YEAR OPENED: 2023
SPORTS: MEN'S GOLF
The Purcell Family Championship Golf Practice Facility — officially dedicated in late August 2023 — provides USD men's golf with a purpose-built short-game and practice complex designed to replicate the shot-making demands of elite courses. Designed with input from local golfing figures, the site includes a one-acre natural-turf short-game area, an 8,000-square-foot putting surface, multiple practice sand bunkers, and a 40,000-square-foot fairway and rough area to help Torero golfers dial in every trajectory and lie.
That on-campus practice infrastructure is complemented by strong regional partnerships that give USD men's golf access to championship venues — Torrey Pines among them — so student-athletes can prepare on both precision practice turf and tournament-level layouts.
Phase Two of the plans for the Purcell facility call for a clubhouse with locker rooms, an indoor/outdoor hospitality and learning space, hitting bays, and a golf lab featuring state-of-the-art swing analysis — creating a complete development pipeline from tech-supported practice to real-course competition.
The facility was made possible by a gift from USD alumnus Paul M. Purcell, who also serves on USD's Board of Trustees. It has hosted several clinics for young golfers in underserved communities, which helped USD Men's Golf earn the 2024 Community Partner of the Year Award from Pro Kids, First Tee.
