Indiana-Michigan Father and Son Trip, April 2016

[JJShanley]

Spoiler Alert: I'm looking for recommendations for courses (again.)


JJS sr. will likely travel to the midwest in April 2016 to visit me at the finest Catholic university in Indiana.  We'll *obviously* play Warren several times, but I'd be grateful for any regional recommendations you have given the time of year.  He likes old-school courses, having grown up playing Dunbar, et al., in East Lothian.


Angels Crossings and Mount Prospect are on the definite list.  What will the Grand Rapids courses look like in April?  What about Kampen and Purgatory?  (I haven't played any of those during my time in South Bend.)  Should we bother with St. Ives or Tullymore?  We'll reserve the Forest Dunes fun for my graduation in 2017.


We'll also spend a few days in Phoenix with friends, during which time we'll play Wigwam Gold for sentimental reasons, with a side bet on Southern Dunes.


I'm planning in advance because (1) Papa Shanley is very excited to visit the United States again, and (2) I need to schedule my archival trips well in advance for months other than April.

[Ross Harmon]

Assuming you and your pops haven't played South Bend Country Club yet, that would be a must-play. There's several GCA members there, PM me if you need an intro.

[Criss Titschinger]

Purgatory is a good two hour drive from South Bend. There are others in Indy I would pick above Purgatory; The Fort and Trophy Club, for instance.


You'd have to drive by Tim Liddy's Rock Hollow in Peru to get to Indianapolis. I've only heard good things about it, but haven't had a chance to get up to play it.

[Josh Tarble]

Kampen is excellent, one of Dye's better courses in my opinion.  You could also add on Harrison Hills and would make for a nice combo of old v. new.

I second the mention of Rock Hollow, if you're coming down for Purgatory, Rock Hollow is definitely worth the stop.

If you're willing to drive, I'd recommend French Lick.  You could probably get a nice package deal for the Dye in April and the Ross is a must play.  You won't see anything else like the Ross anywhere in Indiana in my opinion.  It's an awesome course everyone should try to play.

[Chris DeToro]

Grand Rapids (and the whole northern end of the region you mentioned) in April could be great or courses could be a few weeks from opening.  It's hard to tell.  Heading towards southern Indiana could be your best bet--I'll second French Lick Ross (Dye wasn't open when I was there), Purgatory, Trophy Club, and Prairie View all around Indianapolis.  I haven't played Rock Hollow or Kampen, but those certainly seem worth playing as well

[Ian Mackenzie]

FWIW, I put St. Ives and Tullymore on my "Most Overrated Courses I have ever played" list".
In fact, they occupy the #s 3 and 5 spots nationally.


April in GR is a total crap-shoot. Could be snow on the ground, could be 60.


Would be a good time to try to get on Lost Dunes. I think they take limited outside play in the "shoulder seasons".

[Ryan Taylor]

Angels Crossings is very fun and worth playing. I would also try and play BCCC and Bedford Valley. (30 min east of  Portage) I wouldn't waste the drive time on Tullymore. I cannot comment on St. Ives. April in MI is always interesting!

[PCCraig]

Lost Dunes is somewhat nearby and would be worth a phone call and/or letter requesting access. It's a very good golf course and better any of the public options in the area by large margin.


Also nearby in Michigan is Point O Woods which I like a lot and I think is also worth a call or letter. In early Spring you should be able to get on.


Harbor Shores is also right there and is a public Nicklaus course which I thought was a lot of fun. There are some pretty neat holes on/near the lake.


The Warren Course is really good, and a great value.


The Kampen Course at Purdue (wouldn't be too far south) is a nice option and also a good value. A pretty solid Pete Dye design.


The other big one nearby is the Dunes Club in New Buffalo which is a huge treat, but that's a tougher ticket to punch for access.

[SL_Solow]

You mentioned Mount Prospect which is in the Chicago suburbs.  If you are coming to Chicago, there are a lot of possibilities although April can be iffy in all of these areas.  Is Chicago on the itinerary?

[Matthew Sander]

JJ,


Which city is your father flying into? Chicago? Indianapolis?


I would assume Chicago based on the availability of flights. Otherwise there are some very interesting options around Indy, but it might not make sense to drive all the way down...


If he likes old-timey you should inquire into checking out the work done at Culver Academy. I, for one, would love to hear some feedback.

[Jason Way]

I second the recommendation of Harrison Hills if you are heading toward Indy.  Some of the coolest architecture you'll see in the area, and a neat combo of Langford and Liddy. 

[BCowan]

For Michigan i recommend Angels Crossing (people say great things) and Battle Creek on same day.  Diamond Springs and Muskegon CC on another day.  You won't have a problem in April.  If you enjoy craft beer i recommend a night of boozing in Kalamazoo... 

[Ken Fry]

JJ,

I've been in South Bend off and on for about 20 years and have played pretty much anything and everything within 2 hours.  Recommendations will depend on how much traveling you truly wish to do.

As has been mentioned, Grand Rapids in April is a crap shoot.  If you decide to head that way, downtown GR is 2 hours.  Southwest of Grand Rapids is Diamond Springs and on south side of downtown GR is The Mines.   Tullymore or Pilgrim's Run north of GR will be 2 1/2 hours.

Near Benton Harbor/New Buffalo area, about an hour from South Bend, Lost Dunes, Dunes Club, Point O' Woods and Harbor Shores would be enjoyable.  Dunes is walking only.  All except Harbor Shores are private and all will be pricey.  Just north of there before South Haven is Hawkshead.

Angel's Crossing an hour away in Vicksburg would be good.  Very cool set of greens for a modern course, the idea for each borrowed from well known courses in England/Scotland.

If heading toward Indy, a stop at Rock Hollow is a must.  Drive time is a little over an hour.

Others have suggested some healthy drives.  If you head toward Purdue to play Kampen, plan a stop at Harrison Hills in Attica.  From South Bend, it's a solid two hour drive to Kampen.  Attica is another 35 minutes west of there.  You could also continue down I-65 and stop in to Trophy Club in Lebanon with all of Indy just south of there.

French Lick is a 5 hour drive.  There's just no good way to get there from here.

Don't turn away from some great options around the South Bend area.  Warren is a given but I would also recommend in order South Bend Country Club, Elcona Country Club, Blackthorn Golf Course, Hampshire Golf Course and Erskine Golf Course.

PM me if you have any questions.

Ken

[JJShanley]

Thanks for these suggestions, in the thread and PMs!  Dad has another trip over here scheduled in May 2017 for my graduation, so we may just leave GR until then, unless we go at short notice towards the end of the trip.  FWIW: cold weather doesn't bother him too much, given that he plays year-round in East Lothian.


I've played Angels Crossing three times since June, and had a blast.  It's definitely on the list for 2016 and 2017.


I'll likely take him to Blackthorn as well.  I played there quite a bit in fall 2014, breaking 80 there for the first time since I had hand surgery and took comprehensive exams.


I suggested Mt. Prospect as he loved the video of the reno and could probably walk it. 


I don't really know how private clubs work in the U.S., but I'll see if Lost Dunes and the SBCC are options.  From what I know of it, I don't think he'd Harbor Shores.


Again, thank you for the advice!

[Ryan Hillenbrand]

Does no one like Hawkshead in South Haven? I know its Art Hills but I thought it had some good, Pine Valley-looking holes from what I remember.

[JReese]

Cog Hill may be another good option.  Probably similar driving distance from South Bend as Mt. Prospect.  Don't overlook Harbor Shores if you're in SW MI.....generally gets a bad rap but it's still a fun place to play (get out early to avoid the dreaded 6 hour round).