Yale University
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Yale University

In 1924, a 700-acre tract of swamp and woodland was given to Yale by Mrs. Ray Tompkins in memory of her husband. Under the supervision of Charles Blair Macdonald, the renowned golf course architect, champion golfer, and co-founder of the USGA, plans were made for an 18-hole golf course. Macdonald, in collaboration with Seth Raynor and Charles Banks, designed a masterpiece. In addition to being the home of Yale's nationally ranked golf teams, "The Course at Yale" serves as the home competition course and practice venue for Yale cross country. The course provides a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of downtown New Haven and gives Yale distance and middle distance runners an incredibly scenic, bucolic and challenging place to train and compete. In addition to being able to run on the course itself, Yale athletes are afforded the opportunity to train on the numerous dirt trails that surround the golf course. Directly abutting the Yale Golf Course is the Maltby Lakes Recreation Area, supervised by the New Haven Regional Water Authority. Maltby offers miles of dirt fire roads and single track trails for Yale cross country and track athletes to train on year-round. Although only a short run from Yale's Smilow Fieldhouse, the Maltby Lakes trails offer a serene alternative to the nearby busy downtown area of New Haven and are big enough to offer a variety of different runs. Athletes can access these trails without ever having to run on pavement when beginning their runs from either the indoor or outdoor tracks.