Westmont Dedicates Short-Game Golf Facility

Westmont will hold a public dedication ceremony for the Stan Anderson Golf Complex Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 3:30 p.m. on Westmont’s lower campus. President Gayle D. Beebe, Kirsten Moore, associate athletic director and head women’s basketball coach, and Tom Knecht, head golf coach and professor of political science, will speak at this event. Please RSVP by emailing specialevents@westmont.edu or by calling (805) 565-7251.

The new facility, an 8,000-square-foot artificial putting green, turf trap and pitching areas, is part of landscape improvements on lower campus. A 500-square-foot patio and two, 10-foot-wide, covered hitting bays are slated pending final approval from Santa Barbara County Planning officials. The practice area has transformed an underutilized area west of Deane Field into an attractive addition to the beautiful campus, according to Randy Jones, campus planner.

“It’s given the new golf teams a place to meet and work on their short game,” Knecht says. Men’s and women’s golf, an NAIA spring sport, begin their seasons Sept. 16-17 at the California State Invitational at Olivas Links Golf Course in Ventura. Both teams host the Westmont Invitational Feb. 24-25 at Sandpiper Golf Club in Goleta. The inaugural Westmont golf teams include 12 men and six women.

Alumnus Stan Anderson ’62, vice chairman of Accretive Exit Capital Partners, has donated the funds for the project. Anderson serves on the boards of Physicians Realty Trust (DOC), Blue Ridge Networks and several nonprofits. He graduated from Willamette University Law School in 1969 and has practiced law in Washington, D.C., since then. He has served on the President’s Advisory Committee on Trade Negotiations, the Presidential Commission on Personnel Interchange, and as ambassador to the United Nations Conference on Energy.

The family of Dave Stockton Sr., a five-time major golf champion and Ryder Cup captain, will also attend the dedication. Stockton and his son Dave Jr. of Back Nine Greens designed and installed the tailor-made synthetic green. Stockton, who won 11 events on the PGA Tour and 14 events on the Champions Tour, will offer putting instruction to the Westmont golf team following the dedication.