Southern Miss unveiled the Giddis Golf Center at the Hattiesburg Country Club this past Friday. The $1.2 million facility, which was privately funded, is the new home of both the men's and women's golf teams.
"We had some key people step up, including Kevin Giddis and his wife Sarah made the lead gift here to get us over the finish line," Southern Miss Director of Athletics Jeremy McClain said. "To be able to get this done is a huge day for our golf programs from an ability to function, a development aspect and in recruiting.
"I give (men's golf coach) Eddie Brescher a ton of credit. Coach Brescher has done a great job of getting out in the community and helping move the needle and raise those dollars."
The 3,500-square-foot facility features an indoor putting lab with full club repair capabilities, a teaching bay with fitting equipment, video swing analysis software, and TrackMan in each hitting bay. A new tee box on the west side of the golf center will also be added, expanding the driving range distance to 340 yards.
"Of the 14 schools (in the Sun Belt), I know that 13 of the 14 have or have access to something of this magnitude," Brescher said. "We own this we have our own space. The country club has their own space. It's really a perfect world for all three parties involved with the men's team, women's team and country club teaching professional."
The technology and software include TrackMan 4, which provides data points for nearly every movement in a golf swing. The dual radar system tracks and records not only the swing but also the ball characteristics after contact. The Swing Catalyst Software powered by TrackMan allows you to record every golf shot—linked with TrackMan—to see how the student-athlete's swing correlates with the data. The facility also includes a club repair station, regripping station and nutrition corner.
"Eddie did a lot of leg work," McClain said. "Eddie has been here for quite some time. I joke with him because there was not a trip he took where I didn't get a video of someone's indoor practice facility. He was always taking notes on what we needed to do square footage-wise, so he did a good job of driving that. But we talked to a lot of people in the golf industry about what we are missing and what we need to add to this. A lot of pros lended their support and feedback, but I have to give Eddie a ton of credit for carrying that torch.
The project began to take shape back in 2019, with Brescher helping develop the facility's needs.
"The way we have operated in the past has been good, but this allows us to dive deep into the numbers – what that player is doing, spin rates, face angles, club path and a lot of the technological advances that have come through the game of golf in recent years we now can utilize those platforms on a daily basis," Brescher said. "But also with weather conditions, with us being an outdoor sport, never having another practice getting canceled is fantastic. The other thing is allowing the players to have a home.
"We can't wait to enjoy the future of Southern Miss golf out of this facility."
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