Mel
Taylor feared this would be the last chance. Washington State University had made four distinct efforts
over three decades to replace the nine-hole course scratched out in 1923 with a
grander golf stage. Each attempt had foundered, including—so far—the plan
carefully devised several years earlier and still on the table, though soon to
topple off. “We were pretty sure that if it didn’t happen this time it never
would,” says Taylor, WSU’s director of special projects. “How many shots do you
get?”
The
fifth time proved the charm. In late 2004 university regents approved plans to
plow up their creaky nine-holer and replace it with a full-scale John
Harbottle-designed 18. Plenty of challenges remain, including raising the
balance of an $8.5 million construction fund for the course and then $4 million
more for a clubhouse, not to mention actually digging in the dirt to make 18
holes. But if all goes well, by late 2007 or early 2008 students at WSU will
move from the forlorn ranks of Students without Courses to those who can brag
about 18 sweet holes just off campus.
That
list has grown noticeably in the past 15 years, a period that represents the
third major cycle of university-affiliated course construction in the
United
States. The first, in the 1920s and 1930s,
established classic layouts at institutions like Ohio State, Stanford, Williams and Yale. The
second cycle belongs to the 1950s and 1960s, when new golf venues were
established at the Air Force Academy, Colgate, Duke (completing a two-year
upgrade program this spring) and the University of New
Mexico, among others.
This
latest wave was sparked by bellwether projects at Arizona State
(Karsten GC, opened in 1989) and Wisconsin (University Ridge, 1991). These were
go-go years for course-building in general, and for the university segment they
rolled on into the 21st century, when such notable new courses as Purdue’s
(Kampen Course, 1998), Kansas State’s (Colbert Hills, 2000) and Texas Tech’s
(Rawls Course, 2003) opened with the pomp and circumstance one finds only at
institutes of higher education.
Although
definitive numbers are elusive, estimates put the tally of university-affiliated
courses in the U.S. between 150 and 200. That
includes everything from layouts owned and operated by a college to affiliated
courses and nearby clubs where golf teams enjoy full access and conduct
tournaments.
If
you hadn’t noticed, higher education has morphed from a scholarly vocation to a
luxury consumer purchase. Competition for standout students has led to
rock-climbing walls in the quadrangle and grinning administrators handing out
iPods to every freshman in the registration line. Against this economic and
cultural backdrop, golf has emerged as a unique and compelling (old-line
educators will shudder at the word) amenity. Rock-climbing is a niche activity
and electronics become obsolete, but the networking and par-shooting skills
honed on a golf course can serve a graduate oh-so-well in the Fortune 500 career
he or she anticipates.
