Top 5 Courses in Indianapolis

To wrap up the 2009 golf season we're going to share our take on the Top 5 Indianapolis (and suburbs) courses we played during the year. Here is a brief summary of the experience at each facility and some commentary about the course. Without further delay, here's the countdown of our Top 5:

5. The Legends of Indiana, Franklin, IN - About a half hour south of Indy, this 27 hole facility provided a great golf experience. We played the Middle and Road courses which is the original 18 hole course before the Creek 9 was added. It's a links style layout with very few trees, good contour and mounding, and very fast and well protected greens. We played the course in the late summer, which yielded a fairly dry and fast surface. Though most of the par 4's were reached with wedges and short irons, we found the course challenging and fair. The par 3's are visually stimulating and very challenging. Overall, the experience was great: practice facility is generous and large, staff is friendly and helpful, clubhouse and carts are comfortable and new, and the price is very fair.

4. The Fort (Fort Harrison), Indianapolis, IN - Located on the near North Side of Indianapolis just off of 56th St., The Fort is laid out over an incredible tract of land. Rolling hills, creeks, a large valley, and dense woods dominate the landscape. The course was renovated by Pete Dye and personally I enjoy his architectural touches blended with a traditional tree lined course. Bent grass fairways and greens were healthy and fast. We found the par 5's to be slightly short and disappointing, but overall the course is really fantastic for a mid price public layout ($40-$60). The clubhouse design, bag drop, and practice facility are pretty inconvenient. The course itself is really challenging, fun to play, and provides some stunning views.

3. The Links at Heartland Crossing, Camby, IN - This newer golf course is located on the Southwest side of Indianapolis. This Links style course has a nice blend of long and short holes, tight and open holes, as well as doglegs and unique holes. This was a well designed experience and we used nearly every club in the bag while crafting our way around this great layout. The highlight of this place is definitely the bunkers! The sand is smooth, but there is an incredible number of deep and enormous bunkers framing the fairways and surrounding the greens. Practice you long bunker shots if your long game is off at all, as you'll likely have more than a few tough shots from these hazards. The overall experience is top notch: smooth operation all around, fast pace of play, and a great golfing challenge for all skill levels!

Come back tomorrow for the Top 2!  I know you won't be golfing in Indiana - Freezing rain, 40 degrees, and 30 mph wind!

Collin Hedegard
collinhedegard@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/collinhedegard

2009 Wrap Up

Sad days for Indiana's golfers. The long, arduous winter has finally come and it's time to store the sticks in the garage (not the trunk!). Any golf that takes place will undoubtedly be planned the moment the ten day forecast calls for forty degrees, so there will be plenty of time to dust them off!

Over these football and hoop filled winter months we'll be reviewing some of the fantastic Indiana courses we played in 2009. Additionally, we want to start planning some golf adventures for 2010! So, stay tuned in for regular updates, reviews, and news!

Upcoming reviews will include The Legends of Indiana and The Links at Heartland Crossing. Two courses where our group of reviewers wrapped up the season. Both are semi-private courses within a half hour drive of Downtown Indianapolis and in the $40-$60 range. We really enjoyed both courses and want to share our experiences. Hope you enjoy the format!

Hang in there! Spring will come!
collinhedegard@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/collinhedegard