Jerry Rawls
It took a visionary like Jerry Rawls to imagine that a truly world-class golf course could be carved out of a cotton farm in the West Texas Panhandle. Positioned on the Texas South Plains on a short-grass prairie, the course design positions Texas Tech as a leader in NCAA championship golf.
Alumnus Jerry S. Rawls made it possible for Texas Tech Golf to have its own territory by donating $8.6 million toward the total cost of approximately $14-15 million in 2001 and the course was then named for him.
Completed in September 2003, the 270-acre parcel, located at the northernmost point of the campus proper, features an 18-hole championship-level course with a 60-acre driving range as well as pitching and chipping areas. The 7,100-yard golf course has very undulating fairways, beautiful bent grass greens and many deep bunkers. Dedicated facilities for both golf teams existing, including collegiate-exclusive pitching and chipping areas and an indoor facility with three hitting bays, one each for the men and the women, both featuring the best video technology possible.
- Golfweek's #2 Best Course that you can play in Texas for 2012
- Golfweek's #3 University Golf Course in America
- Golf Digest's #2 New Affordable Public Golf Course in the US
More About the Course Namesake, Jerry S. Rawls
In December of 2000, Mr. Rawls gave $25 million to Texas Tech, then the largest gift ever received by the university, to the College of Business Administration, which was named after him. An avid golfer, Mr. Rawls' funds and support of the Rawls Course in subsequent years have been deeply appreciated by the Texas Tech family, by its nationally prominent golf teams and by the community at large.
Jerry Rawls excelled in math and science at an early age and upon graduating from Bellaire High School in Houston, he entered the engineering program at Texas Tech in 1962. He earned his Bachelor of Science of Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University in 1967 and went on to earn a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Administration from Purdue University in 1968. In 2002 Texas Tech University bestowed him the prestigious "Distinguished Engineer" citation.
Mr. Rawls served as Co-Principal Executive Officer of Finisar Corp. from August 1999 to August 2008 and its Executive Chairman since January 2006. From September 1968 to February 1989, Mr. Rawls served at Raychem Corporation, where he served various management positions including Division General Manager of the Aerospace Products Division and Interconnection Systems Division.
While at Tech, he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, the Saddle Tramps, the Student Senate, the engineering honor societies Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma, and was elected Business Manager of the Texas Tech Student Body. He has continued this service to education and leadership through many outstanding philanthropic endeavors.
During the fall of 2010, The Texas Tech University System and Chancellor Hance kicked off a $1 billion fundraising campaign that will help provide the resources necessary to continue the growth and success of the system's three universities. Vision & Tradition: The Campaign for Texas Tech is co-chaired by Ed Whitacre, former chairman of the board of General Motors Co. and Jerry Rawls, executive chairman of Finisar Corp.
COURSE TOUR
Hole #1
A downwind, short par four, many players will look at the scorecard and think this is a pushover. The trick is to find a way to hold the green, which sits atop a low ridge. Some players will want to drive left and cut their second shot down the length of the green; others may have more luck driving out to the right and running the ball up the bank in front, perhaps even using their putters from well out in the fairway. Still other players might want to lay back off the tee, so they can put maximum spin on the approach. The right option is not the same for everyone: it will depend on the strengths and weaknesses of each player’s game, and may change with the location of the flag and the wind conditions of the moment.
Hole #2
A short par five which many players will be able to reach in two shots. The best drive is straight over the peak of the fairway bunkers, requiring a 230-yard carry from the back tee; a safer drive to the left won’t get as much roll. The green is narrow and guarded by hollows to both sides, so the straighter the approach, the better the chance of making a four.
Hole #3
The shortest hole on the course, but the prevailing southerly wind will make a mockery of the yardage. A long iron will often be required to reach the green, which sits atop a high ridge fully exposed to the wind. The bunkers across the front of the green are some of the deepest on the golf course, but recovery from the back bunker is even tougher, because of the slope of the green and the wind behind.
Hole #4
A classic dogleg to the left. Few players will be able to carry the bunkers in the corner of the dogleg, but the more one plays away from them, the more the prevailing wind pushes the drive out to the right. If you can keep your line to the left, your approach will not have to carry the deep bunker at the right front of the green.
Hole #5
A slight dogleg left through a stand of pecan trees. It is best to land the approach short and left of the green, as the putting surface falls away at the back toward a deep hollow and you don’t want to run through it with your downwind approach.
Hole #6
A dramatic par three with bunkers both sides of the approach and green surface. The prevailing left-to-right crosswind will force many players to aim out over the deep hollow to the left and hope for the ball to blow back toward the green, giving the golfer who can hit a controlled draw a distinct advantage.
Hole #7
One of our favorite holes, this short par four requires a different strategy depending on the hole location. With the flag on the right wing of the green, players will want to hug the left side of the fairway or even attempt to carry the big bunker on the left for the best angle home. With the flag to the left, you’re better off playing well out to the right (even over the top of the deep fairway bunkers) so that the contours on the left of the green will hold your shot instead of kicking it away to the right.
Hole #8
One of the most difficult holes we’ve ever designed. When the southerly wind is blowing, most players should be content to play it as a three-shot hole, keeping their seconds safely out to the right of the green. Good players will be tempted to try and play a low second shot which feeds to the left, but in doing so they risk going down into the hollow on the left, nearly twenty feet below the green, with bunkers stair-stepped up the bank to the green’s edge.
Hole #9
A short par five, but usually difficult to reach in two with the prevailing wind in your face. Still, it’s still important to hit two solid shots, because the green is the smallest on the course and you‘d rather play a little approach which you can keep out of the wind.
Hole #10
This par-3 is modeled after the famous "Eden" or 11th on the Old Course at St. Andrews, one of the world’s great short holes. The wings of the green are guarded by deep bunkers, and with the southerly wind at your back it will be next to impossible to carry the bunkers and stay on the green, forcing most players to thread their tee shot through the narrow entrance to the green. With its strategic position just outside the clubhouse, we think this hole will be one of the focal points of the course.
Hole #11
A short downwind par four like the first hole, but here the fairway is much narrower with bunkers eating in from the left-hand side. The bunker at the right front of the green will make it difficult to hold the green, so many players will want to squeeze their tee shots as far down the left side as possible.
Hole #12
This is bound to be one of the more controversial holes on the course, because a thoughtless tee shot will kick down to the left of the fairway, leaving a blind second shot over a small hill to the green. On the other hand, a long tee shot down the right side opens a view to the green through a gap in the ridge.
Hole #13
The first of back-to-back long par fours directly into the south wind, this hole features an enormously wide fairway with a single, nasty bunker just left of center. The green is set in a small punchbowl, giving you the choice between playing close past the deep bunkers on the right, or aiming for the hillside on the left and hoping for a good bounce back down to the green.
Hole #14
A fairly wide open par four, but one of the most difficult holes because of its green. A low ridge at the front of the putting surface may stop many long approach shots dead in their tracks, but a low second shot which lands short of the ridge may scoot right up the slope and finish close.
Hole #15
A difficult dogleg right. There is a series of difficult fairway bunkers set into the crest of the hill on the right; if you play around them, you have to be careful not to go through the fairway on the left into a bunker on the outside of the dogleg. The green tilts from right to left and favors an approach from the left.
Hole #16
The longest par three hole on the course. The prevailing wind is from the right, and the best approach a long iron or wood which starts to the right and lets the wind bring the ball back to the green, avoiding the bunkers along the left side.
Hole #17
The first of back-to-back par fives to conclude the round, this one is normally downwind and should play easier than the eighteenth, despite being fifty yards longer. The most difficult shot is the second, with trouble lurking to both sides and a bit of carry to be made. A ridge through the green makes hole locations in the back half very difficult; you really must land the ball on the front part of the green and roll over the ridge, because shots which carry the ridge are unlikely to hold.
Hole #18
A short par five which is much more difficult on the ground than on the scorecard. To get home in two, you must flirt with a narrow gully on the left side of the fairway, and then fire your second shot across the edge of the lake to a narrow target with bunkers beyond. Playing the hole conservatively still requires a carry across the lake on the second shot and a narrow third with trouble to both sides. It could be the scene of heroic tournament finishes, but for most players a five will be reason to celebrate at the nineteenth hole.
