The Jerry Pate Center has been part of the men’s and women’s golf course since 2004. This past summer, the team renovated the center to fit some team needs.
The renovation included a museum of all the accomplishments, a nutrition bar, team room, stretching room, the film room and an expansion of the indoor hitting rooms.
“The renovation has gotten everyone to want to hang out here more, just by adding a hangout room, some couches, and TVs,” senior Tom Lovelady said. “The film room has gotten more useful. We just want to take care of it [the Jerry Pate Center] and use it as much as possible.”
The first thing one sees when entering the Jerry Pate Center front doors is the Crimson Tide Golf Hall of Fame.
“Oh it’s awesome to see everything on the walls,” junior Robbier Shelton said. “You just know that a lot of legends have been in here. You get to see all their trophies and just the A on the wall, it means a lot.”
The, there’s the team room where the golfers can relax and spend time together. Coach Jay Seawell also uses the team room as a teaching room.
“So far it [the team room] has been better than I ever imagined,” Seawell said. “We’ve already utilized [it more] than I ever imagined we would. It’s created an area where we can really teach and have meetings. It’s a good place to relax and get away.”
The stretching room is one of the biggest additions to the building. Seawell said that the team had an extra room that just became the stretching room by accident.
The stretching room helps the team stay healthy by preventing injuries, but it’s not the only health-orientated room Shelton said his favorite room is the nutrition room. The team didn’t have one prior to the renovations and thinks it has been huge addition.
“The nutritionists do a great job of teaching our players healthy eating habits. It gives them [the players] a chance to be healthier, it helps save them money as well. It helps fuel your body and allows them to be the best player they can be,” Seawell said.
The men’s golf team must leave its newly refurbished center and head to its next tournament, the Collegiate Masters, on Monday.
