The Bridgewater Golf Club (course designed by Pete Dye) is located in the Carmel/Westfield area in Indiana. Having spent quite a bit of time in Carmel (recently moved to nearby Fishers, IN), this is a course that I’ve driven by many times and had been dying to play.

The Bridgewater Clubhouse view from driving range
You see, the first thing you notice about this extraordinary country club is the clubhouse…because it’s HUGE. In fact, the clubhouse is over 70,000 square feet and the construction was supervised by S. Vic Jones and Associates out of Dallas, Texas. He’s won several awards for his work and has designed over 200 clubhouses throughout the United States. If a course around here is willing to put that type of effort into the clubhouse – you know it’s going to be among the best golf courses in Indiana. Needless to say, I’ve been staring at this course and clubhouse (all while still keeping my eyes on the road of course) while driving through Carmel for over a year now.
Since The Bridgewater Golf Club is a private golf course, I wasn’t exactly sure how or if I’d ever get the chance to play. Luckily, I have a good friend named Chris Theisen who happens to be, well, pretty damn good at golf. Long story short, his team won the Westfield Chamber Golf Outing at The Bridgewater so he received a certificate for four to play golf…and he was nice enough (especially since I’m a bogey golfer) to take me along.
In addition to the clubhouse, the first thing you notice is the top-notch practice facility at The Bridgewater Club. A very nice 23 acre driving range and 6 acre short game practice area greet you on the other side of the clubhouse. Talk about a place where you could spend hours practicing and never get tired! If you are planning to play, you’ll definitely want to get there early to check out this practice area.

Flatscreen TV above urinal in clubhouse bathroom!
Once you hit the course, you get just what you’d expect from an upscale country club golf course in Carmel, Indiana – nice fairways, well maintained greens, plenty of mature trees, lakes and ponds. There are several beautiful holes that are sure to tempt you to pull out your cell phone camera to take a picture. And how could I forget the houses?! Some of the finest homes you’ll see in Carmel are situated on The Bridgewater golf course. It definitely adds to the country club style scenery.
The course itself is very challenging – especially for the “everyday” golfer like myself. Several tight holes and plenty of hazards come into play when you’re playing from 1 of the 2 sets of back tees. The greens also really stood out to me. Not because they were fast or slow, but because they are very large. Not only are they large greens, but they were difficult to read that day. I think we only had 1-2 birdies all day in our group of 4. While I may struggle off the tee, I consider myself a good putter and I just couldn’t figure these greens out. It could have had something to do with the rain too, but I am not one to make excuses…LOL
While the private country club style experience is not for everyone, if you do get the opportunity to play The Bridgewater Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana – definitely go! Even though you’re there to play golf, it’s always nice to know you’re going to play a course that’s in great condition and receive first class treatment from employees. There are so many courses out there that compete on price alone (just ask Chris about this) that the customer friendly, relaxing atmosphere you’d expect at a golf course gets lost. So, if you want to play an outstanding course and get treated like a VIP – look no further than The Bridgewater.
P.S. – Did I mention they have flat screen TVs above the urinals in the bathroom (see pic)? I mean how much more VIP can you get?
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