), Paul Conroy (-11) and John Houk (E) are par or better at the season's turn. There have been only three such season-long ledgers in school history. The first was by All-American and UTC Hall of Famer Jonathan Hodge '09 with was 9 under in 2007-08. Current PGA Tour member Stephan Jaeger '12 did it twice going 1 under in 2010-11 and a record 22 under over the course of his All-America campaign in 2011-12.
"I'm proud of what our guys did this past fall," Woodruff continued. "They bought in to our core beliefs and accepted every challenge to compete. We had eight different players with at least one start. That kind of depth, mixed with how we do qualifying, forces everyone to continue to push themselves or get passed up by their teammates."
There are two ways to qualify for a starting berth in the Scenic City. Either finish in the top 10 in the last event or beat out the remainder of the squad to enter the lineup. All nine Mocs qualify for the opener in the Sunshine State next month.
"Coach (Nick) Robinson and I are looking forward to qualifying and seeing who steps up to lead us into the spring," Woodruff concluded. "Everything is earned, nothing is given. I like how this group comes together and understands that being uncomfortable encourages incremental growth. We're excited to see where it leads beginning at TPC Sawgrass."
3 Notes to Know
Next Up
The spring starts Feb. 5-6 at the prestigious Hayt Collegiate. The Mocs are one eight teams ranked in the top 100 headed to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., with No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 17 Alabama headlining the event. The strong field hits Sawgrass Country Club for 54 holes over two days.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs men's golf team is at the turn of the 2022-23 season. There is a lot of optimism with where the program is after just one semester under Coach Blaine Woodruff. The squad is already in position to push for postseason play ranked among the top 75 programs in the country.
"That's not something we are focused on," Woodruff began. "From the beginning of the year, our focus has been about controlling what we can control and trying to get 1% better every day. If we give our best effort in every opportunity – especially the day-to-day details – we can hang our hat on whatever result comes of it."
There are two noteworthy occurrences fueling the drive from 135 in the country in spring 2022 compared to 63 on Golfstat heading into this spring slate. One, the squad is 32 under 15 rounds thus far. No Mocs squad has ever completed a season par or better. That includes the 2009 and 2010 teams that both ranked No. 1 in the country during their campaigns.
The other is eye-catching in the same vein. Samuel Espinosa (-20), Paul Conroy (-11) and John Houk (E) are par or better at the season's turn. There have been only three such season-long ledgers in school history. The first was by All-American and UTC Hall of Famer Jonathan Hodge '09 with was 9 under in 2007-08. Current PGA Tour member Stephan Jaeger '12 did it twice going 1 under in 2010-11 and a record 22 under over the course of his All-America campaign in 2011-12.
Not satisfied 😤 ➡️ 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏% 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 📈
— Chattanooga Men's Golf (@GoMocsMGLF) November 23, 2022
•𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨 🏆🏆
•𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚🏆
•𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 135➡️63
•𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 54-14 (.794 Winning %)
Time to get to work this offseason 🫡
#1% #RepTheC🔵🟡 pic.twitter.com/xAkEw88w0x
"I'm proud of what our guys did this past fall," Woodruff continued. "They bought in to our core beliefs and accepted every challenge to compete. We had eight different players with at least one start. That kind of depth, mixed with how we do qualifying, forces everyone to continue to push themselves or get passed up by their teammates."
There are two ways to qualify for a starting berth in the Scenic City. Either finish in the top 10 in the last event or beat out the remainder of the squad to enter the lineup. All nine Mocs qualify for the opener in the Sunshine State next month.
"Coach (Nick) Robinson and I are looking forward to qualifying and seeing who steps up to lead us into the spring," Woodruff concluded. "Everything is earned, nothing is given. I like how this group comes together and understands that being uncomfortable encourages incremental growth. We're excited to see where it leads beginning at TPC Sawgrass."
3 Notes to Know
- Conroy tied the school record with a 10-under 62 over the final 18 claiming his first collegiate win at the Wolfpack Invite at N.C. State.
- Espinosa is currently ranked 118 on Golfstat and 122 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings. He's looking to become the eighth Moc all-time and first since Jaeger in 2012 (9) to tank in the top 100. U.S. Amateur Champ Steven Fox '13 just missed in 2013 (102) as did Wes Gosselin '17 in 2016 (106).
- Back-to-back team wins (Wolfpack Invite & Furman Intercollegiate) for the first time since 2009 capturing the SoCon Championships and NCAA Bowling Green Regionals.
Next Up
The spring starts Feb. 5-6 at the prestigious Hayt Collegiate. The Mocs are one eight teams ranked in the top 100 headed to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., with No. 2 Vanderbilt and No. 17 Alabama headlining the event. The strong field hits Sawgrass Country Club for 54 holes over two days.
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 30
Tuesday, August 26
Tuesday, July 15
Friday, May 30
