A golf course at this major university is shrinking (again) to make way for new student dorms

The new version will still have nine holes, but will become an executive par 32 course.

As technological improvements to equipment have forced those who organize high-level golf tournaments to push the yardage limits of championship courses, a track at the University of Notre Dame is going through yet another downsizing.

According to a story at The Observer, a student-run publication, a pair of existing dorms are being torn down to make way for two larger buildings. In the process, one of the university’s two golf courses will shrink for the fourth time in its existence.

“At Notre Dame, residential life is an integral part of the undergraduate educational experience. Residence halls allow students to interact with an array of peers, learn from each other, build communities and form lifelong friendships,” University President Rev. John I. Jenkins said in a release. “These new halls, with enhanced community space, will ensure that we are able to provide current and future students with an appropriate living environment in a place they call home.”

The Burke Golf Course, which was originally built as an 18-hole course back in 1929, was shortened when a Knute Rockne Memorial was built in 1939, then became a 9-hole course in 1995 when a series of dorms were added to the campus. At the time of the reduction to nine holes, South Bend Tribune sportswriter and golf columnist John Fineran wrote: “There is no guarantee, of course, that those nine holes will remain for golfers. Future university needs may gobble that land up.”

According to a story on the university’s website, the course also had its share of controversy in its early years.

For the first four decades of The Burke’s existence, it was a men’s-only course … Soon after the course opened in 1929, women at Saint Mary’s College asked to use the new recreational facility. The University Council took up the matter and turned down the request.

The college also has the highly acclaimed Warren Golf Course, which hosted the 2019 U.S. Senior Open, but Burke has been a viable option for students and others in the community looking for an affordable and quicker option.

The new version of Burke will still have nine holes, but will become an executive par 32 course.

Here’s more from the Observer:

Already, the old starting house has been demolished. A mound of dirt along with some tubes have been placed on what was the ninth hole.

According to Marsh, the current Holy Cross Drive will remain open as the new road is constructed to the west, apart from a one or two-day closure early in the summer “to connect the new leg at its north and south ends to the rest of Holy Cross Drive.”

During construction, the practice putting green located adjacent to the Rockne Memorial Gym and Pangborn Hall will be demolished. A new practice green will be built near the new first tee of the course.

The road project will be completed “over the summer,” Marsh explained. The course will then be reopened “once the greenskeepers have determined that the realigned holes are ready for play.”

More: Warren Golf Course among Golfweek’s Best 40 campus courses

Notre Dame Football: Sam Hartman watch – quarterback visits South Bend

Another step in the process…

Quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] has officially arrived in South Bend.

No, the former Wake Forest signal caller and ACC record holder hasn’t committed to Notre Dame but he is taking a visit to campus today.  This comes from a report by Tom Loy of 247Sports.

Hartman is regarded by many as the top quarterback to hit the transfer portal this off-season and would bring stability and an awfully high ceiling of potential to a quarterback room that lacks much collegiate experience.  Earlier in the week Kirk Herbstreit said if Hartman ends up at Notre Dame, that it’ll be the biggest impact move in the portal ahead of the 2023 season.

We will keep you updated on any happenings in the visit as well as any potential news of a commitment.

Stay tuned!

Related: Notre Dame still viewed as front-runner for Hartman

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Auburn rated better college town than Tuscaloosa in new ranking

Tell your Alabama friends, Tigers fans.

Tigers fans have something to gloat about this offseason.

Magazine Southern Living released its list of the top 20 college towns in the American South, and it certainly thought highly of Auburn, Alabama — the ranking had Auburn as the third best college town in the South, beating out the seventh-ranked Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Here is what the magazine had to say about Auburn’s campus:

“Called the ‘loveliest village on the Plains,’ the Alabama town attracts attention these days for its burgeoning food scene, which celebrates everything from slow-smoked brisket at Bow & Arrow to steamed bao buns at The Irritable Bao. And you can’t talk about Auburn without mentioning its penchant for rolling Toomer’s Corner with toilet paper after any home victory. Homesick Tigers can even catch a glimpse of the beloved block at any given moment via a live web stream.”

SEC-rival Alabama was praised for its Saturday atmosphere for football games and its budding food scene as well.

Auburn’s campus wasn’t the highest-ranked SEC school in the South according to the list, however. Another Tigers rival, Georgia, took the top spot for its campus in Athens, Georgia — the list praised Athens’ legendary music scene and its food scene as well.

The Tigers will have the chance to prove that more than just their campus is superior when they take on the Alabama Crimson Tide for the annual Iron Bowl showdown on Nov. 26 this year.

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Saints attempting their own ‘bubble’ to cope with COVID-19

The New Orleans Saints are building their own training camp bubble campus to house players, coaches, and staffers amid the COVID-19 pandemic

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Professional sports have tried to resume something looking like normalcy during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and it’s tough to describe their results as anything but “mixed.” The NBA, WNBA, MLS, and NFL have found success while housing teams in various “bubble” campuses, self-isolating and holding games without fans attending in person.

On the other hand, the MLB has tried to make a go of it without quarantining itself, relying on the honor system and trusting individuals to make smart decisions. Nearly a third of its teams had games postponed this weekend due to an outbreak of infections.

So that leaves the NFL, where starting quarterbacks Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) and Gardner Minshew (Jacksonville Jaguars) are both sidelined after testing positive for infections. Nearly 50 different players leaguewide have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol, though none of them are members of the New Orleans Saints.

And Saints coach Sean Payton aims to keep it that way, though he’ll be the first to admit how challenging that is. The team has bought out four floors of rooms at the upscale Loews Hotel near the French Quarter to house players, coaches, front office personnel, team doctors, and support staff through September, doing their best to create a bubble for themselves.

“It’s not a bubble,” Payton said to NBC Sports’ Peter King. “It’s a sequester. The message from the league is, ‘The show must go on.’ If so, we’ve got to do everything we can to be sure that happens.”

While it will not be mandatory for players to stay at the hotel, it will be highly encouraged — and King reports Saints captain Demario Davis is pushing his teammates to take advantage of this opportunity. It’s not a perfect strategy, but nothing is in such uncertain times.

Payton summed it up: “Isn’t that what we do for a living? It’s like creating a game plan with a likelihood of success. We’re just trying to increase the odds of success.”

Maybe the NFL will follow Payton’s lead, and encourage all of its teams to better isolate themselves; on the other hand, the league office could again spar with the Saints after taking issue with some of their other adjustments to the offseason, which has been shaken up by the public health crisis. It’s certainly something worth watching out for.

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