New indoor golf facility at Rhodes dedicated to storied athletic figure
Mike Clary stands inside of the Mike and Nancy Clary Golf Facility at Rhodes College. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Rhodes College’s new indoor golf facility will be named in honor of one of the school’s most notable athletic figures.
The Mike and Nancy Clary Golf Training Facility, which opened in December, will be dedicated Saturday, April 15, in Rhodes’ Bryan Campus Life Center.
Not only an alumnus, having graduated in 1977, Mike Clary will retire from being Rhodes’ longest-standing athletic director come May.
In his 44 years at Rhodes, 26 as athletic director, Clary has coached the men’s and women’s golf teams, men’s track and field, football, and diving and swimming.
His women’s golf teams won NCAA Division 3 titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017. He is also the winningest football coach in Rhodes’ history.
During his tenure, Clary oversaw so many other aspects of the athletic department, too, including the erection of the Bryan Campus Life Center, the construction of the Wolfe Track and Field complex, and the installation of turf at Crain and Mason Fields, home to Rhodes football and lacrosse teams.
The initial conversations to honor Clary began in 2019, said Jenna Goodloe Wade, Rhodes’ vice president for development, after an alumnus expressed a desire to initiate something that could both benefit the athletes and celebrate Clary.
More than 70 alumni, family, and friends worked together to raise $464,000.
Wanting his input once the initial funds were raised, Wade said Clary was then brought into the conversation, not knowing that the facility would be created in his honor.
Fully equipped with an indoor putt-putt room and two Trackman Golf Simulators, the athletes no longer have to travel out to Windyke Country Club (located on Winchester Road near Bill Morris Parkway) or other golf clubs to practice.
Simulators provide some benefits over on-field practice.
Clary recalled during bad weather previously students would be sent to the library to study instead.
“The on-campus facility nearly cuts out commuting time altogether and provides a safe space for students to practice into the night,” said Nicole Tugg, director of athletic giving at Rhodes.
The facility closes at 10 p.m.
The more than $464,000 indoor golf facility is named in honor of Mike Clary, the longest-serving Rhodes athletics staff member, and his wife, Nancy. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Mike Clary is the longest-serving Rhodes athletics staff member. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Students have full access to the two rooms in the Bryan Campus Life Center and the game-improvement technology of the simulators.
They assist athletes with understanding where they need refinement — whether it be their swing, speed or posture.
The two big screens sit side by side on the ground level of the center — the system itself, tailored for each space it is built in and is a combination of radar and camera tracking that is celebrated as a “paradigm shift in the golf simulator experience” according to the manufacturer.
The data saved for the athlete includes club speed, attack angles, path, angle, spin, direction, impact and more. Plus, it provides additional ball and putting data to tune any flaw.
Black curtains separate the practicing players mimicking the zoned-out moments before clubbing a ball out on the open field, and the simulator contains a library of 230 courses at simulated renowned golf venues across the world.
Clary said he plans “without a doubt” to be an engaged alumnus. His favorite Rhodes tradition is how devoted alumni are to the university after they’ve gone, especially the athletes.
Clary also noted he looks forward to traveling with his wife, Nancy, and will miss the bustling on-campus community that has kept him captaining for the past 44 years.
While May will close out an eventful four-decade season for Clary as a coach, it opens a field of possibilities for him as a spectator.
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Mike Clary Rhodes CollegeKylah Strickland-Paige
Kylah Strickland-Paige is a New Jersey native in Memphis by way of Southern California. She’s an abstract artist, author and online bookseller. When she isn’t writing or reading, she is in the kitchen fixing Caribbean dishes with her spouse and four kids. She graduated from the University of Memphis with a B.A in history.
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