Indy has Racing – But Great Golf Too
By Tom Lang
Michigan golfers who want to extend their season in the fall or go where spring starts a little earlier can do so easily by considering a trip to Indianapolis – where the weather is often 5-10 degrees warmer than the Great Lakes State but it’s only a 2.5 hour drive south of the border.
My recent trip took place in Hamilton County, the northeastern quadrant to the Indianapolis metro area. Michigan’s I-69 thoroughfare runs the full length of Indiana and goes right through the heart of Hamilton Co – an area rich in Midwest heritage, featuring a nice mix of farmland and surging metropolitan growth of new hotels, shops and daily-living amenities – while maintaining small charming, historic villages to explore like Carmel, Noblesville and Cicero.
I joined up with locals at the two courses I played – Plum Creek, a Pete and Alice Dye design – and Bear Slide in the tiny farm town of Cicero. My third planned round of golf at Prairie View Golf Club was rained out due to the leftovers of Hurricane Helene reaching the area. We’ll catch it next time.
Bear Slide Golf Club:
At one time, Bear Slide was ranked the No. 2 best course in Indiana. Frenck Lick has since grabbed away No. 1 and No. 2, but I can see why Bear Slide got the original ranking.
Like almost every course in the region, it’s situated on what was once farmland – but it’s some of the hilliest farmland you can find, especially the area on the back nine that follows Bear Slide Creek that I cannot imagine was ever farmable land, and makes for some challenging golf holes nestled into the land that features some deep crevices once cut out by the creek.
I was paired with two locals who are buddies and neighbors in the built-up Indy suburb of Fishers.
“It’s not a flat course by any stretch of the imagination whatsoever,” said Matt Mulvihill. “The hills make it challenging, even having some blind shots you wouldn’t expect. It’s definitely one of those courses that’s easier to play the second time, or with someone who’s been here.”
Local pediatrician Hank Knouse added: “It’s a very strategic course. There’s blind shots, with left and right bends where you need to be very specific where you place your first shots to have any chance to reach the green on your second shots. A lot of fun.”
The front nine is more open and shows more of the manmade land moving during construction. It was done well, adding to the challenge and the visuals on the course. I really liked the par 3s of Holes 4 and 6, followed by the No. 7 par 4 downhill to a wide open fairway and back up to a skinny, elevated green complex.
The back nine features the more cavernous-feeling land caused by the creek centuries ago. It directly effects holes 10 and 11, before the hole cadence makes a turn out to more open land with some large ponds. It then comes back to the rugged terrain of holes 15-18. Hole 15 is a downhill drivable par 4, followed by the downhill short par 3 16th that’s next to the perched clubhouse. Hole 17’s tee shot goes uphill on a somewhat blind shot to a right to left turning dogleg. Then the 18 tee shot goes back downhill to a green slightly above the fairway but in the bottom of a naturally land-formed bowl.
Plum Creek Golf Club:
Pete Dye is well-known for moving a lot of dirt to shape his designs. At Plum Creek, he and Alice saved most of that for the back nine. As I played the front, I kept thinking this doesn’t feel all that much like Dye. That changed in the afternoon, when the green complexes became more alive, more dramatic in shaping and more “Diabolical Dye” in a few cases as people say.
Midway through the front nine were four consecutive par 4s with a ton of differentiation from one to the next. No. 4 was a long par 4 dissected by the creek ranked as the No. 1 handicap hole. Hole 5 became a short par 4 with the easiest handicap on the front, but holes 6 and 7 were the longest on the front, even longer than the No. 1 handicap. Plum Creek itself went right down the middle of the front nine, coming into play on six holes.
My favorite hole was 17. It’s a hard-right-turn dogleg par five with water running the entire length down the right side. Large mounding guards the back of the green and provides a good visual for incoming shots.
The one visible drawback to the course is that it winds seamlessly through a well taken care of housing complex of upper-end homes and townhomes.
Other overall course observations included:
Uneven lies are prevalent
Solid GPS service on the carts
The former Lynnwood Farm site has two nice public parks around the outer edges
A good mix of men and women were out playing on a Wednesday
The clubhouse has a nice upper-level deck and covered lower area for relaxing after the round
The entire Hamilton County area offers many festivals for music and arts and crafts, with a Top Golf facility right along I-69 in Fishers. I had great meals at Fork & Ale House in downtown Carmel within the town confines of its wonderfully-modernized small urban experience; at Wolfies Grill not far from Bear Slide on a huge waterfront inside the Noblesville northern city limits; and finished off with a great homemade breakfast on the way home at The Roost in a little strip mall in Fishers.
All in all, ‘variety is the spice’ in Hamilton County – a great place to visit for all kinds of tastes for golf and other off-course activities.
I will return.
