GOLF DIGEST MAGAZINE RECOGNIZES RAWLS COURSE

DATE: Dec. 9, 2004
CONTACT: Tiffany Tubbs-Berry, tiffany.tubbs@ttu.edu

LUBBOCK – The Texas Tech University Rawls Course appears in the January issue of Golf Digest Magazine as the 2nd best new affordable golf course in America.

“We are honored to be recognized by this top-notch magazine and hope to continue the tradition we have established as a new course,” said Jack North, managing director of The Rawls Course.

The Rawls Course also was named one of the “Top 50 Courses in the Nation for Under $50” by Golf Magazine in 2004, ranked No. 3 among all university-owned golf courses across the country by Golfweek Magazine in 2004 and named one of the “10 Best New Golf Courses in the Nation” by Golf Magazine in 2004.

The Tom Doak-designed course started as a flat cotton field but Doak’s crew moved 1.3 million cubic yards of earth to create an oasis that more closely recalls Scottish golf courses than the semi-arid south plains of Texas, said North.

At its lowest point with a 4.5 acre man-made lake in its center, the course drops 38 feet below ground level. One of the elements that provides an out-of-the-city feeling is the 15-foot berms that surround the course, said North. The berms were built with all the earth that was moved to create a 7,207 yard, par 72 course of wide and long fairways, fast greens and sand traps that can reach a depth of 21 feet.

The course also features a 53-acre driving range. The greens are California-style bent greens, unique to the Southwest, and the fairways are planted with Tif Sport Bermuda grass, the newest hybrid Bermuda available.

The Rawls Course also is serving as a laboratory for Texas Tech’s turf grass program in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, to give students hands-on experience in turf grass management.

Public green fees are $35 Monday through Thursday and $42 Friday through Sunday. Further discounted green fees are available to Texas Tech faculty, staff and students. Memberships are available.

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