amsmith61
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Opened in 1998 the Trophy Club is a Timothy Liddy design, located 15 miles northwest of Indianapolis. Located on 247 acres, in Lebanon, Indiana, the course utilizes Prairie Creek on several holes and helps provide golfers with a tough test.
From their website:
“The Trophy Club ‘s 18 championship holes feature a links style layout with large greens built to USGA specifications, four sets of tees and 60 yard wide bent grass fairways. Taller growing blue grass and fescue frame define each hole. “
Practice Area:
The practice areas at Trophy Club provide more than enough adequate room to hone your game and also warm up before a round. The ranges offer s both grass and matted hitting areas for year round hitting with multiple flags from a variety distances. There are several practice greens with one a large green offering multiple holes should a large group being warm up before an event – i.e. THP event. The speed on the green was indicative of the fast speed of the greens throughout the course which helped immensely in preparing for the round. There is a separate green on the other side of the parking lot that is for chipping and bunker play. My only knock on the practice area was the lack of signs pointing towards the separate green for chipping and I only found it by noticing the flag sticking out over the tall grass that borders the parking lot. The range was also slightly angled and it was tough initially to see it. It may have a caused a few balls to be hit into the woods accidentally.
Grade: B+
Layout:
It was obvious from the first tee that the Trophy Club layout was meant to be a challenging test while providing golfers of all levels a fair chance. While there aren’t any major elevation changes, there are numerous subtle changes that will make club selection on every shot a priority. The course does a phenomenal job balancing risk vs. reward on almost every shot. It isn’t a bombers paradise and the course may require you to use your entire bag throughout the round. Decide to pull driver on the dog leg #3 and you could be rewarded a short wedge shot into the green.
The fairways are relatively wide (60 yards) with decent areas for secondary rough before the tall heather comes into play. If your tee shot is errant, the heather will almost certainly eat your golf ball. As previously mentioned the Prairie Creek comes into play throughout the course not only as an out of bounds marker, but a forced carry on at least one fairway. The #2 hole, Par 5 is a perfect example with the creek running through the middle of the fairway around the 240-250 marker, giving golfers the choice of carrying in attempt for the short iron approach or turning the hole into a 3 shot approach. From a yardage perspective there are tees for golfers of all skills.:
Tee Par Yardage Rating Slope
Black 72 7,302 75.3 138
Blue 72 6,598 72.1 130
White 72 6,006 69.6 124
Green 72 5,050 64.9 113
With the lack of trees for most of the course except for Holes 15 and 16, the wind is a big factor throughout the course. I played the course on back to back days and it was interesting to see how the wind changed the difficulty on several holes.
There is only one house on the course – on the tee box of #16 and it is relatively quiet the entire time you are on the course. There designated wildlife areas that carts are not permitted and views that are picturesque. One note is the #6 green and part of the #7[SUP]th[/SUP] hole are close to Route 65. Not incredibly noisy, however it is noticeable when the rest of the course is quiet.
A common factor on the determination of quality courses on THP is evidence of any gimmick type of holes. I can say that at no time did I feel a hole on the course had a gimmick feel. I did get the feeling that several holes were strategic and the choice of club off the tee was crucial for a good score.
Grade: A
Pace of Play:
My first round was on a Friday afternoon and we played at a fairly good pace, finishing our round just under 4 hours. I was curious as to how the pace would be on a weekend and being in a twosome the next day; the round did take a little over 4 hours to finish our round which felt extremely slow. After the first hole, we waited on just about every shot and became frustrating to a point. There were marshals out on the course and a couple of times I noticed them encourage people to stop looking for balls in the heather. I give them a credit for trying to keep the pace of play moving. While I wasn’t thrilled with the time of the round, it was a Saturday afternoon and should probably be kept in perspective.
Grade: B
Price:
Prices range from $29.00 (Seniors only) and $39 during the week. The price actually rises from 11:00 am to 2:30 to $45. On the weekends it is $65 before 11:00 am, with the rates drop drastically throughout the rest of the day finishing with a Twilight rate of $32 starting at 2:30. There is also a twosome deal that starts at 5:00 pm where it is $50 for unlimited play. In speaking with a few other golfers, there have been numerous Groupon offerings for reduced green fees throughout the year and I will be keeping an eye out for them in the future. In my opinion, these rates are comparable to courses throughout Indianapolis and are cheaper compared to the celebrated Pete Dye courses in the area.
Grade: B+
Amenities:
While the clubhouse was a decent size and had anything you may need from a golf merchandise standpoint. I did not see any locker rooms and the grill offerings appeared to be your normal golf course options. There was a stop located off the #11[SUP]th[/SUP] green that was air conditioned with bathrooms and food/beverages. The clubhouse seating had room for a banquet that sat 60-70 people easily. There was an outside patio area that faced the range.
Grade: B
Overall:
I should note that the course has received 4 ½ stars from Golf Digest and was named to their “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses” in 2004. The course has hosted several state championships including the 2002 Indian Women’s Golf Association Match Play Championship, the 2001 Indiana State Open, the 2001 Indiana PGA Senior Championship, the 1999 Indianapolis Open and the 1999 Indian PGA Senior Open. In the end I am kicking myself for not checking out this course sooner. This course does not get a lot of publicity or talk in the area and it should. I think it is better than several of the renowned courses in the area and I look forward to playing it again….many times.
Grade: B+
From their website:
“The Trophy Club ‘s 18 championship holes feature a links style layout with large greens built to USGA specifications, four sets of tees and 60 yard wide bent grass fairways. Taller growing blue grass and fescue frame define each hole. “
Practice Area:
The practice areas at Trophy Club provide more than enough adequate room to hone your game and also warm up before a round. The ranges offer s both grass and matted hitting areas for year round hitting with multiple flags from a variety distances. There are several practice greens with one a large green offering multiple holes should a large group being warm up before an event – i.e. THP event. The speed on the green was indicative of the fast speed of the greens throughout the course which helped immensely in preparing for the round. There is a separate green on the other side of the parking lot that is for chipping and bunker play. My only knock on the practice area was the lack of signs pointing towards the separate green for chipping and I only found it by noticing the flag sticking out over the tall grass that borders the parking lot. The range was also slightly angled and it was tough initially to see it. It may have a caused a few balls to be hit into the woods accidentally.
Grade: B+
Layout:
It was obvious from the first tee that the Trophy Club layout was meant to be a challenging test while providing golfers of all levels a fair chance. While there aren’t any major elevation changes, there are numerous subtle changes that will make club selection on every shot a priority. The course does a phenomenal job balancing risk vs. reward on almost every shot. It isn’t a bombers paradise and the course may require you to use your entire bag throughout the round. Decide to pull driver on the dog leg #3 and you could be rewarded a short wedge shot into the green.
The fairways are relatively wide (60 yards) with decent areas for secondary rough before the tall heather comes into play. If your tee shot is errant, the heather will almost certainly eat your golf ball. As previously mentioned the Prairie Creek comes into play throughout the course not only as an out of bounds marker, but a forced carry on at least one fairway. The #2 hole, Par 5 is a perfect example with the creek running through the middle of the fairway around the 240-250 marker, giving golfers the choice of carrying in attempt for the short iron approach or turning the hole into a 3 shot approach. From a yardage perspective there are tees for golfers of all skills.:
Tee Par Yardage Rating Slope
Black 72 7,302 75.3 138
Blue 72 6,598 72.1 130
White 72 6,006 69.6 124
Green 72 5,050 64.9 113
With the lack of trees for most of the course except for Holes 15 and 16, the wind is a big factor throughout the course. I played the course on back to back days and it was interesting to see how the wind changed the difficulty on several holes.
There is only one house on the course – on the tee box of #16 and it is relatively quiet the entire time you are on the course. There designated wildlife areas that carts are not permitted and views that are picturesque. One note is the #6 green and part of the #7[SUP]th[/SUP] hole are close to Route 65. Not incredibly noisy, however it is noticeable when the rest of the course is quiet.
A common factor on the determination of quality courses on THP is evidence of any gimmick type of holes. I can say that at no time did I feel a hole on the course had a gimmick feel. I did get the feeling that several holes were strategic and the choice of club off the tee was crucial for a good score.
Grade: A
Pace of Play:
My first round was on a Friday afternoon and we played at a fairly good pace, finishing our round just under 4 hours. I was curious as to how the pace would be on a weekend and being in a twosome the next day; the round did take a little over 4 hours to finish our round which felt extremely slow. After the first hole, we waited on just about every shot and became frustrating to a point. There were marshals out on the course and a couple of times I noticed them encourage people to stop looking for balls in the heather. I give them a credit for trying to keep the pace of play moving. While I wasn’t thrilled with the time of the round, it was a Saturday afternoon and should probably be kept in perspective.
Grade: B
Price:
Prices range from $29.00 (Seniors only) and $39 during the week. The price actually rises from 11:00 am to 2:30 to $45. On the weekends it is $65 before 11:00 am, with the rates drop drastically throughout the rest of the day finishing with a Twilight rate of $32 starting at 2:30. There is also a twosome deal that starts at 5:00 pm where it is $50 for unlimited play. In speaking with a few other golfers, there have been numerous Groupon offerings for reduced green fees throughout the year and I will be keeping an eye out for them in the future. In my opinion, these rates are comparable to courses throughout Indianapolis and are cheaper compared to the celebrated Pete Dye courses in the area.
Grade: B+
Amenities:
While the clubhouse was a decent size and had anything you may need from a golf merchandise standpoint. I did not see any locker rooms and the grill offerings appeared to be your normal golf course options. There was a stop located off the #11[SUP]th[/SUP] green that was air conditioned with bathrooms and food/beverages. The clubhouse seating had room for a banquet that sat 60-70 people easily. There was an outside patio area that faced the range.
Grade: B
Overall:
I should note that the course has received 4 ½ stars from Golf Digest and was named to their “America’s 100 Greatest Public Golf Courses” in 2004. The course has hosted several state championships including the 2002 Indian Women’s Golf Association Match Play Championship, the 2001 Indiana State Open, the 2001 Indiana PGA Senior Championship, the 1999 Indianapolis Open and the 1999 Indian PGA Senior Open. In the end I am kicking myself for not checking out this course sooner. This course does not get a lot of publicity or talk in the area and it should. I think it is better than several of the renowned courses in the area and I look forward to playing it again….many times.
Grade: B+
