Golfer Rickie Fowler Buys Childhood Course Where His Dad Worked 'in Exchange for Me to Hit Balls'

“I wanted kids to have the same opportunity as me if they were interested,” said the six-time PGA Tour winner

Golf pro Rickie Fowler has now fulfilled a boyhood dream

Earlier this year, the six-time PGA Tour winner officially acquired the Murrieta Valley Golf Range, located 90 minutes south of Los Angeles. That was where Fowler as a child first learned about the sport and developed his talent 30 years ago.

“I always wanted the range to be around and it to be open for the next generation,” Fowler told Golfweek. “I wanted kids to have the same opportunity as me if they were interested.”

According to its website, the Murrieta Valley Golf Range, which opened in 1992, is a 15-acre, all-grass practice facility featuring a professional teaching staff, club repair and gripping services. It also offers programs for juniors, adults and families of all skill levels.

Fowler’s grandfather, Yutaka, would take his grandson every Wednesday to the range, which provided the training ground for him early in his career. “My dad used to deliver the sand for maintenance and gravel for the parking lot in exchange for me to hit balls,” Fowler, 34, told Golfweek.

Related: Rickie Fowler Says Comfort Is Key to Success on the Golf Course: 'Look Good, Feel Good, Play Good'

According to a PGA Tour.com article, young Rickie was learning from the older kids and adults at the range as he was hitting golf balls. Bill Teasdall, a former mini-tour player and the previous owner of the Murrieta Valley Golf Range, recalled in 2016: “When we opened, Barry [McDonnell, my business partner] said to me, ‘Bill, we’ve got the perfect place to practice. Now all I need is a young kid with some talent and I’ll take him all the way to the Tour.’ And Rick showed up two months later.”

McDonnell started working with the young kid as an instructor and recognized his potential. “[He said] ‘This kid is the one,’” Teasdall said, per The Athletic. “And I said, ‘Jesus, Barry, he’s only 8!’ ”

When Teasdall was ready to retire from owning the range in 2019, Fowler stepped in to purchase it. After a delay due to the pandemic, the sale was finalized in January. Fowler and his wife Allison hired KemperSports, a golf hospitality company, to manage the range.

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“I wanted to keep the range how it has always been,” Fowler told Golfweek. “A lot of the people that were there when I was growing up are still the ones running it day to day. We all share the same vision and I’m looking forward to, when this season settles down, being able to spend some more time with everyone involved to discuss our current and future plans for the enhancements at the range.”

Fowler has since gone on to a hugely successful golf career, and is currently ranked 21st in the world since joining the PGA Tour in 2010 — with his earnings from play at over $48 million. On July 2, he prevailed in the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, securing his sixth PGA Tour victory.

In describing his key to success on the golf course to PEOPLE in 2021, Fowler said that he works at continuing "to maintain the strengths of my game and improve the areas that will increase my opportunities to win more events."

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Read the original article on People.