Top 100 Public Courses
#87 Purgatory Golf Club
Don’t let the gimmicky name mislead you, Purgatory is a serious golf course. It can stretch out to 7754 yards and has 125 bunkers protecting it. It’s large hills are covered with fescue and heather, giving it a links look and feel.
(The 156 yard par three sixth demands a confident strike from the tee to secure a par. There’s very little room to bail out and any pin on the left limits the short fairway option. If you want more length, there’s three other tees to choose. 231/212/183)
Indianapolis native Ron Kern designed Purgatory in 2000. Kern is a second generation architect, although he considers himself third generation due to his time with Indiana legend Bill Diddel. Known mostly for his regional work, Purgatory was Kern’s first course to gain national attention.
(The 170 yard par three twelfth is a beautiful hole. The green unfurls across the hillock with bunkers positioned to snag a poorly struck shot. Fairway short right and back left give players a place to bailout. 235/202/184)
Kern benefited from an owner who was willing to go all in on the links motif and transform a flat piece of land into a hilly, tall grass lined, bunker sprawling course. It’s very intimidating but it’s very playable. Kern gave it plenty of width, and the player is encouraged to turn his shoulders and give the ball a mighty whack!
(This is the green complex of the mighty thirteenth. From the tips, this is the longest par five I’ve seen. At 741 yards, I’d say it would be a legitimate par 6 hole. It extends from one end of the property to the other. It’s also the flattest portion, so Kern used it all on one hole. From my tees, it was a respectable 528 yards.)
The green complexes are the most challenging part. They are large, and are sectioned off with ridges and mounds. The yardage needs to be correct on the approach shots to avoid putting over these features. With all the bunkering, one must be confident with hitting the appropriate club.
(There’s ample room to run the ball into the green at the 430 yard par four fourteenth.
469/454/436)
(The 396 yard par four tenth is one of the few holes that looks like a parkland course. The massive green is well bunkered in front, and sports several good hole locations. 473/449/424)
The over abundance of sand traps is what makes Purgatory different from other faux links courses. Sometimes one wonders why this or that bunker is where it is without realizing that there are six tee boxes on each hole. When Purgatory first opened up, it had the unique distinction of having the longest and shortest set of tees in Indiana. The ladies tees are a tad over 4400 yards. This differential gives Purgatory a tremendous amount of flexibility. It also brings all the bunkers into play, even if that means giving senior and female golfers an opportunity to drive over a trap twenty yards in front of them. It’s an engaging round of golf for everybody, and is one reason why Purgatory was selected as one the best female friendly courses in America.
(Missing the fairway will leave approach shots like the one above.)
The only negative lobbied at Purgatory is the lack of a first rate short par four. It seems like length was the sole consideration for many of the holes and if there was a bit more variety then it would be a more thorough test. The long irons and hybrids will see a lot of action.
(The 457 yard par five eighteenth looks like a for sure birdie hole on the card, but as this view shows, there’s very little room to land a long shafted club. A dual fairway offers players several avenues to the green including carrying over the central bunker complex. It’s an exciting finish especially for the state tournaments that are held here. 543/524/484)
Purgatory hosts plenty of local and state tournaments, and a few national ones too. It obviously has the length to combat the best players but it really shines providing the everyday golfer with an enjoyable round of golf. I personally think it’d be a blast playing a round where you rotate from the tips to ladies tees. A true top 10 course in Indiana, I give Purgatory a 6 (very good)(worth driving two hours to play).
(Note the slope of the green to back left location. The tee is right of the picture, and a nice draw will catch center of green and work it’s way back there.)
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