[Joe Bausch]

Belterra #18.  It is time to cross back over to the casino side of the course and finish with a 522 yard par 5.

[Joe Bausch]

I hope you enjoyed the pics of Fazio's Belterra.  Some passing comments:

1.  I must be English (or a canine!) to have gone out the afternoon I did.  It was so darn hot and humid it was unreal.  A neat little touch from the fellows to greet you after the round was a towel that had been soaking in ice water.

2.  We had a wonderfully large room at the hotel on a non-smoking floor.  If you are smoke sensitive, Belterra may be a struggle for you as most places in the hotel and casino do allow smoking.

3.  Play enough at the tables at Belterra and they'll give you a highly discounted rate on the golf course.   

Next up on my merry journey playing some golf in southern Indiana will be Tim Liddy's Cambridge Golf Club in Evansville.

[Joe Bausch]

My 2nd course is the public layout just north of Evansville called Cambridge Golf Club, a Tim Liddy design.  Here is the description of the course from their web page:

Cambridge opened for play on July 15, 2000, and has received rave reviews and strong play ever since – a testament to the quality of and enthusiastic reception for this young course and its true Scottish-style links layout, and to pure greens. USGA rating at Cambridge is 74.6 and the slope rating is 137.

Type:

Cambridge, a public golf facility, is an 18-hole par 72 course that features 10 acres of water in nine in-play lakes and over 250 pot and flat bottom bunkers. The site, in the Cambridge Village Community, is well suited to its Scottish-style links design.

Tees and Greens:

The tees are constructed out of native soil and sodded with zoysia grass. The greens, built to USGA specifications, average 6,100 square feet in size, and feature L-93 bent grass on the putting surfaces, the same grass as Augusta National.

Fairways:

All fairways are also sodded with zoysia grass, considered the premier fairway grass for play in Southern Indiana.

Roughs:

The primary rough are a blended fescue-bluegrass mix. Native grasses along lake edges, bunker facings, and in other areas help frame the golf holes.

Bunkers:

Approximately 250+ bunkers of all shapes and sizes are in strategic fairway locations and green surrounds. Many bunkers are in-play, serving as guides for shot direction, while other are in outlying areas for support and added aesthetics.

Irrigation:

The course has a state-of-the-art Rainbird irrigation system, supplying water to all greens, tees, fairways, and rough areas.

Practice facility:

The practice facility at Cambridge encompasses over seven acres of practice space. Located between #16 and #18, the Practice Range consists of two split-level zoysia grass tee areas, eight target greens for varying length shots with a mock fairway running around them, a chipping green, plus a bent grass green and bunker for pitching and sand practice.


I showed up on a Monday morning at 9:15 to find the carts being prepped for an outing.  But the people were very accommodating and they charged me a 12 hole walking rate since the outing started at noon.  Little did the pro know I can walk a course in 2.5 hours.   

Here is the routing:

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #1.  A slightly downhill 454 yard par 4.

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #2.  A 537 yard par 5.

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #3.  A par 3 (220 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #4.  A dogleg-left par 4 (451 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #5.  A par 3 (196 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #6.  A par 4 (443 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #7.  A 523 yard S-shaped par 5.

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #8.  A short par 4 (339 yards).  A buddy of mine got a 1 on this hole back in 2002.

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #9.  A 446 yard par 4 with a neat green.

[Joe Bausch]

Ok, that it's it for now.  I'll post the back nine of Cambridge later today or over the weekend.

[Chris_Clouser]

Joe,

I'll be curious about your comments on both of these courses.  I think Fazio did a pretty good job at Belterra with what was there.  That place was flat before he showed up.  Several of the holes on the opposite side of the road are actually pretty good, but there is some repetition in appearance.  Personally I would put it in the top 15 public access courses in the state but it would be a part of 6 or 7 courses that are all equal in my mind just behind the top ten.

Cambridge is another animal.  I've discussed it with Tim Liddy and I just personally wasn't impressed.  I've seen much better work around the state with his name attached. It just appears like something is missing.  I think I get the premise of how the course should function with the wind and all, but I just was not impressed.  The 5th and 8th I liked but there wasn't a lot else that would draw me back to Cambridge.  I think Quail Crossing in nearby Boonville is the better layout of the two. 

[Joe Bausch]

Chris, I've played very few of the top ranked courses in Indiana.  It has been about 25 years since I lived there.  And I was in Evansville then and the immediate public golf options were less than stellar to say the very least.

So the addition in the last ten years of both Quail Crossing and Cambridge was very welcome.  Give a 10 round split between the two, I guess I would probably go maybe 6:4 in favor of QC.  But that could change if I got to play them multiple times.

If Cambridge is a 'lesser' from the Liddy camp, then I'll be happy to play others of his.  Next time back in the area I want to visit Liddy's Sultan's Run (and hopefully the Dye course at French Lick, so I guess you now know what the other two courses on this trip can't be!).

Belterra was so interesting.  To take a rather featureless piece of land, at least for the southern part of the course, and make a decent golf course amazes me.

[Joe Bausch]

Now the back nine at Cambridge.

Cambridge #10.  A 454 yard par 4.

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #11.  A dogleg-right par 4 (342 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #12.  A 531 yard par 5.

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #13.  A slightly downhill par 3 (177 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #14.  Dogleg-left par 4 (437 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #15.  A short par 4 (373 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #16.  A slight dogleg-left par 5 (611 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #17.  An uphill par 3 (214 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Cambridge #18.  Slightly downhill par 4 (468 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

I really enjoyed my round at Cambridge and happily would play there again... especially when it is cooler.   

The value was quite good and it is easily walkable.

Next up on my tour:  Victoria National.

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