Graphic by Bell Jackson by Aubrie Chastain
With recent news that Montevallo’s golf course is closing, many are questioning what Montevallo’s golf team plans to do next.
Montevallo has decided to stop running the golf course because it’s expensive to maintain and keep. Golf coach Justin Pratt is in his 12th season at the University of Montevallo and commented on what the golf team plans to do next.
Pratt said that the Golf Team has an agreement with the Timberline Golf Club in Calera where they practice often. Although the team has an agreement with Timberline, Pratt said, “it was very convenient to have a course right on campus to practice at each week when we wanted to and have a place our players could go anytime, they wanted to throughout the year when they felt like practicing or playing.”
Now with Montevallo’s golf course gone, players must drive off campus about twenty minutes away. Pratt explained that it was much easier for them to go to Montevallo’s course after classes. Pratt also spoke for the team and said, “We already miss the course and our players are disappointed it isn’t open. Hopefully that can change.”
The golf team even helped Montevallo’s golf course by providing the club with new range balls each year so players could ensure they had good golf balls on the driving range.
Even with the golf course closing, there are other thoughts on how to keep the course open and successful. Pratt said, “I feel like there are ways to keep the course open and thrive but there just isn’t enough interest from those in charge to find ways to make that happen.”
Some of the ways Pratt sees a way to keep the course open is to continue to provide the Kinesiology department with a golf class as an elective called “Beginner’s Golf.”
Pratt also mentioned how golf is a vital recreational opportunity and a source of enjoyment for the people in the Montevallo area.
Some of the ways that the golf coach hopes for the Montevallo Golf Club to stay open is to find the right investors or recreational grants from the government to keep a fun resource for the community.
While there is still hope from the team that the club will stay open, currently Montevallo officials plan to close it down and convert the golf course into a new mountain bike trail.
Aubrie Chastain is a writer for The Alabamian. She is a first-year political science major with plans to attend law school. She enjoys a good book, coffee and hikes.
