By Mike May
There’s more to the athletic scene on the campus of the University of Notre Dame than visiting ‘Touchdown Jesus,’ attending football games at Notre Dame Stadium, and watching basketball games inside the Joyce Center. In South Bend you’ll also find that Fighting Irish school spirit at The Warren Golf Course, which first opened for play in 2000. The course is perched on the northern edge of the University of Notre Dame campus and isnestled on 250 acres of woodlands, which has been designated as a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Both the men’s and women’s golf teams play and practice at The Warren Golf Club.
The course was designed by the architect duo of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw. 
“We wanted an old-fashioned, traditional golf course — one based on subtleties, not special effects,” stated Crenshaw and Coore in a joint statement.
Coore and Crenshaw succeeded. The course is a throwback to the classic designs of the early 20th Century, when enjoyment, not the most difficult design features, was the primary objective of course architecture.
While playing this par-70 golf course, you’ll encounter fescue fairways and a gently rolling terrain. You can see the famous golden dome on the Notre Dame campus from the golf course.
If you had to choose one hole which personified the character of The Warren, it would have to be the 16th hole, a 345-yard par-four, the shortest par four on the golf course. Success on this hole is dependent on your ability to choose the correct club for your tee shot. Think backwards from the green, to determine which club off the tee will create the length of approach shot which best suits your game.
Football is still KING at Notre Dame and special arrangements are made for interested golfers for every home football game. A shotgun start on game day assures everyone makes it to their seat on time for the kick off. The course is closed during the actual football game.
As you play the course views inside the stadium are available. Standing on the 5th tee, you could watch the game on the Jumbotron, plus it is also can be seen on the 12th and 13th holes.
Golfweek has ranked The Warren GC as the sixth best golf course in Indiana and the 12th best collegiate golf course in the U.S.
If you make the trek to northern Indiana and it’s too far to return home after your round, there are four area accommodation options that offer discounts to golfers, The Hilton Garden Inn, The Inn at Saint Mary’s, The Ivy Court Inn & Suites, and the Morris Inn at Notre Dame.
One of the greatest endorsements bestowed on The Warren GC came from the United States Golf Association, which staged the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links and the 2019 U.S. Senior Open at the Warren Golf Club, won by Steve Stricker The course was the first collegiate golf course to host a U.S. Senior Open.
Since The Warren Golf Club is good enough for the USGA to host a pair of national championships, then it’s certainly good enough for any golfer, Notre Dame alum or not, to enjoy a round in pursuit of eagles, birdies and Old Man Par.
If you beat Old Man Par at The Warren, you will certainly wake up the echoes of Notre Dame.
