New short game facility open to use for Tech golf teams
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After years of planning, the Tennessee Tech men’s and women’s golf teams have an added weapon in their training arsenal as they welcomed the completion of their new short game center at Golden Eagle Golf Club on Saturday. Donors, supporters and members of the teams joined together as Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson, Tech golf head coaches Polk Brown and Amanda Smith, as well as the people behind the project joined in for the ribbon cutting to officially open the training area to use.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After years of planning, the Tennessee Tech men's and women's golf teams have an added weapon in their training arsenal as they welcomed the completion of their new short game center at Golden Eagle Golf Club on Saturday.
Donors, supporters and members of the teams joined together as Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson, Tech golf head coaches Polk Brown and Amanda Smith, as well as the people behind the project joined in for the ribbon cutting to officially open the training area to use.
"Simply put, this is huge for the Tennessee Tech Golf program," said Brown, a Tech golf alumnus himself and entering his 14th season as the head coach for the men's program. "It will benefit the student-athletes first and foremost and help tremendously in the recruiting aspect. We cannot thank the people enough who made this possible."
The short game center, designed by Kevin Tucker – the son of long-time Tech Football coach Wilburn Tucker – and built by Lebanon-based Golf Course Creations, is the culmination of years of planning to help in the training regimen for the University's golf programs.
The center features two smaller greens set up for wedge practice, chipping and bunker work. In addition to that, there is also a 12,000-square-foot green that will be primarily used for putting. The greens are tiff eagle bermuda grass. The entire 1.5-acre complex is made of bermuda in line with the other fairways and tee boxes at Golden Eagle Golf Club. 
In addition to the greens, the center features multiple terrains to simulate what players could expect to face on the course, using various depressions, valleys and swales to provide a wide range of training. Furthermore, the bunkers were built by the Billy Bunker Company to best simulate what the student-athletes will see during tournament play.
The Golden Eagle teams will be hard at work immediately using the new facility as the men open their season on Sept. 9 at the SIUE Dolenc Invitational and the women start their campaign on Sept. 8 at the Golfweek Fall Challenge.
For more information on Tennessee Tech Men's and Women's Golf, follow the teams on social media at @TTUGolf and @TTUWomensgolf on X (formerly Twitter), tntechmensgolf and tntechwomensgolf on Instagram and Tennessee Tech University Men's and Women's Golf on Facebook, as well as on TTUsports.com.
Photos | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
