Source: VT Golf Magazine | Issue: Summer 1996 | Author: Bill Noble
Synopsis: This article is about the Ralph Myhre Golf Course and how it’s uniqueness compared to other Vermont clubs.
Around 4 O’clock on an early fall afternoon when the football crowd at Middlebury College’s Youngman Field is dispersing, you can stand in the concrete bleachers and feast on a panorama of outdoor exercise. Beyond the stadium are acres of playing lots of devoted to soccer; along a wooded boundary are unmistakable signs of a cross-country ski track. Look farther east and you’ll see the rolling terrain that marks the Ralph Myhre Golf Course, where the late afternoon sun is turning the land purple, green, and amber. By now there’s a chill in the air, but you’ll still be able to spot golfers on almost every hole. After all, there’s another hour of daylight left.
The Ralph Myhre Golf Course is unique, being the only college-owned golf course in Vermont. Even larger institutions such as the University of Vermont don’t own a golf course, and while not owning a course probably won’t hurt one’s prestige (though you couldn’t say the same in Texas or Florida), having a golf course has to be a plus.
“Not many students come here because of golf,” explained Mike Schoenfeld, Middlebury’s Director of Admissions. “[They come] because we offer lifetime sports experience and excellence. Call the golf course a spoke, an important spoke in our wheel of general excellence.”