There’s another storied golf course in Augusta. But the story of “The Patch” has more twists and turns.
As Masters Tournament patrons descend on the city, Augusta Municipal Golf Course, known to many as the Patch, is having its usual bump in players seeking a more affordable round.
“Yesterday we probably had right at 100 players. We had about 80 today. It’ll probably be like that until Thursday, when the tournament starts,” course pro James Dent said Monday.
Dent, who’s been at the Patch since 2015, is the son of Jim Dent, the former Augusta National Golf Club caddie who honed his skills in Augusta before achieving great successes on the Senior PGA Tour.
For decades, Augusta’s public golf course was the only place Black Augustans could play the game. For Dent, Sr., former caddies and others it became a popular gathering place.
Monday, Tiger Woods’ first Masters Tournament caddie, Augusta native Tommy Bennett, was hanging out. Bennett said he didn’t want to say anything with the tournament so fast approaching.
A troubled asset, with Scottish roots
The historic Augusta Municipal Golf Course opened in 1928 as the second Augusta course designed by Scottish golfer David Ogilvie.
The scrappy, low-budget course that provided its nickname has a prime location off Highland Avenue by Daniel Field Airport that has made it a target.
In 2010, as Augusta leaders complained about public golf’s expenses, then-Augusta State University considered it as a place to expand and included its 100 acres in a master development plan.
Then after several false starts, commissioners agreed to outsource the golf course to another Scotsman, Brian Hendry, in 2011.
Hendry had big plans that emphasized the course’s Scottish roots, proposing a new bunker reminiscent of the deep Royal Aberdeen Golf Club quarry Rubislaw and incorporating tartans and granite tee markers purchased from Aberdeen.
Eight months later, Hendry was evicted from the property for failing to pay the rent, and it returned to bare-bones management by city staff.
The commission would reject two more private offers to run the course, as well as a persistent proposal to merge operations with the adjacent youth golf program, First Tee of Augusta.
Orlando management firm hired in 2014
Then in 2014, Augusta landed current manager Cypress Golf Management of Orlando, said to focus on turning “distressed courses” into profitable ones.
The Patch hasn’t been in the news much since, other than the commission’s 2018 decision to allow a veteran advocacy organization, the Warrior Alliance, to create the Double Eagle Performance Center there.
In conjunction with Augusta Technical College, plans were to build a golf course management and construction training center on unused land.
In 2020, the commission voted to rename the entry road to the course Jim Dent Way.
Today, there is a new plan for the Patch, although some players may be the same.
Existing Cypress staff haven’t been briefed on the changes, Dent said, and don’t know what the future holds.
Commission OKs golf deal with Augusta Tech
Last week, the commission voted unanimously to approve a non-binding letter of intent with Augusta Tech.
President Jermaine Whirl said plans are to overhaul the course and clubhouse and highlight the history of Black caddies and golfers at the Patch.
“How do we celebrate them in a more granular way?” he said.
The letter of intent said the state government unit will take over operations and management at the course Jan. 1.
Plans are “to develop a world-class public golf course with an added emphasis on creating the nation’s first golf corridor of education,” it said.
In addition, Augusta Tech will relocate its golf course management degree program to the golf course and expand programming, such as the Warrior Alliance and First Tee, it said.
Whirl, who serves on the board of the Warrior Alliance, was unavailable to comment further Tuesday. But he said more good news about the Patch is coming.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
