Location Knoxville, Tennessee Colors UT Orange and White | Nickname Tennessee Volunteers Conference Southeastern Conference | |
University University of Tennessee Head coach Men's: Jim Kelson (13th year) Course Mack and Jonnie Day Golf Facility | ||
The Tennessee Volunteers men's golf team represents the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Vols compete at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Vols currently rotate between 16 different golf courses located in the state of Tennessee. The current coach for the Volunteers is Jim Kelson who is entering his 13th season as Tennessee's head coach. Since the Vol's inaugural season in 1934 they have won three SEC championships and competed in 26 NCAA Championships.
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History
The Volunteers men's golf team began play in 1934 under coach James Walls. It would take forty-five years before the Vols would win their first conference title mainly under the terrific play of Jim Gallagher Jr. and Stuart Smith, who both finished in the top five of the tournament. That same year, the Vols reached their highest finish in the NCAA Championships, finishing in 6th place. In 1988, Tennessee had its deepest run in the NCAA singles competition when Tom Carr finished runner-up among the other individuals.
Jim Kelson era
When Jim Kelson was hired in 1998, the Vols were just coming off a losing season that ended the three-year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances. In his first year, he led his team to 101 wins and a 5th-place finish in the SEC Tournament.
Kelson has guided Tennessee to consecutive NCAA Championship berths over the last two seasons. It was Tennessee's fifth NCAA Championship berth under Kelson since the 2003 season. He has also guided the Vols to regional play for a school-record 12 consecutive seasons. The 2007 season became a very memorable season for coach Kelson as he helped end a 17-year drought for the Vols in the SEC tournament by beating Alabama by two strokes to claim the SEC title. In the 2010 season, Kelson helped the Volunteers capture the Carpet Capital Collegiate Golf Tournament for the first time in school history. Through his tenure, the Vols have won 15 tournament championships, as well as several team individual accolades.
Individual honors
In the past 76 years of the Vols men's golf program four UT golfers have won SEC individual titles and 35 UT golfers have earned 53 All-SEC honors.
Tour professionals
Several former University of Tennessee golf players have played on major golf tours.
Notable amateur victories
Garrick Porteous, who played for the Volunteers from 2008–12, won The Amateur Championship in 2013.
Mack and Jonnie Day Golf Facility
Although the Vols men's golf team host its home matches at a variety of different courses in the state of Tennessee they have recently welcomed a new state of the art practice facility on campus where the team can practice all year round. The practice facility resides on a 28-acre lot across from the University's Medical Center and contains a 3-hole course. The new facility opened in 2010 but is still waiting for phase II to be completed in the near future. Phase II of the master plan will include adding the Furrow-Blackburn Clubhouse, offices for both the men and women's teams, heated hitting bays for year-round practice, video training space and locker rooms.