INDIANAPOLIS — The Pete Dye Golf Trail is a one-of-a-kind collection of golf courses you’ll only find in Indiana. Dye is considered in many circles to be the most influential golf course architect of the last five decades. While best known for epic designs like TPC at Sawgrass, Dye honed his craft in Indiana. He is considered a true golf icon and Indiana’s adopted son.
On Friday, April 20, Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development (IOTD) announced the relaunch of the Pete Dye Golf Trail, which will be managed and marketed by IOTD.
“Beautiful golf courses span across our entire nation,” said Crouch. “Rather uniquely, Indiana is known for having some of the most exclusive golfing experiences, and now that the Indiana Office of Tourism Development has taken charge of the trail, we can continue to attract visitors to these courses.”
The Pete Dye Golf Trail offers golfers an experience that is uniquely Indiana. The newest addition on the trail is the Ackerman-Allen Course in West Lafayette. Ackerman-Allen is a parkland style course with a rolling terrain, no two holes that look alike and large, player-friendly greens with undulation. It also offers a First Tee program for junior golfers, new to the Birck-Boilermaker Golf Complex and for the Lafayette area.
Other courses on the Pete Dye Golf Trail include:
Brickyard Crossing, Indianapolis
Brickyard Crossing is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway golf course. Four holes are located inside the world famous oval and 14 just outside the backstretch.
The course hosts the LPGA’s Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim from August 16-19 with the world’s best female golfers playing the track. Go to IWITCHAMP.com for details on the LPGA event.
The Fort Golf Resort, Indianapolis
One of the most unique features of The Fort are the multiple elevation changes throughout the golf course. Central Indiana is not known for hilly golf courses, but a large ravine that runs throughout the course creates several changes and continuous rolling ground. Dye was able to incorporate and take advantage of these dynamic changes on just about every hole to create a challenging golf experience.
A second great quality of the course is that there are no buildings anywhere to be seen. Because the course is surrounded by Ft. Harrison State Park, the golf course is uniquely secluded, even though you are less than 30 minutes from downtown Indianapolis.
Kampen Golf Course, West Lafayette
A unique feature of the Kampen Course is the Water Reclamation system that was set up when the course was built. As runoff water travels across the golf course and into the celery bog, measurements are taken at the different testing stations that proved that water running through the golf course ends up cleaner than it was when it entered the course from the local community, helping to dispel the sentiment that golf courses are not environmentally friendly. Birck-Boilermaker Golf Complex offers an extensive schedule of Stay and Play programs. Visit www.purduegolf.com here for more information.
Maple Creek Golf and Country Club, Indianapolis
Maple Creek is the first 18-hole course designed and built by Pete and Alice, created in October of 1961. Due to the long history, Maple Creek has a large collection of Pete Dye memorabilia in the newly renovated clubhouse. Included in the memorabilia is the world's only complete logo golf ball collection of each Pete Dye golf course, which includes over 150 golf balls displayed in a beautiful custom lit shadow box in the clubhouse’s Dye History Hallway.
Mystic Hills Golf Club & Lodge, Culver
This course offers a small town atmosphere with a small town price. The stunning 18-hole layout incorporates a links-style design on the front nine and a more traditional feel on the back nine. Prairie grasses guard the fairways as numerous sand bunkers protect each undulating green. The course offers golfers views of wetland areas, lush woods and rolling fairways. There’s also two cabins located just behind the driving range that sleep six, which makes this a great play and stay trip near beautiful Lake Maxinkuckee and historic Culver Military Academies.
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick
The Pete Dye Course Golf Course at French Lick was named 2009’s Best New Course in America by Golf Digest. Originally conceived as a sketch by Dye on a napkin at a nearby restaurant, this hilltop course (it’s built on the highest point in Indiana) offers 40-mile panoramic views of the breathtaking Hoosier National Forest.
Join a week-long celebration of women’s golf October 11-17 with the second annual Senior LPGA Championship presented by Old National Bank, featuring a pair of pro-am events preceding the 54-hole tournament on The Pete Dye Course at French Lick.
“The Pete Dye Golf Trail will be a key component in our efforts to promote group travel, stay and play packages, as well as Indiana’s growing reputation as a golf destination,” said Mark Newman, IOTD’s Executive Director. “Golf tourism is a $70 billion industry in the U.S., and we believe that with a focused marketing effort we can carve out a piece of that for Indiana.”
IOTD is relaunching VisitIndianaGolf.com. The website features almost 200 courses across the Hoosier state, showcases upcoming tournaments and events and lists special offers and discount packages. For videos, photos and more information about the courses on the Pete Dye Golf Trail, go to VisitIndianaGolf.com.
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