History

The University of Georgia Golf Course opened in 1968 with the purpose of supporting the university community and a collegiate golf program. Over the years the course has become an important recreation facility not only for the University, but for the state of Georgia as a whole. Legendary former Women's Golf Coach Liz Murphey noted during the 1993 NCAA Women's Championships that "Dr. Aderhold [UGA's President from '50-67'] loved the game of golf. He was the reason the course was built." The University already owned the land and Dr. Aderhold was a personal friend of Robert Trent Jones Sr., the golf course's architect. In addition, students were so interested in having a golf course that they agreed to pay for it in their student activity fees over a five year period during the 1960s. Aderhold hired Jim Cole to supervise construction, but Cole was hampered by financial problems and heavy rains. When the course was finally finished, the course was missing some of the Jones design features because they were either washed away or because the money ran out. Murphey described it as 'a miracle' that Cole had the course ready when the University hosted its first national championship for women in 1971. During the 1970s and 1980s, the golf course hosted a number of different tournaments including the annual Liz Murphey Women's Collegiate Classic, the PGA Junior Championship, the Men's and Women's SEC Championships, as well as the 1971, 1981, 1983, and 1993 Women's NCAA Golf Championships.

By 1990, the course needed heavy renovation and Dave Cousart, the golf course manager, worked to rebuild the greens and irrigation system, as well as integrate a number of Jones' features that had been left out because of the limited budget back in the 1960s. Cousart worked with John LaFoy, a veteran of the Athens Country Club North course, to integrate more modern mounding and bunkers into the course design. In addition to the LaFoy restoration, an automated modern irrigation system was installed in 2001 and a new maintenance building was constructed the following year. In May 2006, the greens and the greens complexes were completely renovated by Love Golf Design of St. Simons Island, Georgia. The new green design brought the course up to the championship standards of today's top professional and collegiate players. The greens are very characteristic of a Jones course and the renovation included 21 new tees, making the course more versatile for both amateurs and professionals. The 2006 renovation has been received with positive ovation that continues today through the work of the current golf course staff, which is still under the leadership of Mr. Cousart.

In 2009, the golf course was named one of the top-10 public courses in Georgia by Golfweek Magazine, one of the 10 best college courses in the United States by GolfChannel.com, and one of the 25 best university courses in the nation by Links Magazine.

On June 3, 2009, the University of Georgia and the PGA Tour announced that the Web.com Tour's "Stadion Classic at UGA" will be played at the UGA Golf Course. "The University of Georgia is proud to be the host of the Stadion Classic at UGA, and especially glad that the tournament will stay in the Athens area, " said UGA President Michael F. Adams. The golf course joins only a handful of universities to ever host a Web.com Tour event since the tour's first tournament in 1990.