In the latest example of its long-running efforts to support the Augusta, Georgia community, Textron has launched a comprehensive plan to promote the game in league with golf’s most famous championship.
In support of The Patch, the name given to the newly renovated Augusta Municipal Golf Course, Textron has provided a fleet of 75 RXV ELiTE golf cars from E-Z-GO and Cushman Hauler ELiTE utility vehicles.
The company also has been training the community’s most vulnerable youth in a local manufacturing facility and helping them work toward earning a high school education.
The Patch Project is a partnership between Augusta Technical College, The First Tee of Augusta and Masters Tournament Charities, and promotes opportunities to play and work in golf. The historic 18-hole course, which opened in 1928, recently was renovated led by golf course architects Tom Fazio and Beau Welling. The project also includes a new short course designed by Tiger Woods and his TGR Design firm-designed short course In addition, a new nine-hole short course, The Loop at The Patch, was designed by Tiger Woods and his firm, TGR Design.
Each of the 75 golf cars is outfitted with E-Z-GO’s Pace Technology fleet-management platform
Textron also will make a contribution to help subsidize cart fees, keeping them at $10 for local golfers.
“E-Z-GO has a longstanding relationship with The Patch, which is our hometown municipal course and has been an E-Z-GO customer for as long as anyone can remember,” said Adam Harris, senior vice president and general manager for E-Z-GO. “We are humbled and honored to be able to support public golf in our community through this new initiative, and to be part of the magical reimagining of this historic and important facility.”
Central to The Patch Project is providing accessible and affordable public golf for the Augusta community. The 18-hole walking rate for locals is $25 Monday-Thursday and $35 Friday-Sunday. Rates at The Loop are $15 for local residents.
The Patch practice facilities encompass 17 acres and feature Trackman Range, including an area with 20 covered bays and a 12-hole putting course is free to the public.
Textron also has taken an active role in educating and training some of the local community’s most vulnerable children.
Since 2016, TSV has partnered with the Richmond County School System in a partnership that supports at-risk high school students who need an alternative path to earning a high-school diploma.
The program, known as Reaching Potential Through Manufacturing, combines four hours of classroom instruction with a four-hour shift on a plant floor at a campus that is part school and part manufacturing facility. Students receive academic instruction, produce components and subassemblies for E-Z-GO golf cars and Cushman utility vehicles and learn the soft skills necessary to succeed in business.
RPM is open to at-risk students age 16 or older from all 10 high schools in Richmond County. Since its inception in 2016, RPM has helped more than 400 students earn a high school diploma.
