Troy University Athletics
Golf (M)
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- mterry@troy.edu
- Phone:
- 3249
National Champion head coach Matt Terry is his 15th season at the helm of the Troy men’s golf team and his fourth season as the Director of Golf.
Terry’s leadership and vision over the past two decades reached its pinnacle in 2015 as both the Troy men’s and women’s teams competed in the NCAA Regionals and Troy’s new golf practice facility opened its doors for both teams.
Over the first 11 years of his Troy career, Terry had the responsibility of coaching both the men’s and women’s teams. He passed the torch on the women’s side to his protégée Bart Barnes two years ago and the foundation Terry had built led to back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships and a pair of berths in the NCAA Regionals; the first in Troy’s Division I history on the women’s side.
Terry saw his hard work payoff as the Troy men’s team won the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Championship with a dramatic match play victory over Georgia State. The Trojans knocked off the Panthers, 3-2, as Luke Moser birdied the first playoff hole in the deciding match after rallying from a hole down with two to go.
Troy earned its second straight NCAA Regional bid as the Trojans played in the Franklin Regional as the Sun Belt's automatic selection. The Trojans made their first appearance in an NCAA Regional under Terry after earning an at-large bid to the New Haven Regional in 2015.
The Sun Belt title was Troy’s first conference championship since the Trojans won back-to-back Mid-Continent championships in 1996 and 1997. The conference title came as no surprise as the Trojans entered the Sun Belt Championship as the league’s highest-rated team in the national rankings, thanks to victories at the Sun Belt Preview and the Tiger Invitational (Auburn).
The 2016 Trojans rewrote the Troy record book as Moser tied the school record with a 7-under 65 at the Seminole Intercollegiate, while Troy set school records for 18 and 36 hole scores both overall and on par-72 courses. The Trojans fired a 14-under 270 in the second round of the Sun Belt Preview to set a school record, while Troy’s 557 over the first two rounds set a new 36-hole record. In the spring, Troy shot a 14-under 272 in the second round of the Seminole Intercollegiate to set a school record for a par-72 course, while tying the overall and establishing a new par-72 course record with a 36-hole total of 557.
Four of Terry’s former players are currently playing the pro circuit – Zach Portemont (Sunshine Tour), Tolver Dozier (PGA Latin American), Jake Tucker (PGA Latin America) and Sofia Björkman (Nordea Tour).
While Terry’s legacy still has many chapters yet to be written, one of the shining achievements during his tenure at Troy was the addition of one of the top on-campus practice facilities in the country prior to the 2014 season. The state-of-the-art facility features nine holes, putting and chipping greens, a wedge practice area, a full driving range and a new clubhouse.
The state-of-the-art facility includes a 4,400-square foot Troy Golf Clubhouse that features men’s and women’s locker rooms, coaches’ locker room, three coach offices, team lounge, two indoor hitting bays, large indoor bay for full shots and putting.
The hitting bays feature FlightScope technology for swing analysis, Sam PuttLab for putting analysis and BodiTrak Monitor to measure a player’s weight at address and during the swing.
The 35-acre practice facility features six mini verde greens that can be played from multiple tees, in addition to three practice tees – two for short game and one for longer shots.
Terry saw the fruits of his labor come to a head last season as he led the Trojan men to an at-large berth in the NCAA Regionals. Troy finished the season ranked No. 57 nationally by Golfstat after reaching as high as No. 35 in the national rankings.
Competing at the New Haven Regional hosted by Yale, Troy’s first NCAA Regional since 1995, the Trojans were in the mix heading into the final round and senior Doizer hit the shot that sent shockwaves through the collegiate golf community.
Dozier holed out from 138 yards away on the first playoff hole at the NCAA New Haven Regional to earn an individual spot in the NCAA Championships. He had birdied three of his final four holes to force the playoff and the video of his playoff hole went viral online and was shown on golf highlights across the country.
Troy had a league-high four players earn All-Sun Belt honors as Jared Bettcher, Moser, Dozier and Jake Tucker were recognized as some of the best golfers in the Sun Belt Conference.
One consistent throughout Terry’s career has been his commitment to academics. Dozier earned the NCAA Elite 89 Award for men’s golf in 2015, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest GPA at each of the NCAA’s 89 Championships. The men’s team has won five straight Troy Athletics Academic Team Awards (highest team GPA) and two of the last three Sun Belt Academic Awards. Additionally, four of Terry’s golfers have earned Troy’s Clements Award, which is presented annually to the top male student-athlete in the department.
Troy golfers under Terry have also had success on the amateur circuit as a Trojan golfer has competed in the U.S. Amateur each of the past four years. Dozier played in the 2012 and 2014 event, while Jake Tucker qualified in 2013 and Bettcher in 2015.
The 2013-14 Trojans came close to earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships and finished the year ranked 78th nationally. Bettcher, then a freshman, earned first team All-Sun Belt honors and became the first Trojan since 2008 to earn an individual berth into the NCAA Championships.
Prior to coming to Troy in the fall of 2002, Terry served as the head coach at Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. During his three seasons there, he led the Buccaneers to the national tournament three times, finishing in third place twice before winning the championship in 2002.
A native of Moulton, Ala., Terry has been an avid golfer since dropping baseball to concentrate on the sport in high school. He served as director of the Tuscaloosa Junior Golf Tour, supervising up to 175 children ages 8 to 18. Terry also has experience as a teacher, serving as the assistant pro at the Turtle Creek Golf Club in Rockledge, Fla.
Terry has professional experience playing on the Hooters, Central Florida/Tommy Armour and North Florida PGA Winter tours. He also participated in the 1988 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, better known as q-school.
Born in Augusta, Ga., Terry received his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Alabama in 1996. He is married to the former Dixie McCreless and the couple has three children, Mya, Alyssa and Sawyer.
