JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Head men's golf coach Randy Wylie has announced the teams' spring schedule.
Following a solid fall, Wylie's team has worked to stay in playing shape for the challenging spring slate.
"Guys have done a really good job, historically, working at home over the Christmas break," Wylie said. "We had some decent weather for playing and practicing over the break… I think everybody got some good work done."
With a quick turnaround from returning to campus a little over a month before the season, Wylie acknowledges his team's ability to stay focused on the goal.
"My guys are good about staying sharp," Wylie said. "I'm not super worried about them coming back overly rusty… we're going to have some team competitions between now and the start of the season as we try to find our lineup to start the spring… a couple of weeks for these guys is enough to get pretty sharp."
Despite the cold conditions at C-N, the Eagles kick off the spring campaign at the Saint Leo Invitational on February 18th-20th at the Lake Jovita Country Club in Dade City, Florida, where Wylie's squads have typically found comfortable playing conditions.
"Historically, we've had really good weather there," Wylie said. "We're looking forward to some great weather and a great start to the season."
While aiming for favorable weather and lush playing conditions in Florida, the Eagles head to Monroe, North Carolina, for the Ralph Hargett Invitational at the Rolling Hills Country Club on March 24th-26th, where the potential chilly conditions of the early spring may play a larger role.
"The Bermuda grass up in this area of the country turns brown and stays damp through the spring before it grows again in April," Wylie said. "Those courses will be more challenging, and we'll have to rely on some hard work here… it's the same conditions here in Jefferson City, so they'll be playing on it quite a bit, but it is challenging."
C-N returns to Tennessee the following week, competing in the Tennessee River Rumble on March 24th-26th at the Wind River Golf Club in Lenoir City. At the beginning of April, the Eagles head back to Florida, traveling to the Pensacola Country Club in Pensacola for the Argonaut Invitational on April 7th-9th.
"By April in Florida, we should be looking at mid-80s and above," Wylie said. "That'll be really nice to get on some warm weather grass and some real golf weather."
Wylie's squad rounds out the 2024 spring season with a trip to Orangeburg Country Club in Orangeburg, South Carolina, for the SAC Tournament on April 20th-23rd. The course in Orangeburg is one the Eagles have never been to, and the spring schedule boasts a combination of new and familiar destinations for C-N.
We have two courses that we've played really well on at Saint Leo and Wind River," Wylie said. "Then, we have three new ones… the conference is at a new course that I don't think anybody in our conference has really played in Orangeburg, then a course in Charlotte that we haven't played before, and a really nice course in Pensacola, so everyone is excited for that."
Wylie's squad looks to build on a challenging but impressive fall output with an equally challenging spring slate as the Eagles tee off on February 18th at the Saint Leo Invitational.
