Pfau Golf Course at Indiana University

IU alum - came to town in October with high expectations. The course is a very tough play for your first round. No GPS and many blind shots. Very interesting routing, and tries to imitate some of the French Lick - Dye course features. In that sense $95 greens fee could be warranted in comparison to the $350 charged in French Lick. However there are already spots of the course in rough shape. Sadly, the Purdue courses are typically in much better shape. The clubhouse is nice, but stale in that it lacks any personality. Worth a play if you are in the area, but there are better courses in Indianapolis for a golf trip. Afternoon rate breaks or late season breaks after aeration should be considered.

This course has to be one of the best in the Midwest or event the country. It is extremely challenging but what makes it fun is the creativity required to get around the course. Each hole makes you think about your next shot which is exactly what I look for, it keeps your attention for all 18 holes.

I play this course as often as possible. It can be intimidating the first couple of rounds, so if you can play with a local, do that. There are lots of hills (blind shots), doglegs, sloping fairways, big undulating greens and absolutely no distractions - you're alone in the woods and it's pretty. True, there's no GPS in the carts - bring your own. But cart and grass range are included in the price. Bottom line is, if you spray the ball, play elsewhere, but if you have some game, you'll love this course. And unless you can pound your drives, play the middle and/or forward tees. You'll play happier.

Only four targets on range, two of which, the far ones, have flags which have been laying on ground for months. Add a couple of more targets. Hitting area is very good

This is one of the most fantastic golf courses I’ve ever played. It rewards well placed tee shots the fat part of the fairway doesn’t always give away an easy approach. Loved the detail. I Especially enjoyed the square greens. The course is very well taken care of the greens were running at probably an 11 but we’re very receptive/

One of the most visually stunning courses you'll find in Indiana. Yeah.... it's hard, if you're over a 15- 20 cap, probably too hard to enjoy. But I found it a lot of fun.

Conditioning.... greens were flawless, firm and fast. Zoysia fairways were really good, other than some areas where they have drainage issues that will need to be revisited. The rough is very inconsistent and needs a lot of growing in. The only real negative.

The bunkers are really waste areas and a total crapshoot what kind of lie you'll draw.

It's very hard all around, and extremely penal if you are spraying the ball. But the fairways were generous in width. And there were run-ups on most every green outside of 18 (though some were more side-bailouts).

I liked the front 9 better than the back.

With some grow in/ maturity and drainage repairs this is a top 5 course in the state....

Not somewhere most would want to play frequently, but definitely worth an occasional visit. Yardage book is kind of a must, as no GPS. Really should be added to the carts.

Not very playable; hit it in light rough and couldn’t find balls, too much heather; greens too fast and can’t be read at all; greens are rock hard and can’t hold virtually any iron shot; slow play with no course rangers; bunkers are true penalties and are inconsistently cared for and some have too little sand and some have too much; only thing I really liked was zoysia fairways; Sorry, Kampen Course much better and much more playable.

This was our first time on the course, and we needed a caddie or GPS to give us distances and advice on where to aim and miss. Was surprised the golf apps didn't have the course yardage loaded. The greens were tough to read and a little slower than expected, which made relatively good putters seem like newbies. Also, the tee boxes had all just been watered before 4 pm, so tee shots were unfortunately a bit slippery. They should water at night. Great design and fun to play, although it was probably one of the hardest courses we have ever played. Definitely played longer than the yardage on the card, even from the whites. Thought 9 and 18 were by far the most challenging holes. One negative is that good shots were not necessarily rewarded often running through the fairways or greens and sometimes all the way into deep rough. This could be rectified by plying more rounds.The rough should definitely be cut shorter to make it more playable for the average golfer. It could be grown out for tournaments--it was just too penal and caused a lot of extra strokes. On 6, watch for hawks and snakes! Overall, very good experience, but the price makes it difficult to want to come back any time soon.

Been looking forward to playing this course. Was disappointed to see the fairways still dormant and being charged full price. Greens were nice. Sand traps were a bear. Very heavy sand. You can tell it’s a new course but this place will be AMAZING as it matures. Great layout and elevation changes. So challenging but not unfair. I’m looking forward to coming back when it greens up. Wish they charged a “spring rate” as it certainly isn’t worth $80 right now. But will be back later in the year to try again.

This is a very challenging course for the average to high handicapper. This will be a very nice course in years to come, but has a long way to go at this time. The $80 price tag will be a good price in a few years, but too high for now. The views from most holes are amazing. The layout was very challenging for my first visit. The course is very overrated at this point but hopefully will meet expectations in a few years. I will wait until it is mature to spend this amount of money to play it again.

Play this new layout as soon as you can!!!

As a 67 Year old golf person, retired Certifed Golf Course Superintendent and an high handicapper,, I have many basises.

Today, Warren G.C. (N.D) is Indiana's premeir collgiate golf course but, when I.U. (my son's alma mater)gets the rest of the course to match Steve Smyers' brilliant greens and fully realizes his vision for Pfau G.C , this couse will become the finest, most challenging golf facility in the Midwest (not just Indiana.)

Thank you Pfau family and the many donors for your resources, vision and willingness toi build the finest new golf fality I've ever seen.

WOW just about sums it all up!!!

No senior or junior rates offered. Course is designed for single handicap players, not for average mid-teen handicap players. Greens are huge and difficult to read. Not a “player’s course”, and not fun to play. At $80/round (weekdays & $95/weekend, the course is way overpriced. I would not recommend this course to anyone wanting to enjoy a nice round of golf.

This course is for the VERY good golfer. Tees and greens were great but fairways still need more time for zoysia to completely fill in and there are some bare spots. Since the course uses natural effects it gets very dry fast which makes it tough for the average guy. Due to slopes on every hole, many drives can land in fairway but end up lost. Greens are mainly isolated so if you have 150 yard approach shot, 145 or 155 will mean trouble. Was fun to see the new course but cannot describe it as a fun round of golf. Will not play again unless someone else is buying!!

This is by far the best course in the Bloomington area that I have played. The price is steep which would keep it out of regular play. I really loved how the designers kept the natural landscape of the course and incorporated it into the design. I feel like they built the course to the land instead of the opposite. No water to speak of on the course. The course plays longer than the card says, so I would recommend most play the white tees. This course will put up big numbers when it hosts tournaments. These greens are as guarded as anything I can remember playing. Elevated with no where to miss. Number 2 is a monster long hole with a hard sloping fairway. Tough pin to get to. I will play it as a par 5 next time. 18 is one on the hardest holes in Indiana. That green is comically bunkered and elevated.

I really enjoyed the round here, and this was the easy round. Get 2-3 years in on the rough and were looking at one of the hardest public courses in the state. Great Course. I highly recommend.

The new Pfau course at IU is in great shape for being open less than one week at the time I am writing. Arguably most courses would want to be in this shape at any age, with fantastic tee boxes, solid greens, and most fairways being in good shape, though there were a few patches here and there that needed to fill in still (nothing major). Sand was well maintained and taken care of – and there’s a lot of it.

The layout is tough. You need a few things to succeed here: your “A” game, a good range finder (phone GPS didn’t work), and some luck. If I had a gripe, it would be that the carts needed GPS or a distance book in the cart (similar to Trophy Club) since it was not always evident on where to go, and where trouble lurked, and how far proper spots were. Such as 16 – you cannot see where the fairway splits from the tee, but can reach the split with a good drive.

You need to be in the fairway to succeed as well. Cliché, I know, but the fairways were pretty narrow, and there is very little rough before your you enter natural areas from which it was very difficult to advance the ball as most lies I had in this were nestled/buried. Approach shots frequently were from uneven lies, even in the fairway. I felt like the ball was below my feet most of the round. Precision on the approach is important, because on many holes there was little-to-nowhere to miss with sand and natural areas right there to grab your errant shots. I say that even though only a couple holes had trees in play, and no water on the course.

The greens have some interesting slopes and breaks to them, and several require approaches to the proper portion of the green, or you could find yourself on a wrong tier or going off a false front. What was also neat about several of the greens is that many were not round – a couple were squares and a few were triangles, and a few were all over the place in design. All were firm, which led to some shots bounding through, even with a wedge. But they putted fast and smooth.

We played the White tee box, and it played longer than the card said. Particularly on the par 3’s, of which 3 play uphill. Several par 4’s would’ve been very long from the blues as well for an average hitter.

The course is definitely unique to any I’ve played in Indiana. It reminded me of a couple courses I’ve played elsewhere: Architects in NJ (the design style) and Tobacco Road in NC (to be fair - it’s not nearly as tricked up as Tobacco Road, but the sand, natural grasses, and green complexes and ways the greens sat elevated from many fairways with lots of rolling contours reminded me of it in the way they looked). The designers clearly tried to mesh older characteristics with modern design trends, and did so with great effect. It’s pretty to look at, but can be intimidating to play. If you spray you will be in for a long and at times frustrating round. Many times, we looked at each other asking where to hit/miss. Even a few good shots didn’t feel rewarded as they ran out through fairways and greens. Perhaps knowing where to go/aim on a future visit will change that.

The price tag is on par with other college courses in the state. It’s well worth a visit. If you are coming from the North via 37/69 allow for extra time due to construction traffic (I literally had to run to the tee because of it). I look forward to giving it another shot in the future now knowing a bit more about it.

A wonderful new design that utilizes the rollings terrain. There is a great variety of holes. The course is in good shape and the greens were fast. There are a couple of blind tee shots and ones that you have to decide where to aim so it may take a few rounds to figure it out. My only issue was the pace of play. Generally there is only a small to medium amount of rough between the fairway and the fescue. For the most part, you can play out of the fescue but it can take time to find balls which probably contributed to the slow play. The staff is great.

What an absolutely pristine golf course! The course is brand new, but the rolling hills coupled with an abundance of beautiful, mature trees that envelope the course make it feel as if it's been there forever. It's an inviting challenge with large, perfectly manicured greens, top notch practice areas and a staff that makes you feel like you just walked onto your own private course.

I have played this course for years and it is in the best condition in spite of a drought. Too bad it is slated for demolition October 1 in order to build a newer better way out.