CLARKSVILLE, TN − Austin Peay State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison has announced that construction will begin immediately on the Karen Edwards Indoor Golf Facility, a 2,500-square-foot golf practice facility for the men’s and women’s golf programs, on the third floor of the Winfield Dunn Center.
“This is a monumental day for our Austin Peay men’s and women’s golf programs,” said Harrison. “I want to thank Tom Edwards and his daughters Amy and Emily for their generosity and wanting to honor their mother in a special way. The Karen Edwards Indoor Golf Facility will be a state-of-the-art facility that rivals any indoor golf practice facility in the Atlantic Sun Conference. This facility will help take our men’s and women’s golf programs to the next level, and I am so excited to see what Coach Combs and Coach Key can do in the years to come.”
The naming of the facility has been approved pursuant of Austin Peay rule by the APSU Board of Trustees on Sept. 20, 2024 – the vote passed unanimously. The facility, located on the east side of the Dunn Center, will be turfed and equipped with golf simulators, Trackman systems, putting greens, a chipping area, and a lounge area, plus graphics and design.
“We are extremely thankful to the Edwards Family for the Karen Edwards Indoor Golf Facility that is being built on campus,” said head men’s golf coach Easton Key. “This will be a huge advantage to be able to practice and work on all assets of our games during all seasons and weather throughout the year. Being an outdoor sport, we need something that will allow us the opportunity to still practice and develop when the weather doesn’t allow us to be outside, and this will provide just that. We are so grateful for this new addition to our programs and what it means for the future of Austin Peay men’s and women’s golf!”
“We are so grateful to the Edwards Family for their tremendous generosity in developing the Karen Edwards Indoor Golf Facility,” said head women’s golf coach Jessica Combs. “To have somewhere on campus for our golf teams to practice, relax, and call their own has been something we’ve looked forward to for a very long time. This facility opens new opportunities for each student-athlete to reach new heights in their golf game, which will elevate Austin Peay golf as a whole for many years to come. We are so excited to get the process started and create an even better student-athlete experience for our teams.”
Named after the late Karen Edwards, Tom Edwards and his daughters, Amy and Emily, wanted to make an impactful gift to honor Karen in a way that brought together multiple passions of hers – Austin Peay and women’s golf. The Karen Edwards Indoor Golf Facility won’t just impact Austin Peay golfers for years to come; it will leave a legacy of someone who truly poured into Austin Peay and the Clarksville-Montgomery County Community every day.
The Edwards Family are not only familiar faces around Austin Peay but the entire Clarksville-Montgomery County Community. Karen, a 1978 graduate of Austin Peay, was deeply involved in women’s and youth golf in the local community. The Edwards Family have been very supportive of Austin Peay philanthropically, with a majority of their giving supporting the Athletics Department.