Tom Spurgeon Golf Training Center
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An indoor putting green, a swing-analysis video computer system and multiple heated hitting bays are just three of the features of a $1.8 million indoor golf training center to be built at Purdue's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex next fall.
The 11,400-square-foot facility will be named the Tom Spurgeon Golf Training Center, after lead donor Tom Spurgeon.
"Tom Spurgeon has made a hole in one with this gift of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars toward this golf facility," Purdue President Martin C. Jischke said.
Athletics director Morgan Burke said the indoor training center will be the "jewel in the crown" of Purdue's 36-hole Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex. The Kampen and Ackerman Hills courses have undergone more than $8 million in improvements since 1996.
Other areas of the facility include team locker rooms, a lounge, coaches' offices, a pro shop and a classroom. The architectural design will be similar to the clubhouse and other facilities at the course. The center will be open to the public when not in use by Purdue golf teams.
Head men's and women's golf coach Devon Brouse said the facility will be a great help in recruiting, training and teaching.
"From a technology standpoint, this takes us right to the forefront of college golf," Brouse said. "We already have outstanding golf courses. Once this facility is complete, it's simply a matter of attracting the top student-athletes."
The video computer system will be useful not only in perfecting golfers' swings, but also in providing a virtual reality experience on the courses where Purdue golfers will compete. Brouse said that should pique the interest of Purdue golf recruits.
"We want to seize the momentum of strong finishes in the recent NCAA national golf championships and keep attracting the best student-athletes here," Brouse said.
Nancy Cross, associate athletics director, said Brouse is a visionary who, in the past four years, has not only established a solid tradition of top-caliber golf at Purdue, but also knows what it takes to position Purdue as an NCAA golf leader.
"Devon Brouse has taken Purdue golf to a new level," Cross said. "With his premier coaching staff, top-caliber athletes and a state-of-the-art training facility, we've hit an approach shot that should put us on the NCAA leader board for years to come."
Brouse said he looks forward to the day when Purdue golf is synonymous with college golf excellence.
"When I was a kid in the '50s and '60s, Purdue golf was pretty special," Brouse said. "We won the national championship in 1961. Now, we can have that same kind of tradition redeveloping."
