Chris Whitaker
AMERICUS — Georgia Southwestern is trying to join an elite group of universities throughout the United States.
When the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) pays its next visit to the campus, GSW could become the 21st school to house the Professional Golf Management (PGM) program.
“It would mean immediate enrollment growth,” said Shaun Murie, who was hired as the PGM Program Director in July 2007. “Students will come here for PGM from all over the state and out of state. It would increase revenue and give us a lot of national exposure. It would put us on the map.”
When Murie came aboard, GSW had its first try at an accreditation denied in October 2005. But it learned what necessary steps had to taken to be in the position to obtain the program in which eight schools in the southeast already have, most notably Florida State, Mississippi State and North Carolina State.
The biggest concerns were curriculum and facilities.
“The issue was the facility itself, and I think the commitment of the institution in terms of resources and budgeting,” said Dr. John Kooti, Dean of the School of Business. “We hired Shaun strictly to work on that project to get the facility to a level acceptable to the standards, and of course, to get everything else ready as well.”
One of the first steps was to get the golf course under the university. At the time, it was owned by the GSW Foundation. But in its support, it transferred the ownership to the university.
“There were concerns with longevity of the program,” said Murie, 31. “We had to make sure we were doing everything we could to maintain it at a high level. We needed to have access to the golf course, make it a learning environment, and doing that has provided more stability financially.”
Murie said there were two to three pages alone of items that needed to be done with the golf course. Safety, maintenance and the hiring of Gina Williams as golf course superintendent were some of them.
“There’s 12 things we’ve done to the golf course to meet PGA minimum requirements,” he said. “We’ve lengthened the golf course a total of 150 to 200 yards, we increased the maintenance budget to improve the overall quality, and we’ve added a practice facility.”
Williams said when she came aboard the course was in “bad shape.”
“A lot of the details were lacking,” she said. “The edging, tree-trimming, weed-eating, those kinds of things. The smallest of details on the golf course ultimately make the bigger effect aesthetically.”
Murie said a lot of organization was needed, but since the improvements, there’s been a large number of compliments.
“I can’t stress enough the people who’ve played out here — in Americus all of their lives — say it’s in the best shape they’ve ever seen it,” he said.
The course has changed names four times in the past four years. It was renamed in September 2008 to Griffin Bell Golf & Conference Center to honor Judge Griffin Bell, who passed away Jan. 5.
Murie said Bell had a big hand in meeting requirements, the ownership transfer of the course, as well as the financial needs.
GSW President Dr. Kendall A. Blanchard said renaming the course after Bell was fitting.
“I don’t think there’s anybody more important to this institution that Judge Bell, both in his direct efforts to help us raise money and to give us money of his own,” he said. “But more importantly, he used his tremendous influence, his political influence, to our benefit.
“We owe him a great deal, and knowing as we did his days were numbered last year, we thought it was really important to move quickly to do something to memorialize him on campus.”
Blanchard said more than $300,000 was raised in the naming ceremony for future scholarships, and Bell would be proud of the progress.
“He would be excited,” he said. “This was important to him, and he went to his grave optimistic as I am today that the program would eventually be here on our campus. He saw this as valuable not only to the university but the community.”
As for curriculum, Murie said the main concerns were having teachers with the right credentials and the correct courses lined up for students.
Kooti estimated a PGM program could bring in an extra 300 students alone considering it would be the only institution in Georgia to have one.
“It would not only enhance the School of Business program, but Georgia Southwestern as a whole and the university system of Georgia. The advantage of having this program is really business-related and sports.”
Murie said a PGM concentration is listed under several different majors, depending on the institution. At GSW, it would be under Management.
He said PGM has a lot more to do with running a business than golf itself.
“You have to be competent in playing the game, certainly, but once you pass the PGA’s play-ability test, the golf portion is de-emphasized,” said Murie. “In today’s economy, students have to be sharp in running a business. Otherwise, they would find themselves out of a job quickly. It involves a lot of different things — teaching golf, running a business, merchandising, budgeting, accounting — you wear a lot of hats as a PGA professional.”
If accredited, Murie said a nearly $3 million renovation would be underway and there would be more things to come, like teaching junior golf and golf to underprivileged children.
Southland Academy already uses the course for its home matches.
“We want this to be a community center where people can come play and be proud of,” said Murie.
