Golf Trip - The Region

Because one golf trip a year ain’t enough, we rocked another one this past weekend up in The Region - we stayed (and golfed) in Merrillville, played 36 in Valpo and hit Demotte on the way home Sunday.

I wrote about playing Innsbrook CC in Merrillville last year for GolfAdvisor, so click here for more. As a recap, its a 100yr old private course designed by William Langford with six par5s, six par4s and six par3s. It’s in great shape and features some tricky-ass greens and brutes in the par4 category - all those par3s left some “extra” yardage and it adds up. We had lunch in the clubhouse, aptly named Langfords and had great weather. If you get an invite, GO.

Next up was 36 at The Course at Aberdeen in Valparaiso. This a Michael Hurdzan course with a cool routing, somewhat through a neighborhood and somewhat around ponds/woods/shires. My favorite hole was #12, a short par4 calling for a precise tee shot to a fairly guarded fairway. We worked with the course and got a group rate and had ton of fun. Food choices were a bit limited on site, but the cart girls were on point keeping us refreshed. The Homeowner’s Association recently purchased the club and have made strides in repairing some of the neglect that had befell the course. Conditions were pretty solid, some of the tee boxes were beat up and a few spots had been overwatered, but overall it was good.

Our Championship round was at one of my favorite courses in the state, Sandy Pines GC in Demotte (my GA review here). They’re doing something right in this place and it’s always a busy scene between the golf, the restaurant and the Hall they have for rent. The course opens up right on top of the clubhouse (almost) so you can have some fun heckling your buddies. The par5 second is one of my favorite in the state. It’s a wonderful place, and seems very much like a Florida course. The place is always in great shape and I think it’s just quirky enough to keep your attention. We played the back tees, some of which are new, and I think this showcases the course at it’s best (some of the landing areas are better). Eat at the restaurant it’s really good (specials, lots of choices).

We paid $47 plus $15 for a re-buy at Aberdeen and paid $68 at Sandy Pines. We stayed at Home2Suites in Merrillville and it was nice (relatively new); double occupancy at a group rate of $150 per night. They have breakfast in the morning and we played some poker downstairs in the dining area. We ate dinners out at Bar Louie and Hooters, both nearby. We played a Stableford Scoring for our championship and it’s a good way to keep it fun (can’t do worse than double bogey so pick it up); it allows for the flights to be a little closer in competition without having go through the hassle of handicapping everyone and building scorecards, etc. We also kept current with everyone on the course by using The Grint’s Live Leaderboard - easy to set-up and cool to check on other players (sorry I forgot to screenshot it).

Stay tuned to GolfIndy.info for more on trips you can take too; we’re going to show off some itineraries for you to check out.