The Augusta Municipal Golf Course, affectionately known as “The Patch,” stepped into the spotlight on Masters Monday.
Fred Ridley, Chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC) and the Masters Tournament, announced they are partnering with the TGR Foundation, the non-profit founded by five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, to design a nine-hole, short course for the municipal course.
“At the heart of our effort at The Patch is a commitment to create an affordable and inviting golf experience,” said Ridley in announcing the short course. “Equal importance will be placed on creating opportunities to learn and fall in love with the game as well as developing a pipeline for employment in the golf industry. We are proud to add TGR Design to work alongside our project partners to bring this dynamic plan to fruition.”
This enhances the partnership between ANGC, Augusta Technical College, and First Tee of Augusta, first announced in April 2023 to renovate the course. The short course will join the 18-hole golf course designed by Beau Welling Design and Tom Fazio Design at The Patch.
“It’s really exciting to know that golfers who play that short course will know that they’re playing on a course that was designed by Tiger Woods,” Dr. Melissa Frank-Alston, Augusta Tech’s interim President, told ABD. “And the chairman spoke about just the accessibility and affordability of the short course and of The Patch itself. So, if you just started playing golf, or you’re an intermediate golf player, or even a seasoned golf player, this is the course for you.”
This will be what Augusta Tech calls an off-campus instructional site. The Patch will be the home for the Golf Course Management Program that started in 1998 with diploma, certificate, and Associate Degree programs including golf course management, golf course technician, and horticulture.
It will also be the home for a program between Augusta Tech and the Warrior Alliance’s Operation Double Eagle. It is a project to train individuals to use skills learned in military service to build new careers in the golf, landscape, and turf industries.
“We have a 13-credit hour certificate called golf turf and landscape specialist, and it’s a nine-week program for veterans and transitioning active-duty service members,” explained Frank-Alston. “Within those nine weeks, they get five weeks of instruction and four weeks of skills. And it’s really centered around horticulture, turf management, irrigation, pesticide and Golf Course Management.”
Frank-Alston said the partnership with ANGC, First Tee of Augusta, and now the TGR Foundation will give the college the chance to show young students what educational opportunities are available.
“It’s a wonderful recruitment opportunity that I think is very seamless,” she said. “We will definitely have the opportunity to really connect with those young students and their families and talk about the opportunities that we have with some of our academic programs and future programs that we will have at The Patch.”
The Patch closed in late 2024 to allow renovations to begin. Chairman Ridley said they anticipate the course reopening by April 2026. Frank-Alston said that once re-opened, the college expects to add more academic programs.
