Blaine Woodruff is the Chattanooga Mocs new men’s golf head coach. His debut marks the third head coach in the program’s division one history.
“Blaine comes from a dynamic program at Pepperdine, where he helped the Waves to a National Championship in 2021,” notes Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Mark Wharton. “I have every confidence in his ability to build a championship team on and off the course.”
Woodruff spent the last five years at Pepperdine, serving as associate head coach. The squad reached the NCAA Tournament every year available and advanced to the finals in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
That success outside the Power Five caught the hiring eye at UTC. Wharton says he believes UTC can be a national contender as a mid-major with Woodruff.
“You don’t have to be a Power Five program to be successful in golf, you just need the necessary resources.”
Woodruff played collegiately at South Carolina, where he was team MVP as a freshman in 2011.
He played in 25 career college tournaments, earning five top 20 finishes with a scoring average of 74.79. That included two U.S. Amateur qualifications in 2011 and 2012.
The native of Acworth, Georgia was a standout at Harrison High School, where he played with UTC alum J.T. Clendenin. He led the Hoyas to state titles in 2008 and 2010 and was Georgia PGA Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006.
Woodruff received an undergraduate degree in business in 2014 and a master’s degree in human resources in 2015.
He got his start in coaching at the University of Wisconsin in the spring of 2016 before moving to Pepperdine after the fall 2017 schedule with the Badgers. UW’s ranking when he began was 168 and ended at 86. The Waves were No. 48 upon his arrival and reached No. 1 in the 2020 rankings.
Woodruff’s wife, Katie, is also in coaching. The duo met in Malibu, where she was Pepperdine’s assistant women’s coach. She just completed her third season at USC.
Source: UTC