It was a warm, sunny morning, a perfect time for a round of golf, when the Ron R. Richardson Golf Performance Center opened its doors for the first time at Jacoby Golf Course.
Four hitting bays, a golf simulator and a state-of-the-art artificial putting and chipping green were revealed to hundreds of donors, university board members, former UW golfers and fans alike on Saturday Sept. 20.
“What a wonderful facility, what a wonderful day, what a wonderful time to be a Cowboy or Cowgirl,” said board of trustee member David Bostrom.
“Some might say intercollegiate golf in the high country is at a disadvantage, but on a day like today that is hard to imagine,” said UW President Dick McGinity. “It was something we needed for a great while to help our golfers gain a competitive advantage.”
After the speakers expressed their thanks, they shifted over to the front of the facility and participated in the ribbon cutting.
Following the ribbon cutting was the ceremonial first tee shot. Current UW golfers teed it up just outside the facility and they all pulled driver in route to hitting long tee shots out into the thin Laramie air.
Finally, came the main event, the revealing of what the facility has to offer to UW golf.
The 1.3 million dollar facility sits atop a hill at Jacoby overlooking the entire course. The funds made possible to build this facility were all from private donors.
“This project is unique because when we raise money for projects, it is truly a fundraising effort, but in this case we basically did nothing,” said UW Athletic Director Tom Burman. “This building was built because of the relationships (men’s and women’s head golf coaches, respectively) Joe (Jensen) and Josey (Stender) built. I am honored to be a small part of this.”
As soon as one walks through the door one is standing on the synthetic putting/chipping green. This putting surface was shipped in from California and allows golfers to keep their putting and short game sharp.
On your left you will find the locker room with the centerpiece being a signed golf bag by UW PGA Tour golfer David Hearn. Each locker has a private donors name on it followed by a short bio. Also found on the lockers are the names of current UW men’s and women’s golfers.
Directly adjacent to the locker room is the golf simulator. This room allows golfers to stand in one place and play an entire virtual golf course. Cameras all over the room detect even the slightest minor detail in a golfers swing to give golfers a very accurate representation of each shot.
The back of the facility has four hitting bays where golfers can stand inside a heated room while hitting balls out into the bitter Laramie winter. This will allow golfers to see the shape of their shot.
One of the hitting bays in equipped with cameras and a computer so golfers can record themselves hitting shots and then view the video.
“Wyoming golf is relevant,” said Jensen. “It cements what we are trying to do here.”
“There is no doubt that this university is the envy of university across the country,” said Bostrom, who reiterated that support for Wyoming is increasing from across the nation. “This facility is phenomenal. It’s all about the student athlete and supporting them,” said Bostrom.
