The Rawls Course at Texas Tech

When Tom Doak and Jim Urbina constructed the Rawls Course at Texas Tech in 2003, they shifted more earth on a dead flat site than had been moved in ten previous Renaissance projects combined.

“The Rawls Course was by far the most aggressive earthmoving project I’ve ever attempted,” wrote Tom Doak in The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses Volume 2 . “It’s a shame that so much of the work had to be wasted on hiding surrounding buildings and making it look like we hadn’t. Still, the combination of an interesting design and the extremely windy Lubbock climate makes it a course to be reckoned with, and at the same time, there is so much short grass out there that any class of golfer can get around it.

The Rawls Course is not links-like, exactly, but it is a difficult course where being out of position can leave you no chance of getting your next shot close to the hole. The men's coach, Greg Sands, told me it takes a while for their new players to figure it out, but they do feel like they have a big home course advantage."

Tom Doak commented as follows in his January 2020 newsletter:

“I haven’t been back to Lubbock since Bobby Knight was still coaching at Texas Tech – it’s not really on the way to New Zealand or even Houston – but Eric Iverson got back for a couple of days last summer and fall to help them sort through 15 years of tree growth, wind erosion, and maturity. It’s a first step in reaching out to all of our older courses and being a little more proactive in how they mature.”