BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU Men's and Women's Golf dedicated their new indoor 4,000 square-foot practice facility to the late Hilltopper head coach Phillip Hatchett on Friday afternoon.
After playing golf at WKU in the late 80s, Coach Hatchett took the reins as the head coach of the men's program in 2010. As the game of golf grew in the collegiate landscape, building an indoor practice facility was a dream of Hatchett's, and a long-term goal. When Hatchett passed away in June of 2018, dedicating the facility in his honor seemed only right.
"It means a lot to have this building named after Phillip as I've known him since high school" said current women's golf head coach Adam Gary. "Just the reputation, and obviously the history he had playing here, the community, everybody loved him. Having his name on the building will make sure that his legacy continues on and that golf is going to have a place in town and continue to grow. I know that's what he would've wanted."
Standing on the edge of WKU's South Campus, the new facility houses equipment and technology that will help WKU golfers develop for years to come. Each program has its own hitting bay, equipped with launch monitors. The systems replicate famous courses as a tracking device simulates the actual flight pattern of the ball.
A light projection system floods a large putting green in the main room, tracing slope and break lines across the surface. The PuttView system found in the Phillip Hatchett Golf Facility is one of very few in the country belonging to collegiate programs. Off the putting green, there are more spaces for chipping and hitting, in addition to a club regripping station and a loft alignment machine, allowing for quality work and repair outside of the traditional golf course setting.
"We have a place where we can get some quality work in, 12 months out of the year, regardless of the weather, regardless of the time of day" current men's golf head coach Chan Metts said on the facility. "Even when the sun goes down, and we're one of those rare daylight sports where we're kind of dependent on sunshine to be able to play our sport, we can come get quality work in after that. It's really big from a player development standpoint."
"Just as a whole, we can cover anything really," Gary added. "No matter what the player needs, we've got an avenue for them to get better here, which is really important."
In addition to several player development elements, the facility holds a players' lounge that the programs have already used for team meetings and activities.
"The players take a lot of pride in the facility," said Metts. "I think this gives them something to be proud of. This is something that proves it's truly a privilege to be a part of an athletic team or athletic program. It just gives them that much more pride to be a part of the family that they are, and they take a lot of pride in that and they treat it with the respect that this place is due."
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