Yesterday I got the opportunity to play Chatham Hills and I walked away extremely impressed. In short, Chatham is easily top-3 in Indiana and in my eyes could very well take the top spot from Crooked Stick. It is really that good.
As my earlier posts show, I was concerned with the walkability of the routing given the fact that it is a housing course. After walking it, those fears were quickly alleviated. There are a couple long-ish walks (maybe 50 - 60 yards) but there are also a couple of tees steps off the previous greens. I was clear that walking was kept in mind.
As Ted mentioned above, the property is simply outstanding, the front nine winds through a bit of housing but nothing that takes away from the course and the back nine is perhaps the best golf property in Indianapolis.
The holes are very inspired and do not fall into many of Dye's usual tropes. The par 3s are nice and varied, stretching from 140ish yards to 220ish yards. I hit wedge, 8-iron, 6-iron and 4-iron on my first go around. The par 4s are excellent and the par 5s are outstanding. Early favorites are the short par 3 2nd, Cape-style 4th, a very subtle but excellent green-site 6th, monster redan-style par 3 11th, blind-tee shot par 5 13th, and the closing stretch of 15, 16 and 17 are absolutely wonderful.
I have no doubt Chatham will become a "must-see" in the Indianapolis area. For fans of Indy golf I found it to be a mix of the Fort, Trophy Club and Crooked Stick. Once it grows in fully, this place is going to be off the charts.
The par 3 2nd
The redan-ish 11th
