TUCSON, Ariz. – As Arizona’s former Hall of Fame coach Rick LaRose observed, “this beautiful home has been a long time coming.” The journey to the opening of the William M. “Bill” Clements Golf Center was decades in the making for a pair of golf programs that have won a combined four national championships. However, the unveiling of the $14.8 million facility at Tucson Country Club was a powerful homecoming moment.
The William M. “Bill” Clements Golf Center was named in honor of philanthropist and community icon Bill Clements who passed away in 1995. The naming gift was given by Ginny L. Clements to recognize her late husband, in this special way, for his generosity to the University of Arizona Golf programs and to Southern Arizona. Ginny L. Clements spoke about the powerful impact of community in her remarks.
“My family and I are truly humbled and overwhelmed by seeing this incredible building dedicated to my late husband and the father of Kimberly and Chris, William M. “Bill” Clements,” she said. “He had a motto that he shared on his desk at Golden Eagle Distributors; “Be humble to everyone”. And he lived by that motto. Bill was always generous and kind to many organizations in the community, and one of them was the University of Arizona golf programs and his dear friend Rick LaRose. I am incredibly honored to have Bill’s name on this amazing building. I want to also thank the many people who helped create this absolutely beautiful facility. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy this moment and enjoy this building.”
The facility’s design is open with an excess of windows for the abundance of natural light. In addition to new locker room spaces, coaching offices and a physio room, the building has a dedicated covered hitting bay adjacent to an outdoor driving range and the Peter and Nancy Salter Short Game Area. The new short game area allows for an abundance of chipping and pitching on an impeccably manicured green. The Furyk Golf Lab features a state-of-the-art projection Putt View technology inside the east side of the facility.
The long-awaited opening of the home of both golf programs left a powerful mark on Arizona Women’s Golf’s Gile Bite Starkute. A fifth-year senior from Lithuania, Starkute saw the opening of her new home as the…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Arizona Athletics…