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Mark Pritchett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« on: September 10, 2015, 11:59:40 AM »
Why do we not talk about Wolf Run very much here? 


As I recall this course opened circa 1990, and was in direct contrast to most of the layouts built at the time.  It is not a residential course and was not designed by a name architect (at the time).  The course has great variety, good use of the rolling property and incorporates the creeks and other natural features seamlessly and is in a beautiful setting. 


It checks many of the boxes with a cool short par 4 (7th hole) and the challenging long par 3 13th which is then contrasted with the short par 3 16th.  The heroic penultimate hole is a treat.  Lots of good stuff.


What's not to like here? 




 

Sam Morrow

Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2015, 12:04:11 PM »
I remember when I first got on this site it had a good following here.

Chris DeToro

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2015, 12:14:58 PM »
Great question--I think Wolf Run is phenomenal.  It's also one of the most brutally difficult courses I've ever played which may be why it doesn't get talked about quite as much. 

John Kavanaugh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2015, 12:25:06 PM »
Wolf Run is A Frame architecture.  It used to be pretty damn cool.

Nigel Islam

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2015, 12:34:40 PM »
Its in Indiana which I see you all flying over us every day. It's not exactly a high profile club even in Indianapolis either. Anyway I know a member so who knows I might get invited there tomorrow 8)

Jason Thurman

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2015, 01:01:15 PM »
I think the low profile around here has to do with a few things:


* It's in an under-the-radar golf city. For a golfer traveling to the Midwest, Indianapolis as a destination comes in somewhere behind Chicago, eastern Wisconsin, southern Michigan, northern Michigan, Cleveland, Columbus, Minneapolis, and the Upper Peninsula.


* It's an under-the-radar course in its city. GCAers traveling to Indy are more likely to seek out the Dye courses or the Ross course in town, or even to take a road trip down to French Lick before they think about the brute up in Zionsville.


* The original Courses By Country profile on this site was an underwhelming one and indeed became a casualty of the culling earlier this year. While Ran's review was affectionate, it was written early in the site's history and sparse by comparison to later profiles.


* It's older than most of the "destination" clubs on this site that generate a lot of noise. We'll see how loud the Kingsley, Ballyneal, and Dismal River contingents are in 20 years.


* It wasn't built by a "name" architect. Steve Smyers still isn't a household name among the guys on this site, and some of his other work is pretty middling.


* Let's be serious - it's WAY too tough for most players.


Still, I get more impressed by it with every visit. The way it melds classic design concepts in an ultra-difficult and decidedly modern package really sticks out to me. I can't think of a course with more true golfing variety - there's just no way to get through it without testing every facet of your game. You can't hide weaknesses or play exclusively to your strengths in the way that you can at most places, so while the test is unrelenting, it also never feels repetitive. I think it's worthy of much more study.
"There will always be haters. That’s just the way it is. Hating dudes marry hating women and have hating ass kids." - Evan Turner

Some of y'all have never been called out in bold green font and it really shows.

John Kavanaugh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #6 on: September 10, 2015, 01:21:55 PM »
I loved it and it was universally loved when it was a male only enclave.  Vibe matters.

Bart Bradley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2015, 01:24:26 PM »
Played there Sunday with 3 friends...handicap range 4-18.  We all got killed by the course.  Lots of looking for balls, lots of difficult carries, and a general lack of "Fun".  I thought the course had some cool holes and the no-house environment is lovely.  But the course is wicked hard for the player who doesn't know the course.


The nearly 5 hr round in 90 degree heat was the least favorite of our group in a week of 7 courses.


Bart


John, several of the male members brought lovely lasses to ride around on the cart with them....but I didn't see any women playing...not that the average women player could finish a hole anyway.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2015, 02:16:41 PM by Bart Bradley »

Jason Thurman

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #8 on: September 10, 2015, 01:36:18 PM »
The only women I've seen playing are pros...


Bart's post brings up another good point - the amount of local knowledge required for most players to score well is also quite high, even if we ignore the course's general overall difficulty. It's a very deceptive course. 3, 12, and 18 are probably the only holes where the line off the tee is obvious for most players on their first visit. Greens slope in very non-intuitive directions. Even a hole like 2, which is a pretty simple looking short iron par 3 from the "members" tees, features a tee shot where you can't actually see your ball land to most pin positions and where overhanging trees can punish a ball hit on a careless line. It's a very awkward feeling shot, and it might be one of the easiest ones on the course physically. There's plenty of obvious difficulty scattered everywhere, but the course also has numerous subtle flourishes that add to the challenge.
"There will always be haters. That’s just the way it is. Hating dudes marry hating women and have hating ass kids." - Evan Turner

Some of y'all have never been called out in bold green font and it really shows.

Mark Pritchett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #9 on: September 10, 2015, 01:43:23 PM »
Was Wolf Run ahead of its time?  In many ways it seems like it was.  Has it aged well? 


Hard for me to say as I only played one round there in 2008. 

Josh Tarble

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #10 on: September 10, 2015, 01:56:18 PM »
Wolf is one of the most unique courses I've ever played.  It is also one of the most polarizing places I know.


Of it's 18 holes, 14 are really solid, great golf holes.  It has 10 to 12 holes you've never seen anywhere else, certainly not templated and they use the land really well.   The problem is that there are probably 4 to 6 holes that are pretty strange.  I happen to like almost every hole out there and the questions they ask your game, but I also understand when someone tells me they absolutely hate it.


Add on the fact that it's just brutally difficult and it is truly a love or hate affair.




Mark,
I think it's starting to "age" better.  They're cutting down trees and mowing rough to be more playable (as playable as it can be that is).  And with the equipment, I think it's easier to play a shot that will keep you in play rather than worrying about length. 

Scott Wintersteen

Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #11 on: September 10, 2015, 05:48:29 PM »
Wolf Run is a great course and in my opinion one of the top two courses in Indianapolis.  It a very difficult course even from the forward tees because of the tight landing areas.  I also think the Par 3's are very strong and have a good variety from short to long holes. It's understandable why high handicappers would not like the course but I think it is a must play if in the area.   

Jeff_Brauer

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #12 on: September 11, 2015, 07:28:44 AM »
Was Wolf Run ahead of its time?  In many ways it seems like it was.  Has it aged well? 


Hard for me to say as I only played one round there in 2008. 

I really don't know, but have wondered if it was behind the times, in the sense that it was designed (perhaps) for the top 100 lists based on difficulty, right at a time when the lists were moving away from that as a criteria.

All I know is some Tour Pros think its too hard, and if its too hard for them to enjoy.....well, its going to be too hard for me.  So, I have never gone out of my way to see it.
Jeff Brauer, ASGCA Director of Outreach

Michael George

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #13 on: September 11, 2015, 09:21:04 AM »

Here is a hole by hole tour of Wolf Run.  Sure looks hard. 

http://wolfrungc.com/index.php



"First come my wife and children.  Next comes my profession--the law. Finally, and never as a life in itself, comes golf" - Bob Jones

Terry Lavin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #14 on: September 11, 2015, 12:18:55 PM »
I'm no fan of the man's greens construction work, based on what I've seen.  I'll leave it at that.
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

Andrew Buck

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #15 on: September 11, 2015, 02:54:36 PM »
When I played it in 1995 in college, it was almost as shocking to my senses at that time as Tobacco Road was in 2015.  In fact, growing up playing almost exclusively rural golf courses, tree lined midwestern Country Clubs, or Florida courses, Wolf Run and Conway farms were the first two courses that really jumped out to my senses at the time as special and different.

Also, I still remember the Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich being out of this world.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2015, 03:12:12 PM by Andrew Buck »

Richard Hetzel

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #16 on: September 11, 2015, 04:25:14 PM »
I have never played Wolf Run, hopefully I can soon. It looks like a pretty cool course. I did play Smyers' Heartland Crossing a few months ago and I really liked it a lot.
Best Played So Far This Season:
Crystal Downs CC (MI), The Bridge (NY), Canterbury GC (OH), Lakota Links (CO), Montauk Downs (NY), Sedge Valley (WI)

Jason Thurman

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #17 on: September 13, 2015, 03:37:22 PM »
My initial post only focused on reasons why it might not get much discussion here. After playing it again on Friday afternoon, it seems appropriate to mention some of the reasons it deserves more discussion.


* The opening hole is one of the finest I know of. A conservative player can navigate it quite easily, but the obvious benefit of challenging the bunkers off the tee leads to a lot of overzealous tee shots.


* There may not be a three hole stretch in the world that provides a test as comprehensive as the stretch from 5-7. It's a stretch that asks the player to work the ball both ways with driver, long irons, middle irons, and short irons. It also demands a well-played wedge shot and recovery possibilities around those three greens offer a huge variety of difficult scenarios.


* On that note, Wolf Run may be a course full of one-of-a-kind holes, but the conventional 5th might be the best of the bunch. A big par 4 played over the crest of a hill before falling hard on the way down to the green, the bunkers on the hillside off the tee ask for a left-to-right tee shot before the dramatic approach that practically begs for a draw to be run in from the right, up the slope on the back of the green, and fed down to the day's hole location. It's as outstanding as it is elegant and embodies the course's spirit of fun in the face of extreme difficulty.


* As others have noted, the variety in the par 3s is superb. One of the things that sticks out to me is that each of them require a player to gauge how his ball will bounce and run after landing. The ridge that bisects the second green can be used to work the ball toward pin positions. The 6th plays as a true redan from just 150 yards or so. 13, with its 200+ yard shot over the ravine, demands a shot that lands as close to the fronting left bunker as possible in order to use the left-to-right slope to feed the ball toward the pin without rolling all the way through and down the rear swale. And the 16th, even with just a flip wedge, will still feed a ball hard from the right edge of the green to the left portion.


* On the subject of feeding balls toward holes, one of the things that makes Wolf Run so unusual is that it's a target-oriented parkland course that nonetheless demands players choose between multiple options on many shots while accurately gauging how the ball will roll when it lands. Part of the credit for that goes to Smyers, as he built a course that consistently features sloped landing areas in both fairways and on greens. But part of the credit also should go to superintendent Nate Fair, a turf genius who consistently presents the fastest, tightest, and firmest bentgrass surfaces I've ever seen.


* I also love the course's ebb and flow. The front 9 is a set of unrelenting holes that all provide reasonable difficulty and test every facet of a player's game without ever really getting over the top. The back nine has more of a variety in scoring chances. 10 gives a realistic birdie chance and probably stands as the least dangerous hole out there, and 11 isn't a particularly tough hole by Wolf Run standards. Beginning on 12, the course presents one of the toughest four hole stretches I've ever seen. Survive that stretch and you have a chance to get a few strokes back on 16-18, though peril lurks on poorly played shots. It may not be a course that makes you want to run back to the first tee when you walk off the 18th green. But after lunch and a drink? Yep, I'm always pretty excited to head back out and take another crack at some of those shots.
"There will always be haters. That’s just the way it is. Hating dudes marry hating women and have hating ass kids." - Evan Turner

Some of y'all have never been called out in bold green font and it really shows.

Mark Pritchett

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #18 on: September 13, 2015, 08:05:20 PM »
Thanks for the timely review Jason.  I need to get back to WR and play it a few more times. 

Josh Tarble

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #19 on: September 14, 2015, 08:48:43 AM »
It may not be a course that makes you want to run back to the first tee when you walk off the 18th green. But after lunch and a drink? Yep, I'm always pretty excited to head back out and take another crack at some of those shots.


Awesome little review Jason.  I think this perfectly describes Wolf.  The shots you face are such an interesting combination of fun and difficult.  After every round I always have several "I know I can do that, next time I'll try it this way" shots and holes. 



The lost ball situation is a concern out there, but if you can get past that, it's an awesome experience.


Jason Thurman

  • Karma: +1/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #20 on: September 14, 2015, 09:25:24 AM »
The lost ball situation is a concern out there, but if you can get past that, it's an awesome experience.


Sore subject. I played the first 17 with one ball on Friday, and then pulled my tee shot on 18. You know where it ended up. Someday I'll get through that course without losing one.
"There will always be haters. That’s just the way it is. Hating dudes marry hating women and have hating ass kids." - Evan Turner

Some of y'all have never been called out in bold green font and it really shows.

Tom Allen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Wolf Run Golf Club-Indianapolis, IN
« Reply #21 on: September 14, 2015, 10:21:53 AM »
Great review Jason.  I too think the course is underrated (or at least flies below the radar here).  It is a brute.  I had the bright idea of taking on the bunkers on the first hole.  My talent was not up to my plan, so my last round there did not start well.  ;)

Hole 13 is of course both beautiful and impossible (for me) at the same time.

Great course, and we are looking at taking another trip there, in 2016.  Can't wait to take it on again.   

Tom

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