DECATUR, Ill. – Millikin University’s Men’s and Women’s Golf teams have a new advantage in their preparation for the 2025 fall season.
The Indoor Golf Center, located in the Decatur Indoor Sports Center (DISC) next to Millikin’s campus, brings cutting-edge technology to the forefront of the team’s preparation for competition.
“It’s such a nice resource to have. If it's raining and we can't be outside, we can be here, and we still get to practice. I can come in here anytime I want to warm up before a qualifier or practice,” Millikin sophomore Ruby Haegen said. “It's just nice to have all the technology that we do have. The simulator helps you see where your ball is going. In my game, I feel like I have a hard time aiming or picking an aiming spot. The simulator tells you exactly where it's going, and that's really helpful.”
Construction started at the DISC in May 2024, and the project was completed in the spring of 2025, transforming the space to include two GC Quad Golfing Simulators, which are immersive, realistic, and customizable golf simulators that offer high-fidelity graphics and accurate ball flight physics, which makes the user feel like they are right on the course.
An 18x30 putting green allows for players to practice chipping and putting. The putting green is equipped with the PuttView Laser System where players can see the visual lines of every putt on the green as well as perform drills and play games. The space also features a netted hitting bay that can accommodate up to four players simultaneously, allowing them to practice their swings.
After using the simulator and then stepping onto the course, Haegen feels the simulator experience is very accurate to what she will experience in person on the course.
“I feel like it has already helped me a lot with chipping, because we do a lot of ladder drills (where we try to control the landing distance of the chip shot). The simulators have really helped me visualize when I'm on the course, what that looks like.”
For Sam Osborne, Director of Millikin Golf, the new facility and equipment put Millikin’s indoor golf space among the best around.
“This is one of the top facilities in the Midwest and certainly one of the best ones in our conference. It’s also better than a lot of DI and DII programs, as far as the technology and the size of the space that we have in here,” he said. “The good golf programs all have something, but it’s rare to have two simulators, a PuttView system, and this hitting bay to where four people can be hitting at the same time with good mirror work.”
Senior Men’s Team Captain Jack Bollinger decided to attend Millikin, in part, to be able to compete collegiately, and he sees firsthand that high school players considering Millikin are wowed by the indoor golf space, as the Men’s and Women’s teams have grown to 19 and 14 members, respectively.
“It's really nice, and it is really beneficial in helping us get better players to Millikin. People see, come in here and see our new facility, and maybe it helps lead them towards coming to our school a little more,” he said. “I wanted to play college golf, so it was just a decision on which school I wanted to play at, and if it had been here at the time, I would have for sure picked Millikin. It was like one of the top indoor facilities out of all the schools in our conference and DIII.”
The project was donor-funded with major gifts coming from several Big Blue alumni and friends.
“I'm really grateful to have the opportunity to use everything because it wasn't here when I originally planned to come here,” Haegen said. “I had no clue we were getting it, and so it was a pleasant surprise to me. I'm really grateful to have it.”
