A native of Athens, Ga., Terri Moody Hancock attended the Athens Academy (1973-77) where she was a two-time state high school champion while competing on the boy’s golf team. She stayed in Athens and enjoyed a successful collegiate golf career at the University of Georgia (1977-81), where she was the first female to receive a full scholarship.
While at UGA, Hancock led the team to 16 victories in a three-year span, including winning five individual titles of her own. In 1981 during her senior year, she won the first individual national championship in UGA women’s athletics history at the AIAW National Championship (pre-NCAA), also becoming just the fourth UGA student-athlete to win an individual national title.
For her efforts, Hancock was a two-time All-America and was the 1981 Broderick Award winner for women’s golf as the nation’s top collegiate golfer. She was also the 1981 National Golfer of the Year – only the third UGA student-athlete to win a national player of the year award in any sport.
During her time leading the University of Georgia women’s golf team to victory, Hancock kept a busy competitive schedule of her own. She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship each year while at UGA in 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1980. Hancock received low amateur honors at the 1979 U.S. Women’s Open. In 1980, she was a member of the Curtis Cup Team, where she helped the United States to a 13-5 victory over Great Britain and Ireland, which at the time was the largest margin of victory in the event’s history. She also won the 1976 Georgia Women’s Amateur Championship.
After her collegiate golf career came to an end, Hancock earned her LPGA Tour card and competed on the professional circuit for five years. She then retired from competing on Tour full-time to focus on starting a family.
For her on-course accomplishments, Hancock has been recognized for her contributions. Most recently she was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 2018, and the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2000. In 1997, she was named to the University of Georgia’s Circle of Honor, which is designed to pay tribute to extraordinary student-athletes and coaches who by their performance and conduct have brought honor to the university.