Golf team enjoys new driving range

Golf team members practice at the college’s new driving range near the Perkinston Campus.

PERKINSTON---Imagine a football team with no practice field, or a baseball team scrimmaging in asphalt mall parking lot.

Granted, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College golf team wasn’t that desperate for a driving range, but the Bulldogs did have to log a few extra miles away from the Perkinston Campus just to hit range balls.
"We used to have to drive 15 minutes at least to get in any practice,” said freshman Anthony D’Angelo.

Not anymore, thanks to a new driving range adjacent to the Perk Campus that opened in November of 2011. The range is complete with yardage markers, practice targets, and a nearby bunker so the team can work on playing out the sand.

“It’s great to have this kind of access,” said sophomore Jared Smith. “Most courses charge for range balls, so this is big for us.”

Gulf Coast golf coach Tommy Snell said work began on the range back in the winter of 2010 as Gulf Coast Golf Turf Technology instructor John Corley and his staff began clearing out the area. Nearly two years later, the grass is green from the range tees to the back of the range, and the players have a place to hit and work on going after a fifth straight Region 23 Championship along with a third straight MACJC title. The Bulldogs begin the 2012 season Feb. 13-14 in Fairhope, AL.

“We also have a (ball) picker that we got from Fallen Oak which helps us pick the balls up after practice,” Snell added. “Later on we’ll put in some target greens on the range along with a storage building. That guys love it, and so do I.”