{"id":26,"featured":0,"modified":"2023-08-31 23:54:16","latitude":30.6362862515066609603309188969433307647705078125,"longitude":-97.6598362144717384580872021615505218505859375,"title":"Kurth-Landrum Golf Course","subtitle":"A replaced place tangled up with the complicated history of Ernest Kurth .","fullsize":"https://placingmemory.southwestern.edu/files/fullsize/4d64f15b195657a7a3b71d74edc5b247.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":17,"creator":["Bettina Castillo '24"],"description":"Situated at the eastern extremity of Southwestern University&#039;s campus, where the current soccer fields, football fields, and track fields are now located, the Kurth-Landrum golf course was a prominent facility from its establishment in the mid-1950’s until its closure in November 2011. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nCreated through the benefaction of alumni Ernest L. Kurth (Class of 1905) and Neely G. Landrum (Class of 1912), the course initially only bore the name of Kurth and underwent construction, completed in 1955. Ernest L. Kurth’s name has been scattered throughout the built environment of Southwestern for years. Neely G. Landrum’s name is connected to this site and the fountain on the South side of campus. During the process of developing the golf course, the University community played participatory roles, assisting in clearing the area around several of the course&#039;s eventual nine holes.  <br />\r\n<br />\r\nUpon its completion in the 1955-1956 academic year, the Kurth golf course served as a multifunctional facility. It was used recreationally by students, faculty, and staff as well as members of the Georgetown community, acted as a practice ground for Southwestern’s golf team, and hosted various events including intramural tournaments, intercollegiate competitions, and other conferences. In 1962, after the Turner-Fleming President’s House was built, the President’s House overlooked the golf course.  By 1966, it was renamed the Kurth-Landrum golf course and was colloquially known as &quot;the Southwestern golf course.&quot;<br />\r\n<br />\r\nBeyond its primary use, the golf course also functioned as a venue for cross-country runs from the 1970’s onward. Its suitability for such events was noted in a 1980 Megaphone article, which stated the course had become a preferred location for cross-country events in the Southwest, with UIL and district NCAA races routinely held there.  Cross-country meets are still held there today.  According to alums, generations of students used the course for more mischievous purposes at night.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nFacilities on the course included a pro shop and golf carts for university VIPs, as documented in a 1968 Megaphone article. Town visitors to the university, outside of the student and faculty members, were also known to use the course. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nBy spring 1983, the existence of the course was put into question due to escalating maintenance costs and the need to reallocate funding towards the expansion of the Cody Memorial Library. Students campaigned for the course&#039;s preservation and the university subsequently sought alternative funding to ensure its survival. This solution allowed the golf course to remain operational until its closure in November 2011, when the University started looking for ways to bring football back to Southwestern and saw an opportunity to build infrastructure for the team at  the site.<br />\r\n<br />\r\nIf you walk on the far eastern edge of campus, you can still see remains of the golf course today.  The most obvious relic is a shaded bench close to the I.O.O.F Cemetery, but more subtle signs remain, including the old pathways and places where it is clear there used to be artificially flattened greens and hazards carved into the landscape.  <br />\r\n<br />\r\nThe old golf course pro shop has survived, as it was converted into the Howry Center and the tennis team locker rooms in the 2010s. The old practice putting green is now a labyrinth. To this day, there is still a golf ball embedded in the wall of the old pro shop.  <br />\r\n<br />\r\nThe Kurth-Landrum golf course was a significant part of Southwestern University&#039;s history. Despite its closure in 2011, the course left an indelible mark on the university&#039;s legacy of sports and outdoor activities.  Additionally, like Kurth Tennis Courts and Kurth Residence Hall, it kept generations of people at Southwestern and in the larger Georgetown Community who played there saying Kurth’s name not knowing the complex legacy of Kurth’s role in the history of Southwestern<br />","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"Once a center for sports and recreation from the 1950’s to the early 2010’s named after a controversial figure in the University&#039;s history,  the site still has material and spatial reminders of its past.","website":"","related_resources":[],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://placingmemory.southwestern.edu/files/fullsize/4d64f15b195657a7a3b71d74edc5b247.jpg":{"id":158,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Remaining Rest Station, Old Kurth-Landrum Golf Course","description":"creator | 2023 | Bettina Castillo &#039;24","thumbnail":"https://placingmemory.southwestern.edu/files/square_thumbnails/4d64f15b195657a7a3b71d74edc5b247.jpg"},"https://placingmemory.southwestern.edu/files/fullsize/85d4dbbef647481b69bbc097875a2ee9.jpg":{"id":159,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Remaining Rest Station, Old Kurth-Landrum Golf Course (wide)","description":"creator | 2023 | Bettina Castillo &#039;24","thumbnail":"https://placingmemory.southwestern.edu/files/square_thumbnails/85d4dbbef647481b69bbc097875a2ee9.jpg"},"https://placingmemory.southwestern.edu/files/fullsize/f07836027d51885f354cb441a80a388a.jpg":{"id":160,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Remaining Rest Station, Old Kurth-Landrum Golf Course (closeup)","description":"creator | 2023 | Bettina Castillo &#039;24","thumbnail":"https://placingmemory.southwestern.edu/files/square_thumbnails/f07836027d51885f354cb441a80a388a.jpg"}}}