When the Golf Club of Georgia and Georgia Tech joined forces with the idea of hosting one of the nation’s premier collegiate golf events in 2005, the idea was to bring together the nation’s top golf programs to play one of the top golf facilities in the state of Georgia and enjoy a first-class golf experience.
The United States Collegiate Championship was the result, and the event has been a rousing success, drawing rave reviews from coaches and players alike. The first four events were played during the spring, but due to scheduling conflicts, the tournament was not played during the 2009-10 academic year. It then became a major event on the collegiate fall schedule in 2010. In 2016, the name was changed to The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational to reflect the host venue.
The 2008 event attracted the nation’s top 11 teams according to the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, making it the strongest field of any regular-season collegiate event. That pattern has continued through the present day.
“To have a tournament of this magnitude at a facility we feel is the best in the country is very exciting,” said Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler, whose program has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with The Golf Club of Georgia. “Knowing and appreciating the commitment and enthusiasm the staff and the members hold toward the event, it makes us feel very comfortable that it has become a very special tournament.”
The competition and golf experience of The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational are as first-class as the quality of its teams.
The course is not roped, allowing galleries an intimate opportunity to walk with the competitors. Rules officials and scoring volunteers also accompany each group, giving the competitors the feel of a championship event.
“As far as college tournaments go, the U.S. Collegiate Championship did, in fact, raise the bar,” wrote the late Ron Balicki in Golfweek magazine. “Providing a great golf course is one thing. Providing all the extras and the unsurpassed hospitality is another, and is what pushed the bar to new heights of what a college tournament could be.”
The Golf Club of Georgia, a 36-hole Arthur Hills facility north of Atlanta also served as the host site for the 2007 NCAA East Regional Championship, with Georgia Tech as the host institution. The Lakeside Course, on which every tournament has been played, measures 7,017 yards and plays to a par of 72.
From caddies to Caddies, the U.S. Collegiate raised the bar – Golfweek, April 6, 2006