WEST POINT — Clay Homan has always tried to get the top recruits.
But with the likes of Alabama and LSU in the Southeastern Conference, it was tough for the Mississippi State men’s golf coach to land those recruits.
MSU women’s golf coach Ginger Brown-Lemm has experienced the same obstacles in recruiting.
Although MSU has nice facilities and a great golf course — Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point — to practice at, the programs needed something more to distinguish themselves from other programs.
On Friday, MSU unveiled a $2.4-million Mossy Oak Golf Club practice facility that Homan and Brown-Lemm feel will help them win recruiting battles.
“It’s now just about getting them here,” Homan said. “They’re now recruiting us. It’s not a matter of us begging them to come here, they’re recruiting us, and that’s the wonderful thing about this.”
The facility, which is across the street from Old Waverly and will open in September, includes a 6,300-square-foot team clubhouse with locker rooms, a players’ lounge, coaches’ offices, a 500-square-foot indoor putting studio with Sam PuttLab training system, a exercise room, and a conference room. There is a driving range, three short-game greens, an 18,000-square foot putting green in the shape of the state of Mississippi, two other putting greens, and a 2,431-square-foot indoor hitting bay equipped with two Trackman swing and ball flight analysis systems and a club repair room.
The putting green is dedicated to Robert Harrell Sr., who designed it. There is a plaque near the green in the honor of Harrell, who died in March 2015.
The practice area and driving area are designed by Hanse Golf Course Design, the designers of the host course for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympic Games.
Brown-Lemm said word about the new facility is getting out and that younger players are contacting the coaches because they want to see the facility.
“It’s really exciting,” Brown-Lemm said. “We don’t have to do as much. We work hard and we love every minute of it, but it’s now kind of shifted to four and five and six unofficial visits a month versus us trying to get to the kid. The tone has changed.”
Homan said young golfers are aware of Old Waverly because the golf course has played host to the likes of a United States Women’s Open, the Southern Amateur Championship, and the ISPS Handa Cup.
Homan and Brown-Lemm have had success recruiting international players, but domestic players have gone to Alabama, LSU, and Georgia over MSU. Homan said the new facility has helped the Bulldogs recruit players in the U.S. In fact, he said his program has commitments from some of the top players in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
“We may not have had a chance with those kids a couple of years ago because they’re wanting to go to the next level. They’re wanting facilities that will help them get to that level,” Homan said. “Now they know they can’t go anywhere else that they’ll find a better situation than this. It’s been a complete game-changer.”
Brown-Lemm said the coaches can be more selective in recruiting and not take whoever was willing like in the past.
The new facility also will give the coaches a chance to play host to clinics where they will get a chance to look at recruits.
“We want to get access to those elite players and maybe be able to spend a day with them and see about their golf game, their temperament, their patience level, and their character,” Brown-Lemm said.
The facility is an added bonus for players already at MSU. Although it is about 20 minutes from MSU’s campus in Starkville, Brown-Lemm and Homan believe that won’t be a big deal. Brown-Lemm played at Texas and said they had to travel 45 minutes to practice. Homan spent four years (2000-03) at Rice in Houston, Texas, and it was hard to navigate to the golf course they used for practice. Both coaches agree their players can use the drive to the facility or to the course as a time to decompressing from classes and get into a golfing mind-set.
The players also can use Starkville County Club and the MSU Golf Course, which gives them four facilities where they can hone their skills.
The new facility allows current players to work on every aspect of their game at any time.
“They weren’t able to work on shots they’re able to work on now,” Homan said. “We don’t have to take a day off. They are able to work each and every day, as much as they want to work, indoors, outdoors.”
Brown-Lemm and Homan went to several other college golf facilities to get ideas and to ask questions. They dreamed of what the facility would be like, but Brown-Lemm said the facility exceeds her wishes. Both agree it is the top 10.
Homan and the men’s team will play host to the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship on Monday and Tuesday. The event will give them another chance to show off the practice facility.
“The more people we can get over here to see this, the better,” Homan said. “We’re very, very proud to show this facility off to our peers in college golf.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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