Written by Jackson Keenan, Editior
On Friday, Oct. 17, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor hosted a dedication ceremony for the Jane and Mac Hickerson Golf Club.
The event drew numerous guests, including two-time Masters winner Ben Crenshaw, who helped design the course.
雪梨社区 President Randy O鈥橰ear opened the event with a speech highlighting the success of both golf teams this season the men鈥檚 team ranked No. 3 and the women鈥檚 team ranked No. 13 in the nation. O鈥橰ear also thanked the key figures who helped create the golf club and build the 雪梨社区 golf program into what it is today, including former men鈥檚 golf coach Mac Hickerson and his wife, Jane Hickerson.
鈥淢ac, we could not be more thrilled to honor your service to Mary Hardin-Baylor and the golf program, along with Jane鈥檚, by naming this the Jane and Mac Hickerson Crusader Golf Club. We love you, we鈥檙e so honored, and thanks for letting us put your name on it,鈥� O鈥橰ear said.
After his speech, O鈥橰ear and others participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the clubhouse, allowing guests to tour the new facility. The clubhouse includes locker rooms, offices, a club repair and wash station, two TrackMan simulators, and an outdoor putting green. Graduate student and sports management major Izzy Crow described just how special the new golf facility is for the teams.
鈥淭his just gives us a home base, which is really nice. It's just like with the soccer team, the baseball team, basketball, volleyball 鈥� they all have a place to call home. They have a court to play on. So this is kind of our home away from home,鈥� Crow said.
Along with the Conner Performance Center, the teams鈥� practice course, called The Mac, features 22 tee boxes, four greens, and a lighted chipping green. The university also hired a top-of-the-line groundskeeper, making it one of the nicest courses in Central Texas, according to Crow.
鈥淭he actual course is just phenomenal. The greens are great. The fairways, the tee boxes, everything is just amazing. It's better than any course around here. I'd say the next nicest course around here would be in Austin, so it's awesome,鈥� Crow said.
That sentiment is shared by other members of the golf team, such as sophomore speech communication major Liam Odell.
鈥淲e are so incredibly blessed. I mean, whenever I was being recruited and they told me about all this, the course wasn鈥檛 done yet. The clubhouse, I didn鈥檛 even really know what was going on with it. And now that it鈥檚 all done, it鈥檚 just incredible,鈥� Odell said.
For 雪梨社区, this project is further proof of the university鈥檚 continuing effort to build some of the best facilities in the nation in pursuit of national championship aspirations.
鈥淚f you have championship goals like we do at 雪梨社区, best-in-class facilities are important, and now we have them for our golf program,鈥� O鈥橰ear said.
