The new home of the Arizona Wildcats golf programs just received a significant upgrade.ย
The UA will break ground this summer on the William M. "Bill" Clements Golf Center, a $14.86 million project inside the Tucson Country Club that will includeย a laser-guided putting green, hitting bays, locker rooms, a player lounge and a medical service room.ย
Clements, a Tucson businessman and philanthropist, died in 1995. His widow, Ginny L. Clements, donated money toward the project.
"I am incredibly proud of our men's and women's golf programs as representatives of the best that the University of Arizona has to offer," said UA president Robert C. Robbins. "I often say Arizona athletics is the front porch to our amazing community, and our student-athletes are tremendous ambassadors for the university's values, its spirit and our impact around the world. The members of our golf teams exemplify this role.
"Investing in their success here at the Tucson Country Club will advance the Wildcat community, the experience of our student-athletes and the championship tradition of these two programs."
Donors include former Wildcat great Jim Furyk and his wife Tabitha, Peter and Nancy Salter Family Foundation, Thunderbirds Charities, Humberto and Czarina Lopez, Jim and Vicki Click, Tim and Jane Garigan, Brian and Kris Hogan and Thomas and Joanne Quebedeaux. Their donors exceeded the minimum requirement of $10.5 million to begin the project; the UA will continue to raise money to complete it.
"The construction of the William M. "Bill" Clements Golf Center will create a transformational home for our women's and men's golf programs as they continue their traditions of excellence on the course, in the classroom and in the community," said UA athletic director Dave Heeke. "The student-athletes in our programs have built championship legacies, and this facility will be a tribute to that greatness.
"The Clements Golf Center will have a generational impact on the student-athletes in our programs, elevate the recruitment of future Wildcats for years to come and grow the longstanding relationship between our athletics department and the tremendous golf community in Southern Arizona. We look forward to our partnership with Tucson Country Club and the development of one of the premiere collegiate golf complexes in the country."
