The William M. “Bill” Clements Golf Center will include a laser-guided putting green, hitting bays, locker rooms, a student-athlete lounge, and a medical services room among other amenities. Both programs were housed over the past decade at the Sewailo Golf Club facility.
The University of Arizona, Arizona Athletics and Tucson (Ariz.) Country Club reached an agreement to build a facility to act as home for both the men’s and women’s golf programs, KOLD reported. The William M. “Bill” Clements Golf Center will be named in honor of philanthropist and community icon Bill Clements who passed away in 1995.
The project will include a laser-guided putting green, hitting bays, locker rooms, a student-athlete lounge, and a medical services room among other amenities, KOLD reported.
“I am incredibly proud of our men’s and women’s golf programs as representatives of the best that the University of Arizona has to offer,” said UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins. “I often say Arizona Athletics is the front porch to our amazing community, and our student-athletes are tremendous ambassadors for the university’s values, its spirit and our impact around the world. The members of our golf teams exemplify this role. Investing in their success here at the Tucson Country Club will advance the Wildcat community, the experience of our student-athletes and the championship tradition of these two programs.”
The athletics department has exceeded the fundraising minimum of $10.5 million for the project, with a cost of $14.86 million, through the impactful giving of donors and program alumni, including the naming gift given by Ginny L. Clements, KOLD reported.
“On behalf of the Wildcat Family, I would like to thank Ginny L. Clements and our tremendous supporters who contributed to this vital project to enhance the Wildcat Way experience for our women’s and men’s golf student-athletes,” said Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Heeke. “The construction of the William M. ‘Bill’ Clements Golf Center will create a transformational home for our women’s and men’s golf programs as they continue their traditions of excellence on the course, in the classroom and in the community.”
The new partnership will also bring top college golf tournaments to TCC as both programs regularly host events that welcome other top programs from across the country, KOLD reported. Arizona men’s golf’s annual Arizona Intercollegiate returned to Tucson Country Club this year for the first time since 1992.
“Our new home facility is a gamechanger for both golf programs at the University of Arizona,” said women’s golf head coach Laura Ianello. “The Clements Golf Center is crucial to our ability to recruit future champions from across the country and around the globe while providing a state-of-the-art space for Wildcats to grow and develop as golfers and as students.”
The unique design, an indoor-outdoor pavilion, will flow seamlessly between indoor and outdoor settings, KOLD reported.
“I would like to thank our generous donors and supporters for making this dream a reality,” said head men’s golf coach Jim Anderson. “The creation of the William M. ‘Bill’ Clements Golf Center will enhance every facet of the Arizona golf programs. The experience of golf student-athletes at the University of Arizona will be elevated with a world-class facility to practice, train, study and call home.”
Arizona Athletics hopes to break ground on the project this summer and will continue to raise funds towards completion, KOLD reported. Both programs were housed over the past decade at the Sewailo Golf Club facility in Tucson, hosted by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.
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