Indiana University golf course

[John Nixon]

I did a quick search and found no recent posts about this, so here goes.


The IU course has received a few mentions on here over the years, mostly to lament what a poor example of golf course design it was - something that became even more painfully obvious once Purdue completed their renovations. I played the IU course once around 2000, when I was still a beginning hacker, rather than the accomplished hacker I am now. The course was a painful slog through narrow corridors mostly hacked out of heavily wooded acreage.


Google maps image here:  www.google.com/maps/@39.1850601,-86.5077351,2073m/data=!3m1!1e3


Finally, last year the process to renovate/replace came to fruition. iuhoosiers.com has a bit about the process, and links to Steve Smyers' proposed layout: [size=78%] [/size]
http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2017/10/6/mens-golf-iu-board-of-trustees-approves-golf-course-renovation-designs.aspx


The course is now closed for construction of the new layout and new clubhouse. Interestingly, the proposed layout on Smyers' own website includes the notation that Fuzzy Zoeller is the "PGA Tour Design Consultant" on the project. Whether that's good, bad or indifferent I have no idea: https://www.stevesmyers.com/indiana-university-golf-course?lightbox=dataItem-jeosqir7


I won't try to summarize the info IU and Smyers have about the project on their sites, if you're interested you can read up on it. I'm looking forward to seeing the new course sometime next year.

[Jake Marvin]

Only 7700 yards for a par of 71? That's basically a drive-and-pitch, I'm sure they could have 400-500 more yards out there...

[John Nixon]

Only 7700 yards for a par of 71? That's basically a drive-and-pitch, I'm sure they could have 400-500 more yards out there...

Purdue's Kampen course tops out at 7400ish. You can't go to all the effort of building a new course and not strive to beat your rival.

[Jake Marvin]

Purdue's Kampen course tops out at 7400ish. You can't go to all the effort of building a new course and not strive to beat your rival.

I'm well aware, I was down there for an absolute bloodbath of a tournament, and we weren't even all the way back. I told them if I'm going to be ten strokes over my handicap, I might as well play from the tips for an excuse. At least half the holes are perfectly sadistic from the tips, and the others are just the normal kind of difficult. It turns out that, if you make the 18th play 470 yards (they did), that just means you finish with a short par-5 rather than a tough par-4 for most of a normal field.


Meanwhile, I'm going to start pushing for the Warren Course to build some new boxes. If we push 18 back across the Interstate, I'm sure we can beat Purdue, IU, and all of our out-of-state rivals.

[JLahrman]

I played what I would think is the current course numerous times from 2001-2003 when I was a graduate student at IU.


I agree that there won't be much to be missed from a GCA perspective. It wasn't the worst architecture in the world, but nothing too interesting either and there were too many trees.


But I remember the greens fees for students being quite cheap, and for residents quite affordable as well. Is there any sort of forecast of what the greens fees for the new and improved course will be? It will be great to have a better course there, but would be a shame if it's at the cost of affordability to the local residents.


I enjoyed living in Bloomington; if I were wanting to move to an affordable smallish-town environment I'd be willing to head back there. Maybe when I retire.

[John Nixon]

Is there any sort of forecast of what the greens fees for the new and improved course will be? It will be great to have a better course there, but would be a shame if it's at the cost of affordability to the local residents.

I wonder about that too. Given the precedent set by Purdue I'd expect non-IU affiliated rates to be on the steep side. I've not read anything about new fees. I have a JD degree from IU, maybe that'll be worth something, finally   


OTOH, I don't expect (well, I hope) access to non-IU affiliates to go the way of Ohio State. You'd think as a BS graduate of The Ohio State University I'd have some slight option of playing one of their two courses. But unless I join the OSU Alumni Association, at a minimum, I am SOL.

[Howard Riefs]

Briefly discussed last year:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,64943.msg


And... go IU!

[John Nixon]

Briefly discussed last year:


http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,64943.msg


And... go IU!

Thanks. I thought I remembered something like that, but a search using "Indiana University" didn't turn it up. Go figure.

[JLahrman]

I wonder about that too. Given the precedent set by Purdue I'd expect non-IU affiliated rates to be on the steep side. I've not read anything about new fees. I have a JD degree from IU, maybe that'll be worth something, finally    

OTOH, I don't expect (well, I hope) access to non-IU affiliates to go the way of Ohio State. You'd think as a BS graduate of The Ohio State University I'd have some slight option of playing one of their two courses. But unless I join the OSU Alumni Association, at a minimum, I am SOL.

I'm BS Ohio State, MBA IU. Which has led me to the affluent life I lead today.


It's been a long time since I was in either Columbus or Bloomington. But Columbus is obviously a much bigger market than Bloomington and I'm not sure the business model for the OSU golf course would work for IU. Hopefully they don't even try...when I was there Bloomington still seemed to have a lot in common with the town depicted in Breaking Away. Having a university golf course not accessible to the locals would be a step away from the culture that I liked about Bloomington. And where else is there to play? Cascades?