Photo/UCM Athletics

University of Central Missouri Board of Governors approved construction of a new indoor golf training facility to be located at Mules National Golf Club at Pertle Springs.

The $354,000 cost of the project will be covered by a gift to the university, according to athletic director Jerry Hughes. The anonymous donor was interested in improving practice facilities for the men’s and women’s golf teams, and approached the university about building this new facility.

“This new facility will provide a great opportunity for our golf teams,” Hughes said. “The ability to practice year-round on all phases of their game, specifically chipping and putting, will be a tremendous advantage for our teams.”

A structure that is 112 feet long by 35 feet wide, it will allow teams to practice during inclement weather conditions in a facility that includes four heated, enclosed hitting bays as well as an indoor chipping and putting green made of synthetic turf. The structure will be built where the current Mules National Golf Club driving range is located.

“This new facility puts us on par with a lot of Division I schools,” said Jennies Golf Coach Chris Port. “We’ll have the best facilities in our region and from a recruiting standpoint, we need to get Division I caliber student-athletes. The student-athletes take visits to Division I schools and see their facilities and then see ours and in many cases we are right there, if not better, so it’s a huge recruiting tool for us. For our teams, it’s a fantastic practice tool. We will now have the ability to practice all through the winter, when a lot of teams we’re competing against won’t be able to.”