Lafayette Area Trip

[Argonne69]

I'm planning to head down to the Lafayette area later this week for 6 or 7 rounds of golf. I'm planning to play the Kampen and Ackerman-Allen courses at Purdue, Coyote Crossing, and The Trophy Club. Anything else jump out as a must play? I've looked at Battle Ground, Ravines, Sandy Pines, Deer Track, and Frankfort Commons. All look fairly pedestrian, but I'll give them a shot if they're not goat tracks. How would you rank the courses?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Frohlich]

A few of us WRX guys were there a couple of weeks ago and played Coyote Crossing (really liked it) and Harrison Hills. Harrison Hills is a mix of an old 9 and a new 9 and was a fun course. Nothing mind blowing but if you are in the area and are looking for another round, it is certainly worth looking into. Sounds like a fun trip. Enjoy!!!

[mckennwa]

Rock Hollow is about an hour east of Kampen. Great track.

[Argonne69]

'Played Harrision Hills a few years back. 'Decent course. I'm not sure if I want to travel an hour. I'm hoping there's enough good golf in the area to fill out the schedule.

[rkristopheranderson]

I'm planning to head down to the Lafayette area later this week for 6 or 7 rounds of golf. I'm planning to play the Kampen and Ackerman-Allen courses at Purdue, Coyote Crossing, and The Trophy Club. Anything else jump out as a must play? I've looked at Battle Ground, Ravines, Sandy Pines, Deer Track, and Frankfort Commons. All look fairly pedestrian, but I'll give them a shot if they're not goat tracks. How would you rank the courses?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

The other courses you mention are "ok." If I wanted to pick one out of them I'd play Battle Ground because it is convenient and gewnerally in pretty good shape. As McKennWa suggested, Rock Hollow is worth driving out to play.

[Argonne69]

Anything else besides Rock Hollow in the Logansport area worth playing? How about north of it heading towards Plymouth? Swan Lake Resort?

 

I could see playing Rock Hollow on Sunday morning as I loop back towards Chicago.

[Argonne69]

I'll be driving down Thursday morning, so I booked Coyote Crossing for 12 pm. I have the two Birck Bolilermaker courses on Friday, Battle Ground on Saturday morning, and The Trophy Club on Saturday afternoon.

 

I'm leaning towards Rock Hollow on Sunday morning, given the recommendations, and if my back holds out, I'll play another round on the way back home.

[PuttCurseRepeat]

Skip Swan Lake. It used to be a quirky favorite of mine when the routing was divided between East and West courses. Neither course was going to blow anyone away, but the East course had a variety of interesting challenges and opportunities. Each hole had character and though I don't think any holes were spectacular, I am able to recall the layout and most hole features even after a dozen years. At some point in the last decade, SL mixed 9 East holes with 9 West to create Silver and Black courses. The old West course had only a handful of interesting holes, with the 18th being the only one to better the East, head-to-head. So now they have two so-so courses but thought it was worth raising the green fees significantly.

[mckennwa]

(Assuming you aren't by yourself) Grab a Groupon and play Ulen. It's a country club on the NE side of Indy, located near Trophy Club. They have great conditions and fast greens. The course is older so it is somewhat short, but it is much nicer than most of the courses you are considering.

 

https://www.groupon.com/biz/lebanon-in/ulen-country-club-walden

[Argonne69]

I'm traveling solo.

[mckennwa]

You might call and say that. They'll likely let you play by paying them instead.

[Argonne69]

OK, I'm booked for Rock Hollow on Sunday morning at 8:30 am. Thanks for the recommendations. The course looks nice. As noted, I'll see how my back holds up before decided on an afternoon round.

 

I'll post reviews during the trip, and photos after I return.

 

Any must visit brewpubs in Lafayette? I imagine there have to be a number of good breweries near Purdue.

[Waterboy]

Spent a few years of my late teens/ early 20s in Lafayette. Campus bars I would go and study at were Harry's or Jakes. If you have a good costume go to breakfast club at Where else? early on Saturday.

 

I think there is a scottys brew house on the levee.

 

others will probably chime in.

[rkristopheranderson]

Spent a few years of my late teens/ early 20s in Lafayette. Campus bars I would go and study at were Harry's or Jakes. If you have a good costume go to breakfast club at Where else? early on Saturday.

 

I think there is a scottys brew house on the levee.

 

others will probably chime in.

 

I lived there in the early 2000s and generally visit annually because I married a good Hoosier girl from nearby. If you want to see what a college bar in West Laffy is like, then Harry's is your go to. Personally, I'd hit Nine Irish Brothers and Scotty's on the Levee. Across the river in Lafayette you can hit Lafayette Brewing Company (a favorite) and for a good old school bar, the Knickerbocker.

 

Looking foward to hearing what you have to say about the new Ackerman--have not yet played it, hope to get to it next summer.

[Argonne69]

A nice start to the trip at Coyote Crossing this afternoon. I was a bit leary when I pulled into the parking lot, as it appeared that the course routed through a newer subdivision. However, after the first two holes the course disappears into the woods, and the houses don't make another appearance until the 15th hole. Even then they don't really encroach on the course. CC is a nice parkland layout built on rolling terrain. It's not super hilly, but it isn't flat. Very pretty looking course. I thought it had a good combination of long and short holes. The greens are fairly benign. A few have two tiers, but for the most part three putts are not a real danger.

 

The course was in nice shape. No real complaints other than the 9th green was suffering from some type of turf ailment in one patch. Green speeds were moderate, probably 9 or 10. The course was mostly open, and I made it my way around in 2:20 as I played through four groups.

 

An excellent day ballstriking. 10 fairways and 14 greens, and a pair of birdies.

 

Overall I thought it was a solid course. I wouldn't make a trip here to play it, but it's probably a great warmup for the Boilermaker courses tomorrow.

 

Enjoying a nice honey stout at People's Brewing. It's the first stop of several brewpubs this afternoon.

 

[Argonne69]

Decent beer at Lafayette Brewing Company. The shrimp and grits weren't bad either.

 

Not a big selection at Thieme & Wagner, but quality stuff.

 

[Waterboy]

Go to the neon cactus. It's a piano bar.

 

I think the neon cactus is still open? I'm old now

[Argonne69]

My morning round today was on the Ackerman course at Birck-Boilermaker. The course is built on a wonderful piece of rolling terrain. It's a parkland layout, but a number of holes are a bit more wide open. It was renovated by Pete Dye a few years back. One can tell it's not an original Dye design, but it does have a few of his standard touches. A good mix of long and short par 3's and 4's. However, the par 5's are on the short side. The course was in very nice shape. The greens were rolling a bit slower than I expected for a high end course though. I played through two groups, and got around in just over 2 hours. The weather is almost bit chilly and breezy, but I'm still surprised it's not more crowded.

 

Another solid day ballstriking. 9 fairways and 13 greens.

 

On to the Kampen course.

 

[Waterboy]

Enjoy. I love the Kampen Course

[rkristopheranderson]

My morning round today was on the Ackerman course at Birck-Boilermaker. The course is built on a wonderful piece of rolling terrain. It's a parkland layout, but a number of holes are a bit more wide open. It was renovated by Pete Dye a few years back. One can tell it's not an original Dye design, but it does have a few of his standard touches. A good mix of long and short par 3's and 4's. However, the par 5's are on the short side. The course was in very nice shape. The greens were rolling a bit slower than I expected for a high end course though. I played through two groups, and got around in just over 2 hours. The weather is almost bit chilly and breezy, but I'm still surprised it's not more crowded.

 

Another solid day ballstriking. 9 fairways and 13 greens.

 

On to the Kampen course.

 

Glad to hear People's was good--I've never been and will have to drop by next trip.

 

Ackerman--thanks for assessment. doesn't suprise me that there were some shorter par 5's and slower greens--Before the re-do Ackerman was known as the friendlier course that locals wanted to play and Kampen was the tournament course and where you went for a beating. Lots of folks were unhappy about the redesign because they wanted a more "playable" option, and I think that factors in a bit to what you described.

[Bob Cat]

I'm a big fan of "The Rock (Hollow)" but have heard it's a little rough this year. Look forward to hearing the OP's opinion.

 

Played both Swan Lake 18's earlier this week. Not bad tracks but it's not a destination course for me (was there for a conference). It does attract some stay-n-play, however.

 

Good to hear a positive review on Coyote Crossing as I hope to still get there yet this year.

 

Yeah, chilly and blustery here today (N Indiana)!

[Argonne69]

The Kampen course was a different beast. While Ackerman is a traditional parkland, Kampen is more of a prairie course with plenty of native grasses, and lots of marshy areas. It's also much flatter, but the tougher of the two. The views from the tee boxes are more Dye like, as he often leaves you guessing where to aim. A couple of holes temp you to bite off more than you can chew, but for the most part tee shots are fairly straightforward. The course also had a good mix of short and long holes. I didn't think the greens were overly complicated, but they did have some subtle breaks that were hard to pick up.

 

Conditioning was excellent. Like Ackerman, I thought the greens were slower than I expected. Left a lot of good putts slightly short.

 

The winds picked up a bit, so driving was more difficult. Hit 8 fairways, which was more than acceptable. 13 greens and three scrambles made for a satisfying round.

 

Overall I highly recommend the two courses. Heck, $149 for two rounds was a bargain. I paid more for a single round at U of Michigan.

 

I'm sitting in Nine Irish Brothers enjoying a nice honey cocoa stout. A few here, and then another pub awaits.

 

[Argonne69]

Go to the neon cactus. It's a piano bar.

 

I think the neon cactus is still open? I'm old now

 

They don't open until 8 pm. Lol. I'll be in bed by then. A combination of old age, two rounds a day, and too many half pints of stout make for an early evening. I have a 7:20 am tee time at Battle Ground in the morning.

 

[Argonne69]

I thought Ackerman was very playable. Not sure what could be done to make it easier. It's not long. The greens are not overly difficult. There aren't a lot of hazards off the tee. It would have been nice to have played it before the renovation to be able to compare the two.

[Waterboy]

Go to the neon cactus. It's a piano bar.

 

I think the neon cactus is still open? I'm old now

 

They don't open until 8 pm. Lol. I'll be in bed by then. A combination of old age, two rounds a day, and too many half pints of stout make for an early evening. I have a 7:20 am tee time at Battle Ground in the morning.

 

Thursday is the big night.

 

I lived across the street from it my sophomore year. worst decision ever. Do you know how hard it is to explain to your parents why the 'D' I got in physics was because the professor wasn't good?? nearly impossible. Then I just changed majors rather then take it again. I didn't care about light reflection in a vacuum with the radius of a lens was positive....

 

Have a good couple rounds!

[Bob Cat]

I played Battle Ground a few weeks ago for the first time. It was as flat and open as it was plush and well groomed. Pretty little course.

 

Gal in the club house pours a heavy VO lemonade... so I only had two doubles.

[Argonne69]

I got a call from Rock Hollow. They had to move my Sunday tee time up by an hour. Ugh. It's going to be an early alarm clock. Something about an outting that I didn't quite understand, but I assume as a single I got shafted. Oh well, I'm getting used to teeing off at Dawn's crack.

 

[Argonne69]

Battle Ground GC was the first stop early this morning. The course is a relatively flat parkland layout built near corn fields. Mostly old school with few short holes. Honestly, it's a rather uninspiring design. The greens are very small, and several are built up on mounds, so it's not necessarily a pushover. A few holes have hazards that come into play off the tee, but for the most part there's little trouble except for the trees that may block your approach if you're out of position.

 

The course was rather wet in the early morning. Sprinklers were going off on several holes, and the morning dew really slowed the greens. Towards the end of the round they started to pick up a little speed, but they were moderate at best.

 

Ballstriking was horrible. 5 fairways and 9 greens. I had 5 scrambles and 1 birdie which helped limit the damage.

 

It was a rather unpleasant start to the day. I had the first tee time along with a threesome of regulars. The nice woman in the pro shop warned me about the curmudgeon in the group. At the first tee I asked if they minded if I went out in front of them, as I could play in less than two hours. Mr "I Own This Place" got all bent out of shape, and told me that they play in two hours. I asked him if he preferred that I join his group and slow them down, and the two others piped in and said to go ahead. Why does it seem that every course has one of these clowns that dictate the morning schedule. Anyway, I was teeing off on 18 when I saw them teeing off on the 14th hole. OK, Mr 2 Hours.

 

Overall I thought the course was decent, but uninspiring. It's best left to the locals unless you're looking for a cheap 2nd round. One certainly can't complain about the $39 rate with cart on a weekend morning. The staff were super friendly, and made me feel welcome.

 

[Argonne69]

Well, so much for quick rounds. Lol. I got to The Trophy Club early, and got wedged in between a bunch of foursomes. It's not crazy slow, but when you're a single, it sure feels like it. I an enjoying working on my putting drills while waiting for the group in front of me to clear the fairway.

 

Ugh. Three hours in and I'm 3rd in line at the 12th tee. It's going to be a 5 hour round easy, which is crazy because there's little wind, and the course is playing easy.

 

[Argonne69]

Well, at least the weather didn't suck. Sunny with light winds, it turned out to be a very nice day. The pace of play on the other hand was bad. 4:50? The worst part was not seeing a ranger the entire round.

 

The Trophy Club is a sprawling prairie style layout that stretches as far as the eye can see. The are some trees on the back, e.g. the par 5 16th, but otherwise it's wide open. The fairways are very generous. The greens come in both large and small. There didn't seem to be a lot of trouble off the tee on the front (provided you weren't spraying the ball all over the place), but the back had a number of shorter risk/reward holes that tempted you to hit too much club (which I discovered).

 

The greens ranged from ho-hum to super undulating. I was expecting fast greens, but they were moderate at best. The practice green was the fastest of the bunch.

 

The par 5's had character, but the par 3's were bland. Overall conditioning was very good. However, the bunkers were compacted wet sand.

 

No idea how I managed to stay patient, but it paid off with the best round of the week. 12 fairways, 14 greens, and 3 birdies. Of course, if you don't hit at least 10 of these fairways you should consider taking up tennis.

 

I'm trying not to let the poor pace of play effect my rating. Overall I was a bit disappointed. The back nine had some interesting holes, but the front was underwhelming. For $49 it was a darn good value, but I was expecting a bit more teeth. I assume that it is a different animal in 20+ mph winds, similar to my home course Harborside International. I'd say it's probably worth a midweek visit if you're heading to/from Indy to play some of the top courses there, but I'd think twice about a weekend round.