Alvamar’s Championship Course, also home to the University of Kansas golf teams, boasts some of the Midwest’s finest practice/training facilities.
Alvamar, a contraction of Bob Billings’ parents’ names, Alva and Margaretta, began as the first public golf course in Lawrence. Billings, one of Lawrence’s most celebrated figures, was a visionary that not only brought Alvamar into existence, but changed and grew the city of Lawrence through his many and varied development ventures. Completed in 1968, the Jayhawk and Quail Creek nines were then known as Alvamar Hills Golf Course. Today, it’s known as The Championship Course at Alvamar, which more befittingly describes its history. The Championship Course at Alvamar has hosted a number of significant championships over the years, including the Kansas Open, the USGA Women’s Public Links Championship, the Big Eight & Big Twelve Championships, and numerous Kansas Golf Association and Midwest Section PGA Championships. Alvamar was the very first golf course in the world constructed with zoysia grass fairways, a feat that none thought was possible. This bold experiment by Mel Anderson, part owner and builder of the Alvamar Hills course, changed the landscape of golf throughout the Midwest. After substantial growth and popularity, construction on a second course began in 1970. This is now what is referred to as the Member’s Course, which was both designed and built by Mel Anderson. Alvamar is one of two thirty-six hole facilities in the state of Kansas.