Photos of So. IN trip: Belterra, Cambridge, Victoria Nat'l, & Fr Lick Ross

[Jud_T]

Joe,

Good thread.. Cambridge looks like a fun track.  Makes the decision to hump it down there just to play QC easier...

[Joe Bausch]

Next up this morning will be Victoria National, a TFaz design that opened in 1998.  To think that as a child I would ride my bike down to this area and watch the coal shovel at work, and fish in the resulting 'pits', I was amazed to hear back around 1985 that a golf course was going to be built on some of this land.

I know there has been plenty of talk about VN on GCA, and some pics, but perhaps not a hole-by-hole photo tour.  Let's get started with the front nine.

But first, the routing below.  You'll notice usually 5 tee boxes or more per hole, frequently coming from very different angles.

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #1.  Par 4 (442 yards from the back tee).  Note:  from the tips VN is 75.6/145.  Note2:  from Jul-Aug the fans are in place (and on this very hot and humid morning the greens probably were happy, and so was this player.     )

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #2.  Slight dogleg-left par 4 (371 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #3.  Elongated S-shaped par 5 (578 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #4.  Slight dogleg-left par 4 (355 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #5.  Par 3 (212 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #6.  The No 1 handicap hole, a 474 yard par 4, playing from the tips as a slight dogleg-left.

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #7.  Par 3 (183 yards).  Note:  the last pic shows that from the 7th tee you get a decent view of the 18th fairway.

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #8.  Par 4 (425 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #9.  Par 5 (558 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

I hope you enjoyed the front nine at Victoria.  I think the back nine is quite interesting too.  Stay tuned.   

[Mark McKeever]

Pictures came out great Joe!  As always, thanks for sharing!

Mark

[Anthony_Nysse]

Cant wait to see the back 9!

[Chris_Clouser]

Joe,

I have not ever been to Victoria, but I am curious what your thoughts are in comparison to Belterra.  A lot of people say that Fazio's courses all look alike, but I don't see a ton of comparison between the two in your photos.  VN's greens look much more interesting, but the hole layouts don't necessarily look that similar.  I'm curious what your thoughts are.

Also, if you like Cambridge you will love Sultan's Run.  There are a couple of holes that are either love them or hate them on the front nine, but overall it is a much better site and a much better course in my mind.  Liddy also has several solid to great efforts in the Indy area if you can get here.  The Trophy Club should be on your list of visits in Indy. 

Great job on portraying the SW corner of Indiana.  By the way, the weather at Cambridge looks exactly like it was the day I was there two years ago.  Is it always like that there?

[Tim Gavrich]

Victoria National seems to be one of those rare courses that occupies a unique site.  What a neat-looking landscape on which to play golf.  I've always enjoyed the Fazio courses I've played but have perceived a little something missing, but VN seems to be a really special place.  Were the greens fast enough and the pins cut such that you could use the back and side slopes to maneuver the ball around?

[Doug Ralston]

Chris;

I had the great pleasure of playing Victoria National, my only private course ever. John was a great host [thanks again].

Belterra has space outside the fairways! The Vic has quite spacey fairways, but mostly if you missed you are dead, likely lost. It is a very penal course for a scatter shooter like me. I did not care! What a landscape and use thereof. There really is no comparison on almost any level. If you can, play this course.

BTW, the back nine will come next obviously, and it is even better.

Liddy owns Indiana public GCA! Sultan's Run, Rock Hollow, and Trophy Club make my Top Five, as does The Fort which I think he help on.

Great thread, thanks Joe.

Doug

[Anthony Gray]

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.

  Cambridge looks like it was made for a GCA event. Hidden Gem status for sure.

  Anthony

[Anthony Gray]

  Victoria National beat me up. The hardest course I've played. Amazing how isolated the holes are considering the amount of land to work with.

  Anthony

[Joe Bausch]

As Doug said, the back nine is even better.  Let's get it started.   

Victoria National #10.  Par 5 (543/526 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #11.  Par 3 (233/196 yards).  The first pic is from the tips.  Yowser!

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #12.  Another good short par 4 at VN (357/317 yards).

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #13.  Par 4 (395/345).  The first picture is from the tips, which is plays nearly straight, the 2nd pic from tees to the right, which sort of makes the hole a slight dogleg-right.

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #14.  The No 2 handicap hole, a par 4 (471/443 yards).  From the tips and the next tees up, it plays as a slight dogleg-left.

[Joe Bausch]

Victoria National #15.  Par 5 (548/530 yards).  In the last pic you get a view back up the fw, down the 'stripper pit' as we called them as a kid, and the green for the very tough par 3 16th hole.