The Rawls Course, located in
Lubbock, Texas, United States, is the home of the
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
teams. It is an
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
championship course constructed through a major gift from
Jerry S. Rawls
Jerry S. Rawls is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and chairman of Finisar.
Biography
Early life
Jerry Rawls was born in Houston, Texas, and graduated from Bellaire High School in Houston in 1962. He earned hi ...
and supported by revenue from students, faculty, staff, donors, and the general public.
Design
The Rawls Course was designed by
Tom Doak
Tom Doak is a golf course architect. He has 6 courses ranked among the top 100 in the world according to the "Top 100 Courses in the World" March 2021 list compiled by ''Golf Magazine.'' These include Pacific Dunes in Oregon, Ballyneal in Colorad ...
of Renaissance Golf Design, Inc.,
Traverse City, Michigan
Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population wa ...
. Starting from just a cotton field, the course was created to imitate the land east and south of
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
, where the
Great Plains suddenly begin falling into the valleys and canyons that lead to the Caprock region. Lubbock's strong prevailing winds figured prominently in the course's final design.
Recognition
''Turfnet'' magazine ranked The Rawls Course the third best collegiate course in the United States. ''
Golfweek
''Golfweek'' is a golf magazine and digital media outlet based in Orlando, Florida, United States. It is part of Gannett's USA Today Network.
History and profile
The magazine was founded in 1975 by Charley Stine and was originally named ''Flori ...
'' recognized is as the fourth best collegiate golf course in the nation and, in 2012 and 2013, as the #2 course in the state of Texas.
[Rawls Course Earns National Distinction :: Four-year-old Tom Doak design ranks among nation's top 10 collegiate golf courses]
/ref>
''Golf Magazine
''Golf Magazine'' is a monthly golf magazine. It was started in April 1959 by Universal Publishing and Distributing, who sold it to Times Mirror in 1972. Time Inc. acquired it in 2000. It was acquired by Howard Milstein in 2018. It was the world ...
'' ranked it as the second most affordable U.S. course and placed it twenty-third on their list of top 50 golf courses in the nation for $50 or less. '' Golf Digest'' ranked it at #2 among affordable public courses. It also ranked it 19th overall for courses in the state of Texas.
Improvements
In 2012, Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
opened a $3.7 million clubhouse at The Rawls Course. The structure includes a public area as well as separate, private facilities for the university's golf teams.
Events
* NCAA Division I Men's Golf Regional: 2015
* NCAA Division I Women's Golf Regional: 2005, 2017, 2025
References
External links
''Turfnet'' digital edition; article begins on page 22
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawls Course, The
Texas Tech Red Raiders sports venues
Sports venues in Lubbock, Texas
Golf clubs and courses in Texas
College golf clubs and courses in the United States