E-mail: tom.shaw@vanderbilt.edu
Bio:
2011-12: Tom Shaw enters his sixth year as the head coach of the Vanderbilt men[apos]s golf team with momentum building. In his first five seasons, Shaw[apos]s Commodores have won three team championships, five individual medals and advanced to postseason play three times.
| Head Coach Tom Shaw caddied for former Tulane golfer Michael Thompson at the 2008 Masters. |
Shaw[apos]s first Vanderbilt team finished fifth at the NCAA West Regional at Arizona State University[apos]s Karsten Golf Course, leading many to consider the Commodores as one of the most improved teams in the nation. Seventeen-under after 36 holes, the Commodores shot a 21-under 267 — the low round of the tournament — and advanced to the NCAA National Championships, where then-sophomore Jon Curran joined senior Luke List as All-Americans.
The Commodores earned their first tournament championship since 2003 when they won the 2008 Kauai Collegiate Cup in Lihue, Hawai[apos]i. Two Commodores would earn individual medalist honors during the season, with sophomore Hudson Johnson taking first place at Kauai while Curran won the 2008 Seminole Intercollegiate.
That success was repeated in 2009, as the Commodores won the 2009 Seminole Intercollegiate when Ryan Haselden eagled the 54th hole to claim medalist honors. Johnson also took his second win at the 2008 Hummingbird Intercollegiate.
In 2010, his Commodores captured the Samford Intercollegiate title and once again advanced to postseason play. In 2011, Adam Hofmann captured his first individual championship when he won the Hummingbird Intercollegiate.
When he arrived in the Music City, Shaw implemented a winter training program to better prepare his golfers for the rigorous spring schedule. That immediately produced a second-place finish at the opening event of the spring, which had the strongest field of the year outside of the NCAA Tournament.
Shaw has opted to play a variety of lineups at tournaments, building depth by providing each member of his team the opportunity to gain tournament experience. That move has paid dividends as each season has progressed, leading to strong finishes each year.
Shaw[apos]s success at Vanderbilt has mirrored the outstanding results he saw as Tulane[apos]s head coach from 2000-06, where he was the Conference USA and Southeast Region Coach of the Year in 2006.
Shaw helped improve the Green Wave[apos]s national ranking every year, but he probably received his greatest challenge when forced to guide the team through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He relocated the team to Southern Methodist University, which entailed enrolling his team in classes and securing practice and playing facilities for the semester.
His background as a Georgia Tech student-athlete and experience at Tulane have led to a stronger emphasis on academic development. His teams at Tulane consistently had a team GPA over 3.0 and the 2006-07 team at Vanderbilt achieved it[apos]s first 3.0 GPA in several years.
Shaw was an NCAA Academic All-American in 1990 and 1991 at Georgia Tech, where he captained the nationally ranked Yellow Jacket golf team. He graduated in 1991 with High Honor.
He joined the Nike Tour (now Nationwide Tour) in 1992 and would compete in three Nike Tour Championships, Shaw was regarded as one of the Tour[apos]s hardest workers and best short-game specialists.
Shaw keeps his own game sharp by playing numerous events throughout the year. This summer, he shot a 60 during the opening round of the Capital City Invitational in Nashville.
Shaw left the Tour to become assistant coach at South Carolina in 1999 and in two years he handled a variety of duties including recruiting for the Top 10 program along with scheduling and academic and budget oversight. He was instrumental in the development of two Gamecock All-Americans, Eric Ecker and Kyle Thompson. His work at USC led to the head coaching position at Tulane.
Tom and his wife, Sherri, have two children – Ryan (13) and Katie (9).