Construction is under way for the golf project that could never seem to find a home.
As work took place behind them Wednesday morning, Mayor Ron Littlefield and representatives of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and The First Tee of Chattanooga officially broke ground on a new golf practice facility.
The Player Development Complex is a joint venture between UTC and the First Tee, and will feature a designated practice facility for the UTC men’s and women’s golf teams and practice areas for the First Tee’s programs. Also on the 28-acre site, which is the former home of the Hickory Valley Golf Club, will be a three-hole practice course.
It took more than six years and numerous projected locations to make the plans a reality, Littlefield said in his remarks to a crowd of about 100 in attendance.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of projects over the last 40 years and I know of no project that has traveled around more than this one,” Littlefield said.
Lewis Card, Jr., of the University of Chattanooga Foundation, the primary fundraiser for UTC, said the project is expected to cost around $1.2 million, with expenses split 50-50 between UTC and First Tee. In addition, the plan is to raise an additional $3 million for an endowment to provide ongoing maintenance to the facility.
“I believe that when we are done we will have a facility that will be the envy of collegiate programs and First Tee programs anywhere,” UTC chancellor Roger Brown said.
Brown, Littlefield and Card were among the dignitaries to take a ceremonial practice swing to mark the ground breaking. In April, the City Council approved a 25-year lease agreement, with a rental rate of $1 a year, for UTC and First Tee to use the property.
Lady Mocs coach Colette Murray and men’s coach Mark Guhne said for their teams to have their own practice facility was invaluable to their programs. In the past they’ve had to always practice at local courses, which they will still use for practice rounds, but to have a place of their own will mean a lot to the current players and in recruiting.
“It’s a place we can call home and a place where we don’t have to worry about staying too long or wearing out our welcome,” Murray said.
The facility was designed by Bill Bergin, of Bergin Golf Designs, whose previous works including a pair of courses at the Fairvue Plantation in Gallatin.
“Every area of the course, when Bill designed it, had a clear intention of golf development,” said Kathleen McCarthy, executive director of the local First Tee.
Phase one of the project will include driving ranges for UTC’s teams and the First Tee, as well as putting and chipping areas. Phase one is scheduled to be completed in the fall.
Bergin said the three holes, which will take longer to complete, will feature a short Par 3, a mid-range Par 3 and a third hole that would serve as a long Par 3 for UTC’s players and a Par 4 for the First Tee participants.
John Frierson is in his fifth year at the Times Free Press and fifth year covering University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletics. The bulk of his time is spent covering Mocs football, but he also writes about women’s basketball and the big-picture issues and news involving the athletic department. A native of Athens, Ga., John grew up a few hundred yards from the University of Georgia campus. Instead of becoming a Bulldog he attended Ole ...
Is this the UTC practice facility that was supposed to be named after the former golf coach Reed Sanderlin? If so, is that still the plan?
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