Beyond Wolf Run and Crooked Stick, there are several courses that I think are very close in quality but probably a slight step below. These courses include Brickyard Crossing, the Fort, Broadmoor, Purgatory, Trophy Club and Woodland.
When someone has one course to play in Indianapolis, I almost always recommend Brickyard Crossing. It’s a Pete Dye design that was re-opened in 1994. It held the Brickyard Crossing Championship, a senior tour event, for several years. 14 holes are just outside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 4 holes actually in the infield of the speedway. It’s a very cool experience (even more-so if you can get a tee time during Indy 500 practice) and a very fun golf course. I think it gets a little bit of a bad rap because 1) it’s the most expensive public course in Indy at $100 2) the rounds can be really slow. But there are some really, really fun holes and it is very playable for all handicap levels. I personally think two of the most fun holes in Indianapolis are at the Brickyard (#3 and #14) Again, Dye shows his expertise in challenging the strong player and maintaining playability for weaker players. The key is all in playing the right tees at the Brickyard. The Brickyard is a one-of-a-kind golf experience and a really fun course to boot.
The Fort Golf Course is part of Benjamin Harrison State Park and was redesigned by Pete Dye and Tim Liddy in the late 90s – I’m not familiar with what was there prior, but the current course is hard to beat. In my opinion, the land that Fort occupies is the most unique in Indianapolis – the closest competition is probably Wolf Run, but even Wolf lacks the dramatic features of the Fort. I would have to guess it’s the exact opposite of what golfers think of “Indiana golf.” The stretch of holes 2 thru 11 is truly excellent, with a wide variety of shots and holes. For those golfers who say they aren’t Pete Dye fans, the Fort should be an eye-opener as it’s very much a lay-of-the-land course without a ton of visible earth-moving (I do think the Fort was a lot Mr. Liddy’s work and it’s better for it). It’s a very cool course and would be one of the top publics in any city in America.
Broadmoor Country Club is one of two (along with the French Lick Course) Donald Ross courses in Indiana. It was established in 1922 and has seen very minimal changes since then. Broadmoor hosted a Senior Tour event from ’88 to ’93 – after which it went to the Brickyard. This may sound like hyperbole , but Broadmoor has one of the best sets of greens I’ve ever played. The greens truly make the course and are a must-see by themselves. Broadmoor probably suffers a bit of tree encroachment, but a small renovation in 2004 has helped clean out the worst offenders and pushed the greens out to the edges of the green pads. Broadmoor is also grateful to have an excellent super in Chris Hague, who keeps the course in impeccable condition. Overall, Broadmoor is 18 holes of really solid golf holes with 18 excellent greens. It’s a course that is really a joy to play day in day out.
Purgatory is an interesting beast. It’s located north of downtown Indianapolis about 40 minutes in Noblesville, IN. It was built in the mid-90s by Ron Kern. At first glance Purgatory is a course that most here would scoff at – they advertise they’re the longest non-mountain course in the world, over 200 bunkers and all the traditional “brags” that accompany a hard, boring course. After playing it though, it’s pretty clear that there is more than meets the eye. There are some excellent holes on the course and showcases some really strong architectural principles. There are several tees on the holes, so it’s very elastic and very playable. In fact, besides having tees back at 7700 yards, it is also continually rated as one of the top facilities for women with tees all the way down to 4500 yards. It does get a bit repetitive, especially with some of the holes toward the end of the round, but there is really a lot of fun golf at Purgatory.
In many people’s opinion, Trophy Club in Lebanon, IN is the best public course in Indy. I don’t know if I think it’s the best, but it is right near the top and my only issue with it is the location, about an hour from downtown Indy. Like the Fort, I believe that Trophy Club would be in any other city’s top public list and if it was in Chicago or Philadelphia it would be rated as one of the top public courses in the country. It’s really that good. Trophy Club was designed by Tim Liddy and opened in 1998. The course really utilizes its width very well – and all the width is necessary as it’s a beast when the wind picks up. The greens are very fun without being overly taxing. Mr. Liddy’s uses of the terrain, which mainly is one large ridge in the center of the property, is excellent and he also shows an excellent use of playing angles to confound the better player but provide plenty of room for the higher handicap. The only negatives to the course are sometimes the conditioning can be spotty and I’ve heard that round-times can creep into the excessively long area. I haven’t experienced either of those issues in the numerous times I’ve played and have no doubt anyone on this site would absolutely love Trophy Club (in fact, one of my most enjoyable golf experiences was playing a 6-some in about 3 hours with a group of GCAers after the 2012 Midwest Mashie).
I think the final course on this level is Woodland Country Club. It was built as Bill Diddel’s “pet project” in the 1920s. I believe it still retains some of the bones, but Pete Dye came in during the mid-90s and completely changed the course. I have heard it described as Crooked Stick Light – which is probably a pretty accurate description as they’re only a couple miles apart and the land shares similar characteristics. I’m not as familiar with it as the other courses on the list, but I have heard good things. Seeing what little of it I have, I am sure it would be an enjoyable place to play and a great add-on to any trip.