The Bridgewater Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana – A Pete Dye Luxury Golf Experience

September 27, 2011

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

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.

The Bridgewater TV Urinal

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?

Additional Golf Resources

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Posted by derekmcclain

A Visit to Mystic Hills Golf Course in Culver, Indiana

August 2, 2011

Over this past weekend, Chris Theisen and I had the opportunity to play Mystic Hills Golf Course in Culver, Indiana.  Mystic Hills is the northernmost course on the Pete Dye Golf Trail (Check out the VisitIndiana site for more on the trail).  With the Pete Dye Golf Trail officially launching last Thursday, I was anxious to check out one of the 7 courses on the trail I hadn’t yet played.Mystic Hills Dye Tees

We arrived in Culver early so we’d have time to swing by Cafe Max for breakfast.  Even though this was a golf trip, I must mention the delicious breakfast at this small town cafe.  The Blueberry oatmeal pancakes and sinful french toast (basically a fried cinnamon roll) were outstanding.  After getting some energy, we were ready to check out the course we’d heard so much about.

One thing I really appreciate about Culver is that whole “small town” feeling (you know, the kind where you can tell people are really sincere and appreciate life) and upon arriving at the course that feeling was continued.  We were greeted promptly by Shirley who welcomed us to the course.  She told us how much fun she had at the Pete Dye Golf Trail launch event and seemed thrilled that Mystic Hills was able to be a part of it.  Shirley also filled us in on the Dye Tees (the back tees at the course marked with a skull pictured to the right).  The “Dye Tees” are a great idea – something Chris and I definitely feel like they can use in marketing.

Shirley then introduced us to Earl, the Golf Course Superintendent.  Earl told us the key to the course were the greens – boy was he telling the truth!  They were some of the smoothest, quickest greens I’ve ever putted on and it was a treat.  They were so well maintained, I’d compare it to taking a hockey puck and just giving it a soft push across the ice – the ball just kept rolling!

The front nine at Mystic Hills is a links style open feel which was built on sand.  The back nine features some tighter holes with a more traditional look.  As Chris said, “it really is the best of both worlds.”  The weather was perfect and there seemed to be a steady flow of golfers out on the course, especially by the time we got back in the clubhouse.  Overall, the course was in very good shape, even with the lack of rain we’ve had this summer in Indiana.Mystic Hills Hole 18

After finishing up our round, we had the chance to chat with the Head Golf Professional, Dave Pugh.  He told us the story of Mystic Hills and how Pete Dye was very hands-on once he decided to commit to the project.  At one point, Dye even kicked Dave off a tractor to take over creating a bunker!  Knowing the story behind the family-run course sure does make it seem special to Indiana and the Pete Dye Golf Trail.

The Head Pro (Dave Pugh) even mentioned that he’d recently bought some more property on the course and would be opening up a stay-n-play package for golfers that wanted to check out this course – perfect for people from out of state or even those traveling a long distance within Indiana.  I am sure VisitIndiana.com will add this to their site as soon as it’s ready.

In conclusion, Mystic Hills Golf Course is definitely worth the trip to Culver, IN.  In fact, if you like the small town feel and good eating – I’d recommend making a day of it.  There were a few additional places we wanted to check out in downtown Culver, IN, but I guess we’ll have to save that for the next time. :)

(Photos taken by Chris Theisen using HTC Thunderbolt)

Quick Tip:

If you love checking out new golf courses, take a look at this free directory of Indiana golf courses.

6 Comments | golf courses, indiana | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain

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