The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Atlanta campus hosted its annual SCAD Atlanta Fall Invitational golf tournament this week at the Oaks Golf Course in Covington.
Men’s and women’s golf teams from 12 schools across the country traveled to Covington to participate in the two-day tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday. Universities at the event included Union, Brenau, Faulkner, Campbellsville, Cumberlands, Reinhardt, Lindsey Wilson, Dalton State and Point University.
“For a tournament that’s the first one of the year, because most teams haven’t competed yet, it’s a good way to get a tournament under your belt and get a nice score going and get the year started,” said SCAD Atlanta coach Wyatt Graff.
Several teams who competed in the tournament are currently ranked in the Top-25 teams in the nation. On the women’s side, Dalton State is ranked No. 7, SCAD Atlanta is No. 9, Campbellsville ranked No. 17, and Faulkner sits at No. 23.
For the men, Cumberlands stands at No. 10, while Faulkner and Reinhardt are ranked No. 24 and No. 25, respectively.
According to Graff, SCAD Atlanta has hosted this tournament every fall for the past five years and occasionally in the spring, with Oaks Golf Course being the preferred location.
“We have held the invitational here at this course in the past,” Graff said. “This is one of our home courses and it’s our favorite. We love the greens out here. They’re always in great condition and they treat us very, very well. They love having us out there and, honestly it’s a very fun course to play.”
The Oaks course, located at 11240 Brown Bridge Rd, features 18 leisure holes and is considered one of the Top-100 courses in Georgia. The SCAD Atlanta teams call the course home every Friday for their practices.
“It’s wonderful to see so many collegiate athletes, and they’re really good golfers,” said course owner and manager Nancy Schulz. “It’s a boost to us in terms of getting to see them and see their passion about the game. They’re quite good golfers, so it’s a good display of golf from young people in a game that we’re not seeing as many people pick up.
“It’s nice to see youth playing such a wonderful sport that they can play for the rest of their lives,” she said. “It’s great to watch, and I think it’s great for our community that they’re here. They love coming to Newton County. They could go somewhere in Downtown Atlanta, but they love to come out here.”
