- Staff
- #1
I usually get a chance to play this course a couple times a year while visiting family and thought it would be worth a quick review. Not entering for the monthly contest since these aren't my pics. It's a short drive from Valparaiso, IN, so within reach of a number of THP'rs in the Chicago/NWI area.
For public courses, this one probably rates about the highest in the immediate Valpo area, though there are quite a few other options if you don't mind a little drive. It was designed by Dr Michael Hurdzan, most famous for Erin Hills in Wisco. His portfolio of courses is pretty impressive, but that's the biggest name I think the average guy will recognize.
This is the home of the Valaparaiso University golf team, and with yardages ranging from appx 5,000 to 7,000 yards it can accomodate a variety of skill levels.
Scorecard:
Practice area - B
Driving Range - Pretty nice driving range. Bent grass tees and a ball machine right on site. Range is a short cart drive from the club house. Plenty big to accomodate a medium size outing at one time. Targets aren't exactly plentiful compared to some other high-end courses/practice areas, but better than many munis. You can hit driver.
Short Game - there is a designated short game green with a section of the driving range reserved to practice pitches off a fairway lie. Chipping from rough and fringe is allowed here. I honestly can't recall if there's a bunker, but I have to think there is.
Putting - practice green is huge and has a good number of holes, including some very tiny ones if you want to torture yourself. It's sloped quite a bit, so you can work on speed with uphill/downhill putts. Green speed reflected what was seen on the course.
Course conditions - C
Tee boxes - Tee boxes in general were very good. Par 3's were a bit chewed up, but that's not abnormal. Bent grass gave a nice surface to hit the ball off and most were flat enough to feel comfortable over the ball. There are quite a few tee boxes on each hole, allowing some different looks and yardages.
Fairways - Again, quite good in general. Bent grass that was mowed closely and gave some tight lies. Some spots appeared to have drainage issues and were on the soggy side, but for the most part they were good.
Rough - On the sparse side, but that's not a bad thing for ams. Spots near the trees, which are heavy in some spots on this course were approaching bare and that did leave some tough shots.
Bunkers - ranged from downright terrible to ok. The terrible ones were a mixture of straight baked mud and sand, with the plastic lining poking through the edges at times. The good ones were moderate in firmness and depth, but still not very good for what I'd consider a high-level course. Edges were not maintained like I suspect they were intended, with a good amount of weedy growth. Some courses do feature these 'furry' edges, but my impression was that this was jut poor maintenance rather than something to add difficulty.
Greens - Good shape and no damage to speak of. They are relatively challenging on most holes and were running a moderate speed that I was comfortable with. A playing partner that caddies at a very high-end club in the area felt they were quite slow, but for a person that typically plays public courses they were certainly acceptable.
***Special Note - Cart Paths - This has to be addressed in the conditions section, because they stood as a particularly bad. I mean, bad enough that probably 50% of them need to be jackhammered and repoured. Large bumps and missing cement all over (likely a product of the midwest winters) and one section was even closed off since it was buckled badly enough that it could have caused some accidents/injuries. There are a number of wood bridges in immediate need of replacement as well, with loose planks and large bumps at the entry/exit.
The bunkers and the paths led me to downgrade the condition score, even though the playing surfaces were relatively good. Bunker shots were at times a joke and the paths were a constant barrage of huge bumps and swerving to miss huge bumps. For a higher end public course I think this is bordering on unacceptable.
Layout - B
Challenging? Definitely has the potential to be a challenging course depending on the tee box used. The way it sets up off the tee forces you to be straight or risk either a penalty or a lost ball. Many tee boxes have water/marsh or heavy tree cover in play.
Skilled players and longer hitters will eat the par 5's up. I saw that first hand. The shorter/normal hitters are left unsure if they can hit driver off the tee on two par 5's though, since there are a some hazards right in the driving zone. This is referencing holes 5 and 9, where there is trouble in the 230-240 yard range. #5, though short is a particularly difficult par 5 if you're not long an accurate off the tee and is pictured below. It is extremely tight and really takes driver out of your hand unless you are feeling extremely confident in it due to the tightness and big ravine at the edge of driver range.
As a contrast, 10 is a very short par 5 from an elevated tee box that can yield a lot of birdies and some eagles. I've even got home in two here.
Here's the par 5 9th that takes driver out of your hands, even when playing the correct tee boxes. It's an elevated tee shot and the hazard is only about 240 yards out.
One thing that I really do like about this course is the number of risk/reward holes. Some are shorter and some are longer, but in general you are able to pick a club off the tee based on how greedy you feel and can play many of the holes in a variety of ways, but still without having an unnecessarily long second shot. Either grab driver and try to cut a dogleg, or lay back and still have a reasonable shot into the green.
13 is a good example. At 259 yards from the green tees, the green is reachable off the tee if you hit a really good shot (I've seen it done), but you can also just hit iron and have a short wedge in for a chance at birdie.
There are a number of tee boxes and this course can be played by pretty much anybody. It is among the more challenging courses in the area, but much of that depends on how you play it. It can be played aggressively for those better players looking to score, but you can play old-man golf quite successfully as well.
In all, it's a fun layout that never feels too long thanks to the numerous doglegs. Some spots are very tight, but a good chunk of the course allows a little leeway off the tee as well. If you stink off the tee bring extra balls because you will lose quite a few.
Pace of play
We were the 2nd or 3rd group out on a Sunday morning and played in just under four hours, with a couple stops for refreshments, so on this day very good.
However, I've played it during busier times and had a five hour round stuck behind slow groups, even though they offered incentives for fast play (a free hotdog at the turn for a 2 hour front nine).
The course has a potential to be slow because of the trouble off the tee, so it depends on who you're playing behind.
Price - C
$49 w/ cart on a Sunday morning, which is slightly higher than mid-range public courses and right in line with other high-end public courses in the area. Lower than what you'd pay in Chicago.
Under normal circumstances I'd say this was a pretty good deal, but with the aforementioned issues with conditions I have to say that it's overpriced. That could be fixed though.
Amenities - A
Were the locker rooms available and clean? - No locker room that I noticed, but I wasn't looking. The clubhouse is quite nice and has a bar/grill that is pretty speedy.
Was their a person on the course selling drinks? Yes and she was pretty visible and very accomodating.
Bathrooms on the course available? Yes and they are in good shape.
Restaurants and/or Grill Room/Bar? See above.
Overall - C+
Normally this course would be a solid B for me. It's a good layout, usually in good shape, and among the nice options in the area. The bunkers and cart paths really downgraded it in my opinion though and I dont' think it's worth rating at that level until they are fixed. For the price, both should be better than they are. That being said, this is a course that you should play if you are in the area. It's easily the best public option in Valpo and the price isn't shocking.
