STATESBORO – Playing on prestigious and pristine championship courses in picturesque locations is the theme of the Georgia Southern men's golf schedule, announced today by Coach Carter Collins.

Eight of the 11 events on the Eagles' schedule were on the docket last season, while trips to the Shoal Creek Invitational, the Fighting Irish Irish Intercollegiate and the Hootie at Bulls Bay have been added to the 2017-18 slate. 

"I think the first thing we look at when making a schedule is tournaments that we really enjoy and playing courses that make us better," said Collins. "We really enjoyed the bulk of our schedule last year, and we got through the schedule with a bunch of young student-athletes who built some experience on these courses and they are anxious to build on those experiences. We added a few new tournaments based on the timing of the schedule. We just looked at the best tournaments available and tried to find the best fits. We were fortunate to fill our schedule with these tremendous new events."

Georgia Southern was slated to open the campaign as it has for the last three seasons at the Invitational at The Ocean Course in Kiawah, but inclement weather from Hurricane Irma caused the cancelation of the event. The Shoal Creek Invitational Sept. 25-26 becomes the season opener, and GS returns to the Fighting Irish Classic Oct. 8-9, where the Eagles opened the 2013-14 season with a fourth-place finish.

"Shoal Creek is a special golf course that has hosted major championships, and it's been newly renovated and improved," said Collins. "From what I hear, the changes are great. We were fortunate to get this invite and we are happy to be competing in this event. Notre Dame is going to be a special event not only for the student-athlete experience, but the golf course is absolutely tremendous. We are looking forward to going back to that course where we had some success a few years ago."

The AutoTrader Collegiate Classic, which has hosted GS four times, is next on the docket Oct. 16-17, and the Eagles cap the fall with another trip to Hawaii and the Prineville Makai Invitational Oct. 29-30, which the Eagles played last year.

"We felt like we learned a lot about the Makai course in Hawaii," said Collins. "It has some quirks to it, and we took a very young team there last year to compete. We played very, very well there most of the tournament so we feel like we have great chance to be successful. It's Hawaii, and we want to make sure the student-athletes are having a great experience while they are Georgia Southern. Having a chance to make memories with some once-in-a-lifetime type of trips is something we promised during the recruiting process. We do not take these kind of trips for granted, and we're very appreciative of the opportunity. It's because of the academic success of the team that we can validate the travel because we do miss a lot of school, but we have proven that we can handle it."

For the 17th straight season, GS will open the spring by competing in the Gator Invitational Feb. 17-18, before traveling to the Cleveland Palmetto Invitational at the Palmetto Golf Club, recognized as the oldest course in the United States.

"The Gator is such a tough event, and the competition is always strong," said Collins. "The course is a good fit because it's designed similarly to Forest Heights so we feel like we have a good preparation course in Statesboro to get ready for that event. Palmetto is one of my favorite courses that I've ever played. It hosts a very good amateur event in the summer that a lot of the guys on the team play in so that they build up good experience from that. Palmetto is a course that demands patience, a solid game plan and soft touch around the greens.  The field is always good and we are excited to return to Aiken again this year."

The 39th playing of the Schenkel Invitational, hosted by Georgia Southern and the Schenkel Committee at Forest Heights Country Club is slated for March 16-18. Consistently one of the best tournaments in the country, the 2017 edition was ranked as the 12th toughest regular-season tournament of the spring in the country by Golfweek.

"This upcoming year's Schenkel is hosting another great field, thanks to Committee Chair Chad Avret and the Schenkel Committee.  The committee has always worked hard to continue to build the Schenkel in the right direction, and it shows year to year." said Collins. "There's just a feel around the tournament similar to The Masters in Augusta.   I think teams respond well to that and that's one of the reasons they keep coming back.  When you look at all the major champions and PGA tour champions that have played in the Schenkel, it just shows you the caliber of competition that comes into Statesboro every year to play Forest Heights.  It's just the best event in college golf and we are proud to be a part of it."

Georgia Southern plays in the Hootie at Bulls Bay for the first time March 25-27 against what is sure to be another difficult field on a championship course. Golfweek named it the 13th toughest event of last spring.

"The Hootie at Bulls Bay checks a lot of boxes for us.  The course is great, the field is strong and the event is one of the best in the spring season.  We're excited to go compete in this event." said Collins.

A return to the Gary Koch Invitational April 9-10 caps the regular-season slate for the Eagles, and Georgia Southern plays in the Sun Belt Championship at the Raven Course in Sandestin, Fla., April 22-24.

"Overall, we are fortunate to be able to represent Georgia Southern all across the USA," said Collins.  "We are excited and thankful for each opportunity and can't wait to hit the road to begin competing."

Georgia Southern returns eight lettermen, including All-Sun Belt selections Steven Fisk, Archer Price and Jake Storey, who also won Sun-Belt Golfer of the Year, from a team that is coming off its 24th NCAA Championship appearance in 2017.

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