The golf course in Americus is going under for a facelift.

It started a little over a month ago when Stan Shurling came aboard as the course’s manager and golf professional. On Thursday, the name was changed from the Georgia Southwestern Golf and Conference Center to Southwestern Golf Links.

What was once a private country club is now open to everyone as it has become a public venue.

Shurling said he is ready to bring back a tradition that has been lost over a period of time.

“We’ve just scratched the surface,” Shurling said. “We want the golf course to be in better condition. (The golf course) is an asset that not a lot of people realize that it’s there. We want to increase the quality of life, and it won’t be expensive. The country club is a thing in the past; this is open to the public.”

Shurling, 55, really didn’t get involved in the sport of golf until he joined the Air Force. During that time he worked as an air traffic controller, and he won a golf tournament in Europe. He retired from that position and has been in the golf business since 1989.

Shurling came to Americus from Fort Gaines where he established Meadow Links, a golf course in George T. Bagby State Park. He started there in 1997, and when the course opened in 1998, Golf Digest rated it as the top course in the southeast and sixth in the nation of new courses in affordability.

“The course was put there more for economics to help the area out,” Shurling said. “It was one of the poorest areas in the state and the nation. We started from the ground up. We had to really focus on customer service, and when I left, it was good as it is anywhere.

“The people who originally came to just play golf ended up living there, and it brought property to the lake.”

Shurling said besides having a product — the golf course — customer service is the key to success.

Shurling has a goal set for the end of the summer that the course’s upgrades will be completed. That includes work on the greens, maintenance equipment and being financially stable. He also hopes playing rounds will increase and more ladies will be involved to possibly start a women’s group.

Shurling will be an assistant coach on the Georgia Southwestern golf team this season. He will also hold clinics for all ages and skill levels, and he hopes to see the game of golf grow in Americus. He said he’d like to see the golf course rated three stars by Golf Digest.

Mike Denham, a volunteer chairman of the golf committee for the Georgia Southwestern Foundation, said Shurling was the person the golf course had been looking for to take over.

“With his experience and leadership ability to bring us out and turn it back around to make the golf course great, he’ll increase the quality and make it member-friendly,” he said. “He can do it all. He’s hit the ground running, and he’s the best thing that’s happened since we’ve owned it. In a short period of time, he’ll turn it around and make it a showplace the community can be proud of.”