By Josh Alsip
Visit Indiana Golf has highlighted the best 18 golf holes – Indiana’s Signature 18 — from 18 different public golf courses across Indiana. In this issue of the Indiana Golf Journal, we highlight the 4th, 5th, and 6th holes from the list.
No 4: The Plum Creek Golf Club in Carmel is home to the 4th hole.
From the intimidating championship tees to more forgiving forward tees, this unique Pete Dye-designed course was specially constructed with varying degrees of difficulty, so the entire family can enjoy the game. This par-72 layout features strategically placed bunkers, undulating greens, and multiple water features.
One of the highlight holes at Plum Creek is the 4th hole, which measures 423 yards from the championship tees and nearly 400 yards from the member tees. It features a dual fairways – one is straight ahead with another veering left. The putting surface is guarded on its right flank by a sentry bunker.
FYI: The presence of the Lynnwood Farm barn on the premises of Plum Creek is a reminder of this property’s agricultural roots, a staple of the Hoosier economy and Indiana’s traditional way of life.
No. 5: Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg.
Covered Bridge Golf Club is a Fuzzy Zoeller/Clyde Johnston creation. This 18-hole golf course is carved throughout the gorgeous southern Indiana terrain. Each hole offers a new and exciting opportunity. Multiple lakes and strategically placed bunkers add to the beauty of the slightly undulated greens.
The 5th hole at Covered Bridge is an exciting “risk/reward” hole. The green on this serpentine par 5 can be reached in two, but the pond to the right of the green will “sink” your chances of a sub-par score, if your second shot veers too far right. Play it safe by hitting a mid-iron layup and give yourself a birdie putt with a wedge to the green.
FYI: The 9th and 18th holes are both par fives, run parallel to each other and share a huge double green. The clubhouse, built on an adjacent lofty perch, overlooks both finishing holes.
No. 6: Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex, located on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette.
The Kampen Course is an 18-hole, links-style, par-72 championship golf course featuring large bent-grass greens, fairways, and tees. The layout presents a memorable experience for golfers of all abilities with vast sand bunkers, native grasslands, ponds, and a natural celery bog. The Kampen is rated one of the top collegiate courses in the nation and has been awarded 4.5 stars on Golf Digest’s “Places to Play.”
The 6th hole at Kampen is a tough, yet fair, but par must be earned. The tee shot is struck from an elevated tee with an ideal tee shot being a fade, moving around the Celery Bog, which means shot placement is important.
Be sure to steer clear of the water hazard and the bunkers – both of which protect the right side of the green.
FYI: The Kampen Course at Birck Boilermaker is one of seven different courses on Indiana’s Pete Dye Golf Trail.
