LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Both the Women's and Men's Golf teams at the University of Louisville credit the city’s ever-growing golf community with helping drive recruitment and keep their programs on the upswing.
“The city of Louisville is a sneaky golf community,” Women’s Head Coach Whitney Young explained. “Everyone just loves golf around here and we have so many resources and golf courses that we can play and utilize for our golf tournaments.”
One of the most storied courses is Valhalla Golf Club, where the PGA Championship is happening this week. Among the players set to participate is Adam Hadwin, current World #48 and former UofL golf star.
Hadwin’s bag is one of the few on display as you walk into the program’s Lee Street facility, along with other notable names like Matti Schmid and Elizabethtown’s Lauren Hartlage.
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“She was a huge part of growing this program to making it elite,” Young said. “We have a huge graphic of her here on our wall.”
“It’s a really big draw for recruits when they come here and see what we have to offer,” Men’s Head Coach Ryan Blagg said. “It’s just championship quality.”
The Lee Street Facility is one of two areas utilized by the UofL Golf teams to work on their skills ahead of the season. Inside the on-campus facility is everything from hitting bays, a putting green, a kitchen, player lounge, and the PuttView – and Augmented Reality system that allows players to customize the course and practice their putting.
The program hopes these resources, in addition to what’s available to student-athletes at the University of Louisville Golf Club, will stand out to future team prospects, near and far. Everywhere from Kentucky to Texas and New York, even Ireland is represented by the program’s athletes.
"We want to get the best out of Kentucky,” Young said. “But we’re recruiting all over the world.”
"We did sign the best two kids in the state this last year; they’ll be starting for us in the fall,” Blagg said. “So, my goal is to do it with kids from all over the world but I certainly want to include the state of Kentucky and try to get the homegrown kids here that can help us win a national championship. I want them to come to Louisville and win here.”
Though they’re not hosting officially, the UofL Golf team said you can show support by attending the 2025 ACC Championship, which will be held at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Kentucky. You can also support by checking out the Chip-In Club.
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