October 2025 – Played Pfau with my annual golf trip gang as part of a Hoosier State trip. Of the four courses they played on this trip (I only played three as had to fly back early to deal with my busted up wife and the animals we had to watch), most were closer to Louisville (Victoria National and the French Lick Resort courses) but we decided to fly in and out of Indy so will discuss Indy a bit here and French Lick in that write-up. I discuss Louisville in my Valhalla review.
To Indy. I really have not spent a ton of time in Indy. In a past life, we did sponsor the Indy Car series and one of the drivers so I did come out to an Indy 500. That really IS the time to come out here. And if you can get pit passes like we did, even cooler. Mind you the city is nuts and rooms, golf, restaurants, et al, are booked out way in advance so to plan a golf/Indy 500 trip, you need to book way out and expect to pay double or more what you would pay during a regular week. Also, if you’re out here during the 500, you won’t be able to play Brickyard Crossing which has several holes located inside the Indy Motor Speedway track. It is a great public access track (pun intended).
So is Indy a good guys “city” golf trip destination? On its own, not sure but let’s say if it’s an Indy 500 or your NFL team is here in September/October and you’ve burned out other cities, then yeah. For publics, Brickyard and Pfau are great courses. The best course in the area is Crooked Stick which your pro (or Thousand Greens) should be able to get you access for smaller groups. Brickyard and Crooked Stick are both Pete Dye designs and as this is his home state, there a few more in the area. Food-wise, St. Elmo is one of my world top 20 steakhouses (as I list in my Concession blog page). A great downtown sports bar is Brothers Bar & Grill. I think it’s a chain but lots of TVs and a good long bar. Out by the airport, the boys ate at a sports bar called Hangar 58. Was already home so can’t review it for you one way or the other.
Next tangent before I get into hole-by-hole is true college/university golf courses. Now there are are course where colleges play (Papago down by the Phoenix airport is ASU’s home course and comes to mind), but it’s not owned by the university so I’m not talking about that. But of the courses that are university owned like Pfau. I’ve ranked the ones I have played below. Keep in mind, I haven’t played a ton of them. Golf Digest created the definitive list here. I’ll save you the click and tell you that Yale is #1, Pfau #5, and I’ve played only two of them – here and Duke. I do have plans to play Yale in 2026 now that it is reopened. That said, here is my current ranking:
- Pfau at Indiana University
- UNC Finley (and it’s a huge gap between Pfau and Finley)
- Duke University Golf Course
- Penn State White (another pretty good gap between Duke and here)
- Penn State Blue
That’s all I played. I plan to add some (like Michigan and Ohio State’s courses) and as I said play Yale now that Gil Hanse is done, to add to my list. I’ll update as I play more. To the course.
Overall, we all really loved the Pfau course. There are no homes abutting the course. Conditioning was good. Hole variety was solid. It was challenging without being brutal even though from the whites it played to 6,200 yards, 71.2 rating and a 140!!! slope. Just inside my top 200. And they had beers (unlike Penn State’s courses which did not). Speaking of which, I am so happy PSU just fired that buffoon of a coach and I hope they can poach Cignetti from IU! But I digress. I shot my perfect – perfectly mediocre – bogey score at Pfau, a 45 front, back and 90 total.
ONE They have a good hole-by-hole description on the Pfau website. But like I did for my Portrush review, I’ll edit it from my perspective and bad golfing ability. The opening hole is one of only three par 5s on the course and a good introduction to the features of The Pfau Course that will haunt the bogey player throughout their round. Uneven lies, fucking bunkers and substantial length – 515 yards from the whites. The back tees here stretch out to almost 8,000 yards. They tried the Seth Raynor square green thing here and on several holes. I parred.
TWO This lengthy par 4 is the longest on The Pfau Course. From the tips it plays to 530 yards and as is from the whites 434. Number one handicap. Cheat the dogleg you think? Nope, one of the largest clusters of bunkers on the property guards the front of the green. Plus to add injury to insult, it’s uphill. Do what I did – play it as a par five hitting a fairway wood to the right of the green and chip up. A par with two pops!
Here’s the bailout area on two.
THREE This par 3 is most notably different from the others on the course in that it presents a down hill shot. The green is of generous sizing but due to its contouring– long putts will be more difficult than on other greens at The Pfau Course. I left it just shy and left of the green but on the fringe. A sucky birdie putt but an awesome 15-footer for par meant I was even par after three.
FOUR This tee shot requires the golfer to make a decision. Clubbing down will leave a generous landing area but most likely result in a blind second shot to the green with at least a mid-iron. However, if you’re old like me and suck, you’re not cresting the hill even with your best drive and will still have that blind shot. The line from where I was just left in the fescue is over the tree you see in the distance that looks dead. I hit an awesome shot but didn’t check the line and was too far right and would end up in the low area and kick into the trees. Another square green that I would two putt for double bogey after my first lost ball on the day.
FIVE Hole 5 is one of the shortest of the par 4s at The Pfau Course (just 305) from the white tees and can present a good scoring opportunity depending on the wind. Even if you top your drive, you can get a GIR. The square green features an “infinity style” look and drop BUT NO BUNKERS.
Here’s the green on five.
SIX The sixth is a solid par 4 (370 yards) with a winding fairway and plays as one of the hardest holes on the course. The drive is into a valley and the approach is uphill. This hole requires another good tee shot as the green is not overly large. Picking the correct line off the tee can depend greatly on the wind direction of the day. A hilly green surround could make for some challenging chips, especially from the rough. I was short left on my approach, couldn’t get my first chip on but a gimme bogey after the next wedge was within a foot.
SEVEN (182 yards) A massive square green awaits the uphill tee ball on this amazing par 3, which is the longest of the Par 3s on The Pfau Course. The bunker cluster should not really be in play for a well struck ball, but may encourage using an extra club. Forget how I fucked this one up but a double.
EIGHT 400 yards. This beautiful dogleg right is a long par 4. Keeping the ball inside the right tree line and in the fairway is important, as an approach from the right rough presents a difficult angle. Balls finding the trees on the right will have a hard time even getting back into play. A drive straight away or just left will be safer (NO SHIT) and provide a better angle to the green, but will leave a longer approach shot.
From just off the green on eight. Another double for me here.
NINE (495 yards and the #3 handicap) There are many hills to negotiate on the par 5 ninth hole and avoiding bunkers is important to prevent a big number. Tee shot placement is important, as is the placement of the second shot, as is the chip on, as is the putt or putts. Yeah suffice it to say if you suck you’re gonna double this or worse. I bogeyed.
TEN 284 yards. The back nine at The Pfau Course begins with another club choice from the tee (unless you suck then it’s bombs away). The tenth hole is not a long one and only a gentle dogleg to the left. The green however, is the smallest on the course and will require a confident approach shot. A tee shot that wanders too far left can find some well-placed fairway bunkers or else some of the most menacing rough on the property. I was right off the tee though not bad at all (in the first cut) and tried to kill my nine instead of hitting a nice easy eight. Topped it but hit my 54-degree wedge to within gimme range for par.
ELEVEN. That’s IU’s medical building in the background. Only 335 yards yet somehow I would double. Another dogleg left, the eleventh shares a back tee with the sixteenth hole. The approach from the dogleg is slightly down hill to a green that is surrounded with moguls and difficult chipping opportunities, especially over the green. Another amazing viewpoint of the course is found standing in the dogleg of this southern-most corner of the layout.
TWELVE 434 yards and #2 handicap. I would slice deep into the junk but I had my floating breakfast ball! And did the same thing. But would drill a three wood from my drop onto the green and two-putt bogey for a three net. The second longest par 4 on the course is number twelve. The fairway appears generous but is humped, so shots down the edge of the fairway can find the rough. The front bunker looks (and is) dangerous, but the smaller traps and eye brows immediately next to the green can pose an even bigger challenge.
THIRTEEN 472 yards. IU Medical Building from another angle in the background. The final par 5 at The Pfau Course is tree lined up the left side and straight away until the last 100 yards of the hole, where it doglegs to the right. Was right. Crappy shot I put in the fescue. Found it but was buried so took me two hacks to just get out. hybrid to inside 100. Up and down from there for a juicy 7, Don’t do that. Only real water on the course is off to the left of the green. At least I didn’t go in there but our buddy Erik did.
FOURTEEN 362 yards. The tempting par 4 fourteenth hole is an “early” dogleg that invites a GOOD golfer to take on the bunkers and leave a shorter approach shot. I am a BAD golfer so avoided these altogether and put it well left of them. Beyond the bunkers however, the fairway begins to slope away from the tee and an improper line or shot shape could take even a well struck ball into trouble. The back to front sloping green makes up and downs from over the putting surface a difficult proposition. Screw that, I was GIR and would par.
FIFTEEN 160 yards. Used this photo to open up the review as it gives a good representation of what all of Pfau was like. While listed as the second longest Par 3 in terms of yards, this hole can easily play as the longest. Uphill and into the prevailing wind when present, the fifteenth requires a strong tee ball. The green is generous, but short approaches will leave a difficult bunker shot. Rounds played later in the day will face the additional challenge of hitting into the setting sun. Was on and two putt par.
SIXTEEN 361 yards. Blind tee shot. Number sixteen is a wonderful par 4 if by wonderful you mean surrounded by bunkers. The slight dogleg right has a fairway that comes to an end prior to the green so tee balls must be measured to be sure not to go too far and into a difficult lie in the rough. The green is capable of hosting some tight and difficult pin positions and hosts some small hidden bunkers behind and to the right of the putting surface.
SEVENTEEN 148 yards. Uphill to an elevated green, the seventeenth hole is the shortest of the par 3s. Hitting once again to the west, the wind and setting sun can be factors on the tee shot. The green is fair, but not quite as big as it may appear as the front right portion of the green is actually a false front. Any ball that does not carry beyond the ridge in the front right will trundle down the hill and leave a lengthy chip shot. On the green and parred.
EIGHTEEN 386 yards. I hate when all I need is a bogey to break 90 and I end up doubling or worse. That’s my story on 18. The work is far from over as you approach the tee of the long and difficult par 4 finishing hole. From the back tee the eighteenth is a dogleg right that demands a well-struck and well-placed tee ball. Around the corner as the fairway ends, golfers catch sight of a massive cluster of bunkers guarding the front of the green. The quadrilateral shaped punch bowl style green is elevated above the fairway and is quite large, but will still require a well struck approach, probably from the fairway, in order to access any pins in the front half of the green. It’s a phenomenal finishing hole and final test of the day on this Steve Smyers masterpiece.
You see how intimidating the approach shot is with a creek running at the end of the fairway. Would skull my hybrid approach but left it short of the creek then into the bunker from there. You see conditioning throughout the photos was great and we had a bluebird weather day. Pfau really has inspired me to play more college courses.
Golf Scrapbook 