After a week of no tournaments, club golf is picking back up. Three Regional Tournaments will be played on Saturday and Sunday. The Gulf, Colonial, and North Carolina Regions will be starting their seasons and beginning their runs for the #Battle4Bryan.
North Carolina Region
The North Carolina regions boasts some of the top club golf teams in the country. 13 schools were represented at the regional tournaments last year, one of which being one of two all women teams in the NCCGA, the Wake Forest Women's team.
This will be a fun regional to watch this season for two reasons. First, it is the NCCGA’s largest region and any handful of the fifteen teams have the potential to win the region. Also, the club golf teams will be fighting to qualify for the Nationals in their home state. This weekend the first regional will take place at the Country Club of Whispering Pines. Whispering Pines is a beautiful, but true test of golf, offering 36 holes. The course is lined with pine trees demanding accuracy on all shots.
According to Regional Coordinator Greg Henion, the favored teams this weekend are East Carolina University, Wake Forest Men’s, and UNC Wilmington. Henion will also have a GoPro at this tournament, so be on the lookup for footage from their rounds.
Gulf Region
Unlike the large NC Region, the Gulf Region consists of five teams: LSU, Tulane, and University of Louisiana-Monroe. Historically this region is dominated by LSU, and according to preseason rankings will be the case again this season. However, anything is possible in the game of golf.
This weekend they will be playing at Belle Terre Country Club in LaPlace, LA. Belle Terre is a Pete Dye classic and will be a great experience for the players. Let’s just hope the forecasted rain can hold off and not interfere with the players’ game.
Check Your Team's Current Rank
Colonial Region
Our third and final tournament of the weekend will be played by the Colonial Region, another one of the bigger regions in the NCCGA. It is made up of teams in the state of Virginia. These 10 teams competed last fall: Hampden-Sydney, James Madison, Old Dominion, Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Tech, William & Mary. James Madison won the region earned the automatic qualifying bid in the Fall of 2014.
James Madison is favorited once again to win this region. They are ranked 22nd in the preseason rankings and are returning a strong club golf team. Regional Coordinator Ryan Walker also believes Virginia Tech and University of Virginia will be competitive. VT is bringing one of the stronger rosters they've had in a while. Walker is a freshman at Virginia Tech and is nervous but excited for his first tournament as the regional coordinator.
Calm Before the Storm
This is the last weekend of several tournaments before things get hectic. Next weekend we have 18 scheduled regional tournaments going on. With that being said, the #Battle4Bryan is fully underway along with the #ClubGolf contest. Keep working hard to help your team earn that automatic qualifier for Nationals and keep us up-to-date with your club golf affairs through social media and #ClubGolf!
**Jack Stephens (@NCCGABlog) is the Director of Communications.