A day before the seventh annual Intercollegiate at The Grove, Middle Tennessee State has unveiled a new golf practice facility under construction at the Blue Raiders’ home course.
Built in partnership with and located at The Grove Club, the $1 million, 3,851 square-foot project broke ground Aug. 15 and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
MTSU — a Conference USA member based in Murfreesboro, which is less than an hour outside of Nashville — secured all of the funding for the project from private donors.
“This project is a huge step forward for Middle Tennessee Athletics, moving both of our golf programs to the forefront in college golf in terms of facilities,” MTSU athletic director Chris Massaro said in a school release Sunday. “The Grove is an elite golf course, and we believe that the addition of an elite facility gives Blue Raider golfers one of the best places in the country to call home. Our donors provided tremendous support in making this facility possible, and for that we can’t thank them enough.
“Our new golf facility is going to be an outstanding asset, and would also not have been possible without the resources and help of The Grove and its staff, former coaches Whit Turnbow and Brennan Webb for their foresight in starting this project, and the current head coaches of both of our golf programs in Mark McEntire and Chris Adams.”
The new facility features several amenities that will give MTSU golfers the opportunity to practice year-round.
There will be three indoor hitting bays as well as an indoor putting green with multiple slope changes. Two of the indoor hitting bays will include TrackMan simulator studios featuring more than 90 different courses that can be played virtually.
Other features include a players lounge, locker rooms, coaches offices, storage facilities, training facilities and a study area.
All practice areas will have synthetic turf that is installed by Goat Turf.
“From a collegiate golf standpoint, having a home course that is a top-ranked golf course with what will be the finest training facility in the state is a game-changer on many levels,” McEntire said. “Not only will this help with recruitment, gaining the ability for year-round play and training gives our players a definite edge.”
“I think we are extremely fortunate to have this type of facility on such a great course and to be able to use it for practice whenever we need to, during nice weather but especially during those winter months,” Adams added on. “I have seen a lot of nice facilities, but I truly believe that when completed this will be one of the top facilities around. To have this exceptional facility on an outstanding, championship golf course – it just doesn’t get any better.”
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