Auburn University Club 
Auburn, AL 



Reviewed: 2002
Auburn University Club
By Ian Thompson

In the November/December 1999 issue of GolfSouth I wrote a story about the advent of the Auburn University Club. A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since that time, but what remains is a fine golf course. Later in this article I will revisit that story as the course layout is very similar, but first allow me to bring the story up-to-date.
The vision and generosity of Dr. Cecil Yarbrough was the driving force behind the project. He owned the 600 acres on which the development has been built, with the course taking up 200 acres, while the other 400 acres is earmarked for homesites.
Yarbrough, who has since passed away, was a fraternity brother of the late Shug Jordan. He owned the land for many years, having always had the dream that one day it could be turned into a golf course for the university. That day arrived for this man who spent most of his life as a veterinarian in Mobile.
The initial clearing of the property began in March 1998 and the course was officially opened by Dr. Yarbrough on November 5, 1999.
“I was so glad that he lived long enough to see his dream come to fruition,” Bucky Ayers, general manager and head golf professional said.
However, there came a point at which the club was not doing as well as had been hoped. The club, which had been originally financed with a public bond issue, was unable to meet the required bond payments due to membership stagnation and the harsh winter of 2000. Subsequently, the club was put up for auction and the only, and winning, bid for ownership came from Yarbrough Farms LLC, a partnership of Bud Yarbrough, son of the late Cecil, and Mike Shannon, an Auburn businessman. This meant that ownership of the club was in the hands of Auburn people.
Shannon and Ayers have been friends for close to 40 years. Ayers is an Auburn man to the core. He played football for Auburn in the 1960’s under Coach Jordan and also was number one man on the golf team at the same time. When Grand National, the Auburn/Opelika stop on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, was unearthed he came back home to be the Director of Golf. Then came the pull of the Auburn University Club, which obviously has found a place close to his heart.
Since the new owners have taken over, memberships in the club have increased back up to nearly 900 members; some local, some coming to visit but a couple of times a year. You can bet the hardest tee times to get will continue to be on Saturday mornings in the fall when Auburn has a home football game that afternoon or evening.
The golf course is just a stone’s throw from campus off of Shug Jordan Parkway. It is a private club, originally formed as a affiliation between Auburn University alumni and the University Clubs of America (UCA). In turn for lending its name, Auburn University received a percentage of the gross sales. The affiliation with the UCA is no longer, but the ties with Auburn University remain as strong as ever.
As stated in some literature about this development: “The Auburn University Club is open to all those who want to be a part of this new Auburn tradition and begin to or continue to contribute to either Auburn University, the Alumni Association or the Auburn University Foundation.”
Multiple membership categories are available, based upon a person’s proximity to the location. Naturally the farther you live from the club, the cheaper the initiation fees and dues.
Course designer Bill Bergin was a four time All-SEC selection and a member of Auburn’s 1981 SEC Championship golf team. He played professionally on the PGA Tour for six years and was a teaching professional for three years after that.
In 1990 he began his design career under Bob Cupp, who himself had worked under Jack Nicklaus before going out on his own. Bergin brings to the table the fact that he has seen the game from both sides, both as a top player and now as a noted designer.
The property is quite rolling, providing for some beautiful vistas. And at 7259 yards from the back tees, it is long enough to challenge even the longest hitters. Some of the best players to test the course on a regular basis are the men’s and women’s golf teams from the university. It is their official home course and home to the Auburn Tiger Derby Invitational, named for Virginia Derby Grimes, a two-time Curtis Cup player who played for Auburn.
Coach Kim Evans has built her team into a national power and teams coming to play in her tournament in the fall include Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Duke, Texas, Georgia, LSU, TCU, Southern California and Vanderbilt.
Not to be left behind, Coach Mike Griffin’s men’s team also play and practice regularly at the Auburn University Club and have historically been a top 20 team in the country.
One area that has been improved dramatically since the course opened is the practice facility. By no means shabby to begin with, it features eight tees, three target greens especially for pitch, chip and bunker shots, two putting greens, of which one is a newly planted Crenshaw bent grass green. The facility stretches 350 yards, long enough for any tiger!
Also new is the swim and tennis center which opened this spring. Plans are also afoot to enhance the entrance to the club off of Donahue Drive up to the clubhouse, as well as the arrival of a fleet of 80 new E.Z.GO golf carts. The new ownership is certainly not standing still.
Let’s now take a look back at the golf course.
“The biggest improvement we have done is to the very first hole,” Ayers said. “What used to be a very demanding tee shot is much gentler as the fairway has been widened and flattened. The fairway slope is not as severe.
“We have softened the entire golf course actually by taking out trees, aerating all the fairways, top-dressing them with sand and rolling them.”
Ayers pointed to course superintendent Chauncey Nicholson as a key factor in the conditioning of the golf course. Nicholson has been at the club since it opened, as has Ayers’ son, Tobin, who is his father’s first assistant in the pro shop.
You better have your game ready right from the start as the second hole is 208 yards from the back tee, with Lake Yarbrough catching anything pulled left. Beyond the green you can also see the 7th green through some trees, which is a par 5 that plays directly toward the lake. Another feature is the perfectly symmetrical tees that step down like giant footprints from blue in the back to green closest to the putting surface.
Such is the beauty of this spot, with natural vegetation and rock work also influencing your eye, that it would be easy to be distracted from the shot at hand. Do so at your peril or you could be looking at a double bogey early in your round.
The third is an equally fine golf hole. It’s main feature is the creek that flows from a small lake in front of the green down three distinct steps adjacent to the left side of the fairway. These steps were man-made by dry stacking sandstone that is found in abundance on the property. They really add character to the hole, as it is obvious that much time and effort went into their placement. This par 4 runs parallel to the par 5 seventh hole; anything left on these two holes will have you scrambling to make bogey.
No. 5 is a sleeper hole. Ayers pointed to it as Bergin’s favorite and I can see why. While not as visually stunning as some other holes, it requires strategic placement of both your drive and second shots. This 448-yard par 4 sweeps from right to left and you must traverse a creek that winds down the middle of the hole. Your tee shot must favor the right side, but make sure that your second shot does not err on the same side as the hole drops off sharply to the right by the green. There is plenty of room to “bail out” left of the green.
Stand on the tee of the 535-yard par 5 No. 7 and I guarantee you’ll be in awe. A fabulous hole sits before you with the same water hazard guarding the left side as it does on No. 3. Definitely favor the right side of the fairway, with the fairway bunkers on this side a good aiming point from which to work the ball a little right to left, as this will also give you a better angle to play the rest of the hole. All but the longest, and bravest, hitters will lay up as the hole narrows near the green. A lay up is no easy task however, with the rock-filled water waiting for a crooked shot. Lake Yarborough provides a scenic backdrop to the hole.
The lake is not in play on No. 7, but it certainly is on the next hole, a par 3 that is not for the faint of heart. This one-shotter (hopefully) will have many players reaching for an “experienced” ball as it is all carry over the edge of the lake. Stretching from 192 yards down to a more manageable 138 yards, the tee shot requires solid contact to a large putting surface.
There’s no let up as we now reach Auburn University Club’s version of Amen Corner. Three pars on these three par fours will undoubtedly enable you to make up some shots on the field. No. 9 is the hardest hole on the golf course. At 460 yards uphill it will play like a short par 5 for most players. If the elevation and length aren’t enough, it has the most severely sloping green on the course. Take your bogey and move on!
No. 10 is a little shorter, but no less demanding. You need to shape your tee shot from right to left as the hole moves in this direction but the land slopes to the right. The second shot is played to a raised green. You are immediately struck that on the back nine there is preponderance of hardwoods, much more so than the front nine.
Keep on grinding on No. 11 as this 447-yarder is another bogey waiting to happen. The landing area from the tee is hidden, but a draw off the tee is definitely preferred to keep the ball from falling off the fairway to the right. The second shot is not quite so challenging as it is downhill to a two-tiered green.
The 12th hole should provide a little respite, but only if you get away a good tee shot. Anything weak and to the right will make for a long hole on this par 5. You can get close to the green with two good shots, however a deep bunker and slightly raised green make it almost impossible to get on in two. Trees that step up the hill in the distance provide a beautiful backdrop, particularly in the fall as they paint a canvas of many different colors. Also to the right and beyond the green water gurgles and flows through the shade of the trees. While not in play on this hole, it is well worth a minute to soak up this peaceful spot and sooth away the possible bogey you just made!
No. 14 is a dangerous par 3, with any shot missed to the right gone forever to a watery grave. The course at this point comes together at the confluence of holes 13, 14, 16 and 17. They form a somewhat circular shape with the 13th green, 14th tee and green, 16th green and 17th tee and green all visible from a central point.
Nos. 15 and 16 are two solid holes, with the 15th going away into the distance and No.16 returning back to the circular area.
No. 17 is the final par 3. It is a lengthy, uphill test played over a lake that really shouldn’t come into play. Again, anything short and right will put you in the most trouble.
The final hole provides a fitting finish to a fine golf course. It is one of the harder holes and needing a par 4 here to secure a good round will be quite a task. Tree-lined on both sides, the best ball flight is one shaped from right to left. A fairway bunker on the right side provides a good aiming point for this very shot. After a well hit tee shot, you will be left with a mid to long iron to a well guarded green. The tendency for most players with a long iron is to hit a shot that leaks a little to the right. This won’t get it done on this shot because two bunkers and then water strewn with rocks is waiting. Let discretion be the better part of valor and aim away from the trouble favoring the left half. A steep bank on this side will help kick the ball toward the green anyway.
If you will allow me a little football-inspired poetic license to conclude this piece, one could say that Bill Bergin scored a definite “touchdown” with his design and new owners Yarborough Farms LLC seem determined to add “the extra point!”