Augusta Technical College President Jermaine Whirl says he is excited about what the Augusta Municipal Golf Course, known as ‘The Patch,’ will look like in just a year’s time.
It was announced last week that a partnership had been formed between Augusta Tech, the First Tee of Augusta and the Augusta National Golf Course to lease the Patch from the city of Augusta for 50 years.
Whirl says that the long-neglected city-owned golf course will undergo a restoration and modernization, and the improvements should be finished by spring of 2026.
“The course will have to shut down at times while the work is done, but it will remain a municipal course that is open to the public,” Whirl said.
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According to Whirl, the partnership with the Augusta National has evolved over the past two years and working together on the Patch project serves several purposes; with First Tee the partnership will continue to introduce the game to new generations of potential players with a competitive and affordable golf course to work with and will also expand the college’s golf course management program as well as its culinary arts program.
Prior to the discussions on partnering on the Patch, Augusta National has been a past supporter of Augusta Tech, donating $1 million to the college’s efforts to expand its automotive program along with matching funds from the Jim Hudson Automotive Group.
Whirl says that all of the partnerships are part of his overall “Innovation and Tech I-20” plan, which positions the college to offer a world-class education so that local high school graduates will consider studying in Augusta rather than hitting I-20 and taking off to another school to get an expensive four-year degree elsewhere.
According to the Education Data Initiative, the basic average cost for an in-state four-year degree is $390 per credit hour; however, once room and board, loan interest and lost work opportunities are factored in, the cost soars to $2,132 per credit hour.
In contrast, Augusta Tech offers course work for $300 per credit hour and the graduate can obtain a degree within the span of two years, which drastically reduces the amount the student needs to borrow, if they have to take out college loans at all.
Whirl has been president of Augusta Tech for almost four years and he says that enrollment has grown by 11% in the past three years.
“We have 40 programs that the state of Georgia pays 100% tuition on because those jobs are in high demand; and of course you’re coming out with pretty much a guaranteed opportunity to get employed, ” Whirl said.
In a relatively short period of time, Augusta Tech has begun to expand exponentially.
According to Whirl, Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed off on a $5.5 million grant for Augusta Tech to build a CDL truck driving range in McDuffie County and last year, $45.5 million in funding was released for the college to build an advanced manufacturing learning facility in Grovetown.
“We are doing the architectural drawings for the automotive facility, we are already in the Summerville Hospital on Wrightsboro Road, we’ll start construction on the incubator in Downtown starting in May and, of course, we have the golf partnership starting in January; so, you can say we have been busy,” Whirl said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
