LSU Gold

The University Club, est. Oct. 22, 1998

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
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The University Club, est. Oct. 22, 1998

For more than a decade, the LSU men’s and women’s golf teams have called University Club home. The course received the honor of being ranked the 13th-best home for college golf in the country according to a recent survey published by Golf Digest evaluating the Top 15 home courses in college golf based on criteria such as shot values, resistance to scoring, course layout and design, memorability and conditioning.

After undergoing extensive renovations in 2010, the home of LSU’s nationally-ranked men’s and women’s programs features a newly-designed par-72 layout that will serve as an impressive showpiece for generations to come.

The course at the University Club was re-designed under the guidance of LSU legend and PGA Tour pro David Toms and renowned golf course architect Jim Lipe, who designed the original University Club in 1998. The course is carved into nearly 300 acres of land just seven miles south of the LSU campus on Nicholson Drive.

It came as no surprise that the University Club was selected as an NCAA Men’s Golf Regional host site during the 2013 season, marking the first time in the illustrious history of the LSU men’s golf program that the Tigers served as hosts to an NCAA postseason tournament on its home course.

The challenging 18-hole, par-72 course at University Club plays to 7,700 yards from its championship tees and features wide fairways bordered by pine hammocks and native grasses, in addition to 2,000 feet of beautiful bulkhead. Four additional sets of tees are also available for players of all ages and skill levels.

In addition, the lake areas have been increased by 110,000 cubic yards in total and more than 500 trees have been added throughout the course to provide a challenging test of golf for anyone playing the University Club.

Not only that, but the course now has one of the most impressive finishing holes in golf as the 18th hole on the back nine features a new championship “Tiger” tee with a beautiful six-foot high wood bulkhead. The lake was expanded near the green, where an additional 180 feet of bulkhead was also added.

The course was built on land donated to the Tiger Athletic Foundation and subsequently leased to The University Club. The original vision that drove University Club’s development was having a premier course that would provide a place for TAF members to play, as well as a home for the men’s and women’s golf teams at LSU.

Investment made in updating the course, as well as the program’s nearby Bilyeu Golf Practice Facility, has paid immediate dividends for the Tigers and Lady Tigers as they have quickly emerged as two of the NCAA’s leading golf programs once again.

LSU made history in 2011 as the first combined program to sweep NCAA individual titles in the same season with John Peterson and Austin Ernst being crowned national champions. The Tigers are coming off a 2014-15 season in which they captured their fifth national championship in program history and first since 1955 with a 4-1 win over the USC Trojans in the NCAA Championship Match, just one season after advancing to the NCAA semifinals of match play in 2014. The Lady Tigers have also earned a pair of third-place national finishes on the women’s side in 2011 and 2012.

The course at University Club opened for members on Oct. 22, 1998. The swimming and tennis facility adjacent to the course opened in the summer of 2000. The surrounding housing development continues to grow as homes continue to spring up, adding to the beauty of the area surrounding the golf course.

The Tiger Athletic Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation that serves as the fund-raising and development arm of the LSU athletics department. Each year, the TAF underwrites scholarship and academics awards, as well as capital development projects for LSU athletics.