A few quick reviews…Kampen, Prairie View

Just wanted to drop a few notes about some recent rounds I played.

First off, I played an outing at Prairie View on a gorgeous day. I had played there in late fall last year, so this was much greener and in-shape. A Robert Trent Jones Jr. design (only one in Indiana) it routinely makes the “best of” lists. I do enjoy playing here, more-so now that I know how to play a few of the holes better. It can be a little pricey, so I prefer playing with a discount. The first hole eases you into the round well, a short-ish par 4; the stretch from 6 through 9 is solid, with hole 9 a tough finish to the front. The back starts with my least favorite hole, only because there’s nothing creative about it: hit to the corner or you’re toast. Boring. But the rest of the back is better; my favorites are the shortish 16th and the great tee shot on 17. The closing 18th is a gettable par 5 with a good tee shot. Conditions are usually solid: mostly level tees, consistent greens (if a little boring) and their practice facilities are some of the best you can find. The pic at the top of this page is the par 3 sixth hole and one of my favorite par 3s in the area.

Up next was a round at the Kampen Course at Purdue. I’ve written about this place before (see my GolfAdvisor review here). Let me say this again: the is Pete Dye at his wiliest, with misdirection off the tee and strategy needed all over the place. Experience helps out here and I finally had a decent round (nothing shocking, but not ass-kicked, I now-hate-golf mad driving home). It’s always in good shape and they just updated their twilight pricing, so it’s more affordable than ever. I love all the par 5s out here and holes like 7 and 8 are fun scoring chances if you don’t goof up your tee shot. The home stretch from 16 - 18 is a great way to close out your day, and perhaps blow up your scorecard. Biggest item out here is to choose the right tee box; they have the ability to tip the course out and mortals like me can’t even dream of teeeing off from those tees back yonder (hole 9 is a great example, take a walk back there). This course is highly regarded on a national scale and for good reason. Take the drive to enjoy it. I would even consider the double shot of Kampen and the renovated Ackerman to be a day almost unmatched in Indiana Golf.

The 17th hole tee shot at prairie view is risk/reward and tons of fun