Tag: college golf facilities

College golf facilities: Vanderbilt opens renovated $11 million Vanderbilt Golf House

The Legends Club got a big upgrade.

One of the best facilities in college golf recently finished a major upgrade.

The Vanderbilt Golf House recently opened after an $11 million renovation that also included work to other facilities at Vanderbilt Legends Club, where the men’s and women’s teams call home.

The new Vanderbilt Golf House increased the building’s size by nearly two-thirds. It includes a new lobby, hall of fame, team lounge, locker rooms, meeting rooms, fitness area, outdoor terraces and offices.

Additionally, there were renovations to the Cleo and Lewis Conner, Sr. Short Game Practice Facility and driving range tee boxes. The putting greens were enhanced with different types of grasses to better mirror playing conditions on competition courses.

The upgrades came thanks to seed gifts from alums Brandt Snedeker, Toby Wilt and Lew Conner and their families. The Golf House, Training Center and Conner Family Hitting Bays at Vanderbilt Legends Club were dedicated in 2013, and now the Golf House has taken the facility to another level.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Vanderbilt Golf House

San Diego State announces plans for $3 million golf performance center

The news comes on the heels of an anonymous $1.5 million donation.

San Diego State on Thursday announced plans to construct a $3 million golf performance center at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California.

The news comes on the heels of an anonymous $1.5 million donation. In addition, two golf simulators will be housed on campus.

The performance center will feature indoor hitting bays, team rooms, locker rooms for both men and women, a hospitality station and more.

“We are excited for this partnership with The Farms Golf Club,” San Diego State men’s golf head coach Ryan Donovan said in a release. “This is an opportunity to continue to build a national championship team as we develop and graduate our student athletes. This is made possible with the support of our university, donors, and alumni. Our university has elevated and expanded to the Pac-12 Conference, and the time is now.”

College golf: Check out practice facilities from across the country

The project now has $2.1 million in commitments. San Diego State is looking to raise an additional $900,000 to complete the project.

“This new practice facility will be a game changer for our program, allowing us to compete at the highest level in an ever-evolving landscape,” San Diego State women’s golf head coach Lauren Dobashi said in a release. “Having a dedicated home not only enhances the training experience for our current student-athletes but also strengthens our recruiting efforts. This facility embodies our commitment to excellence and provides our athletes with the resources they need to thrive both on and off the course. We are incredibly thankful to our donors, the unwavering support of our school, and the athletics department, whose collective efforts have made this vision a reality.”

College golf facilities: Michigan Wolverines and Weisfeld Family Golf Center

Take a look at the Weisfield Family Golf Center.

Playing golf in the northern parts of the United States can be challenging for most during the winter months.

For college golfers at Michigan, they don’t struggle with that because of the Weisfeld Family Golf Center. The facility opened in 2011 at a cost of $2.5 million, and it has only gotten better since then.

The on-campus facility is at the University of Michigan Golf Course, which is across the street from the Big House. The Weisfeld features two Trackman stations, a pair of GF Quad stations and the SAM Putt Lab.

The outdoor short game area, the Cilluffo Family Short Game Practice Area, was renovated recently. The five-acre area is at the northwest corner of the driving range at the Weisfeld Family Golf Center and features two large greens, several bunkers and subtle undulating fairways and rough areas.

And when Mother Nature turns the cooler on, players head inside to the Connie & Tony Ridder Short Game Practice Area.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Weisfeld Family Golf Center

Alabama unveils $47 million Crimson Reserve golf training facility: ‘It’s the talk of college golf’

“We hear the word ‘sick’ a lot.”

What do top recruits think of Alabama golf’s new practice facility?

“We hear the word ‘sick’ a lot,” cracked UA men’s golf coach Jay Seawell, referring to teenager-speak to describe something wildly impressive. So what’s so sick about Crimson Reserve, a $47 million project off that was constructed in under two years? Outdoors, the Crimson Tide men’s and women’s teams will have a 9-hole course and a large practice area for driving, short-game and putting. Indoors, the men and women will have separate lounges and locker rooms, hitting bays, swing technology and more.

UA Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, Seawell, women’s coach Mic Potter and other UA officials led a tour of the facility on Friday.

“It’s the talk of college golf,” Byrne said.

The indoor facility is 18,000 square feet, and houses coaches offices, workout facilities, and various areas for players, including hitting bays with swing technology, and mechanical putting greens controlled by a tablet that can be contoured different ways for slope effect. Garage-style lift doors open indoor hitting bays to the outdoor range, which will allow players to stay dry while hitting in rain or other weather conditions. Potter and Seawell both said it’s very uncommon for college programs to have a dedicated facility that isn’t shared with a country club or municipal club.

“Exclusive use doesn’t happen very often,” Potter said.

“It’s the greatest practice facility in the world, and I don’t think there’s a close (second),” Seawell said. “There’s a good place down in Augusta that wishes it was more like this.”

The walls are covered with photos of former Alabama golf greats, as well as group photos of championship teams. According to Seawell, some of those greats, including 15-time PGA Tour winner Justin Thomas, helped design the facility. Seawell said Thomas hasn’t seen the finished construction yet, and is looking forward to giving him the tour.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Crimson Reserve at Alabama

College golf facilities: North Texas Mean Green and Bruzzy’s UNT Golf Practice Facility

Take a look at the Bruzzy’s UNT Golf Practice Facility.

They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and the North Texas golf practice facility is big enough to have a little bit of everything.

Opened on Sept. 18, 2021, Bruzzy’s UNT Golf Practice Facility is located on the east side of Apogee Stadium, where the football team plays. The cost was $3 million, and it’s near the former site of Eagle Point Golf Course.

Bruzzy’s hosts both the men’s and women’s Mean Green teams. It’s 5,047 square feet in size. There are two hitting bays that feature swing analysis technology, a virtual putting green with chipping and putting areas along with locker rooms, lounges, a kitchen, coaches offices and study areas.

The facility gave the North Texas golf teams an on-campus facility for the first time since Eagle Point closed in 2003.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Bruzzy’s UNT Golf Practice Facility

College golf facilities: Arkansas Razorbacks and Blessings Golf Club

Take a look at Blessings Golf Club.

The home of Arkansas golf is feared among many for the incredible challenge it presents golfers, but it’s one of the best facilities in the country.

Blessings Golf Club, located in Johnson, Arkansas, about four miles from campus, was the site of the 2019 NCAA Championships. The course stretches to more than 7,900 yards from the back tees and plays through two distinct landforms: the Clear Creek floodplain and a plateau that rises to 65 feet above the floodplain, where it’s bisected by a series of ravines. Both the outward and inward nines climb up and down between the two topographies, creating drama and variety on each hole. The course was originally designed by architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. with a redesign recently completed by noted architect Kyle Phillips.

The outdoor practice areas feature a range with multiple teeing areas and numerous range targets to allow realistic practice sessions. The short game facilities include several bentgrass putting and short game greens as well as a bermudagrass green. A separate three-acre short game practice area has also been added which features practice greens that are 4,500 and 16,000 square feet in size, practice bunkers and a putting green.

The indoor short-game practice and fitness facility includes a 9,000-square-foot, short-game practice area with a 3,000-square-foot putting and chipping green designed by Dave Pelz. The facility also provides a state-of-the-art 2,000-square-foot fitness facility. The Razorback Center houses five indoor hitting bays and one private teaching bay with video analysis equipment, Trackman, Sam Putt Lab and Putt View.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Blessings Golf Club

College golf facilities: Stanford Cardinal and Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex

Take a look at the Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex.

The Stanford men’s and women’s golf teams have long been dominant, and looking at the Cardinal facilities, it’s easy to see why.

The Siebel Varsity Training Complex debuted in April of 2008. The 20-acre site is adjacent to the second hole at Stanford Golf Course and was a collaboration between Stanford and Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects.

The complex features bent grass hitting areas for golfers and donors, five custom green complexes that include bunkers, chipping and pitching areas able to accommodate full to half wedges and a 20,000-square foot putting green situated in front of the Varsity Golf Clubhouse.

Each putting complex is fashioned with characteristics of prominent golf course architects that team members will face in competition. Design features by Alistair MacKenzie, A.W. Tillinghast, Robert Trent Jones Sr., Pete Dye and Tom Fazio are presented. All five practice greens can be played to from a variety of locations on the property.

All greens are bent grass, although four strains were used on the large putting green and three smaller greens. Three types of sand were used in the bunkers, ranging from fine, medium and coarse. As a result, players can adapt to many specific conditions while preparing for tournaments.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex

College golf facilities: East Tennessee State and Warren-Greene Golf Center

Take a look at the Warren-Greene Golf Center.

East Tennessee State has been one of the better mid-major programs in recent years, and seeing its practice facilities shows a big reason why.

The Warren-Greene Golf Center was designed by world-renowned golf architect Tom Fazio and sits on 14 acres of land overlooking the ETSU campus. Named in honor of longtime ETSU men’s golf coach Fred Warren and ETSU golf supporter William B. Greene, Jr., the Warren-Greene Golf Center includes six target greens, two bent-grass greens (one for putting and one for short-game work), three tee areas, a fairway bunker and four greenside bunkers.

The accompanying 3,000-square-foot, two-story building contains coaches’ offices, meeting rooms, the Hal Morrison Hall of Fame room, players’ lounge, two indoor hitting bays and an observation deck.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Warren-Greene Golf Center

College golf facilities: Florida Gators and Chris M. Kane Golf Practice Facility

Take a look at the Chris M. Kane Golf Practice Facility.

Mark Bostick Golf Course has anchored the northwest corner of the University of Florida’s Gainesville campus for more than 80 years. Donald Ross originally designed the course, but it has evolved over the years to take on its own distinct personality.

Florida’s Chris M. Kane Golf Practice Complex opened in the spring of 2012. The 56-by-32 foot facility features fitness and club fitting/repair rooms, a putting lab and two separate covered hitting bays equipped with the latest short-swing analysis equipment.

The facility also features a driving range, two putting greens and two short-game practice areas.

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Chris M. Kane Golf Practice Facility

College golf facilities: Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros and Vaqueros Golf Center

Take a look at the Vaqueros Golf Center.

On January 24, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley opened its Vaqueros Golf Center.

The facility cost $3 million and was built at Champion Lakes Golf Course in McAllen, Texas. The Vaqueros Golf Center includes more than 4,200 square feet of space for locker rooms for the men’s and women’s golf programs, two hitting bays, a study lounge, nutrition station and viewing area, and coaches’ offices.

The Vaqueros Golf Center is a direct result of the partnership between UTRGV Athletics and the City of McAllen.

“What a transformative day for UTRGV Golf,” said head men’s golf coach Houston Moore. “It’s a big day for us. We’re really excited about what this facility has to offer. It’s a tremendous step forward for our programs. We plan to utilize the facility to its full potential and, hopefully, tap into ours.”

Here’s a look at more college golf practice facilities.

Photos: Vaqueros Golf Center