University of Georgia Athletics
Loflin Loves Putting In The Work
May 18, 2026 | Men's Golf, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Carter Loflin learned plenty four years ago as a Georgia freshman. And a lot of what the golfer picked up came from a very talented roommate, men's tennis player Ethan Quinn.
"I just think the level of discipline that he had was unheard of for an 18-year-old kid," Loflin said prior to this week's NCAA Athens Regional at the UGA Golf Course.
"We were in college, and we were having a good time, but if there was ever something tennis-related, it was never a question of what came first. He always valued his sleep, he always valued his practice, and there was just the way he carried himself. Those were all things where I was like, this kid, he already acts like a seasoned veteran."
Quinn arrived at Georgia in January of 2022 as one of the top American junior players and redshirted his first season. He then went through some growing pains in his first season before becoming one of the best players in college tennis — he won the two biggest individual events in college tennis: the ITA All-American Championships and the NCAA singles title. Now, after turning pro following his redshirt freshman season in 2023, Quinn is ranked No. 49 in the world.
"When he told me he was going pro," said Loflin, who still texts with his old roommate, "there was no doubt in my mind that he'd be where he is today."
Loflin is now a seasoned veteran, and he plays like it. He's taken medalist honors in two events this season: the Hamptons Intercollegiate on Long Island, N.Y., in October, and the Linger Longer Invitational at the Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee, in Greensboro, Ga. Loflin shot a tournament-record 18-under at the Linger Longer, tied for the second-lowest tournament score in program history.
He's had some other tournaments in which he didn't play at the level he'd like, but that's golf, where a 64 one day can easily be followed by a 74 the next.
"It's been a little up and down," he said of his season. "I think for the most part it's been really, really good. I've accomplished a lot, but there's still some stuff that I'd like to do. I'd like to win a ring, or at least make a run at it."
That run began with Monday's opening round of the Athens Regional. Loflin described his even-par round as "scrappy." As a team, Georgia shot 5-under, and the Bulldogs are tied for fifth place going into Tuesday's second round. Loflin birdied the par-3 16th and made bogey on the par-5 seventh, parring the other 16 holes.
"It was very scrappy. It was a lot of times ugly; felt like the bad shots that I hit definitely didn't catch any breaks, but I had a lot of really good par saves. ... I was pretty proud of the way I hung in there," he said afterward.
Loflin's body and swing have developed and evolved during his time in college. He was pretty scrawny when he got here — "I was a late bloomer," he said — and has since put on about 15 pounds of muscle. And that physical development led to the need to overhaul his swing.
"He's gone through some swing changes, and he's starting to come out on the other side. He's really, really becoming a heck of a player," Georgia head coach Chris Haack said last week. "He came in as a skinny, 140-pound freshman, and now, he's put on some muscle and become a stout grown man. I think the best is yet to come from him."
Asked to name the best part of Loflin's game, Haack thought about the question for a few moments before answering.
"I would say it's probably his work ethic, because he works at it harder than anybody. I can't say driver, putter, wedge, or whatever — the best part of his game is his tenacity for wanting to be better.
"I think that's always been there, but it's been amped up and ramped up. He does not want to leave a stone unturned. He's got that drive in him where he wants to be good, and kudos to him, because I think when he's on, he's tough."
When told what Haack said, Loflin appreciated the compliment. And agreed.
"Later on in high school, once I started to grow a little bit, I saw what kind of benefit hard work could bring, because I felt like I was pretty average skill set-wise," Loflin said. "I wasn't much different from the guy next to me, so the only edge I've been able to find is just to outwork everybody. I definitely think it's a strength of mine."
Haack said Loflin's drive to work on his game can potentially go overboard, with him spending too many hours on the driving range or the practice green and maybe not enough time away from golf to refresh and reset, but "it's hard to criticize a guy who's out there working, who wants to work. Sometimes you just want to say, the best thing you can probably do is go home," Haack said.
Loflin, who is ranked No. 76 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, also agreed with that assessment.
"I think sometimes I go a little bit overboard with it, just because I like being out at the golf course, and I can always find stuff to do here," he said. "I just never wanted to be the guy that got out-practiced, you know? I just felt like that was always a metric, regardless of how I was playing, that I could control."
Loflin, who will graduate in December, said he's "got pretty bad ADHD," but not when it comes to golf. His mind tends to wander easily in a lot of areas of life, but not when he's got a club in his hands.
"Whenever I'm out at the golf course, that's the one place where I can really focus," he said. "If you can find something interesting, then you can really lock in on it. I don't really feel locked in on any other part of my day whatsoever, so I always long for that feeling of being focused on something. When I come out on the golf course and I'm practicing, that's really like the few hours of my day that I'm super, super focused, and it's a great feeling for a guy that's never focused."
Sophomore Matt Moloney led the way for the Bulldogs on Monday with a 3-under round and is tied for eighth on the individual leaderboard. Sophomore James Earle and freshman JD Culbreth are tied for 16th after shooting 1-under. There are two rounds left in the regional, and the top five teams will advance to the NCAA Championships.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.
