Kampen at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex

Always felt Kampen is the more difficult test of golf of their two courses. The terrain is flat, but the bunkering and carries make it more difficult.

If you are looking to challenge yourself then play Kampen.

PACE: After finishing Ackerman early, the staff pushed my tee time up an hour to get me out ahead of 4-somes. Thank you! As such, as a walking single I never waited on anyone or had anyone behind me. Perfect day!

CONDITIONS: Perfect. Tees, fairways, bunkers and greens were all great. Fix your ball marks! They could've turned down the wind a little bit. :)

STAFF: Incredibly helpful! Thru e-mail they helped me set up tee times so I could play all 36 holes in one day. In the clubhouse they were friendly and provided guidance as to where I needed to go. After finding the flagstick on #8 missing, the starter was very attentive in calling the grounds crew to get that addressed. Even the grounds crew would waive and compliment a good shot. Best all-around staff I have encountered in 2022!

VALUE: I figure the non-Purdue rate is meant to help subsidize the course so Purdue students/faculty/staff can play at a lower rate, but still... that public rate is steep. As great as the conditions and staff are, this is not a place I could regularly visit.

LAYOUT: Kampen doesn't have the elevation like Ackerman-Allen does, but it does bring water and hazards into play a lot more. Hole #1 gives you that "warm handshake" but after that it's Pete Dye humbling your golf game. Aim to the left on #6. Be ready to shoot above your handicap.

At Birck, Ackerman-Allen is the "party in the back" and Kampen is definitely the "business up front."

The course is very nice, fairways and greens are immaculate. Some of the waste areas near the greens could use a little attention.
The driving range hitting area was atrocious for the caliber of course. I saw they had a nice tee area on the range but the tee area was moved up so you were hitting off crab grass and dirt. The areas was dished and not even level.

Overall course was good , but travelling from out of town and renting clubs for $50 disappointed that they were from and not up to date clubs

First time out and enjoyed the challenge. Pete Dye stamped all over this design and is a course you have to be patient with but has some holes to attack. Course was in GREAT condition. Will definitely be back for another challenge. Great day of golf!

The course conditions are the best I have seen this year and besides French Lick I have played several of the top 10 course in Indiana. Downside It was cart path only I was notified on the second hole not in the pro shop or by the starter. The course is a fantastic layout and in really good shape pretty wide open so the Wind can be a issue the greens are very big and are extremely soft. I don’t think the greens were mowed may be to soft to get mowers on., they rolled very nice and true and have very few marks on them there absolutely stunning to look at. I would suggest maybe not playing the back tees very little roll with your drives. They like the rest of Indiana have had a ton of rain in the past couple weeks. The course is almost 100 miles from my home I will play it again before the year is over well worth the drive.

Used my last tee time credit on an excellent course.
Everything was great. You do need to know where to hit the ball and how far for the angles. Purdue student Ryan, had just graduated and was taking advantage of playing a great course, joined me for the back nine. We had a great time and we played well.

course in great shape considering recent heavy rains. cart path only with some standing water in fairways. greens were still fast but fair. had not played course in 15 years and deterioration of bunkers were noticeable. highly recommend new scorecard to at least put hole layout on back of card. play from correct tees and improve enjoyability of course.

This course chewed me up and spit me out on a cool windy day. Oh wow, I felt beat up. If I step back from how bad I played and how bad the weather was, the course design is exciting and unique. Conditions were good, but a little short of expectations. I was doing the Pete Dye Golf Trail so went to West Lafayette just to play here and AA. I want to play again, but not sure I will go out of may to get to West Lafayette just to play here.

There aren't enough positive things I can say about this course. From the course architecture to the scenery, to the overall challenge, it's the best course in the state of Indiana.

Played a ton of places all over the country, but this is without a doubt a top three course if not #1.

It had been awhile since I made the trip up to Purdue, but when I arrived, I remembered why it is such a special place.

This is a first-class facility from top to bottom. It's an absolute beauty. The practice range is great and every single hole on the Kampen Course is a gem - although it is not an easy track, so come prepared to be heavily challenged.

It was in fantastic shape, the variety of the holes is great and the greens were pure, pure, pure.

When we were done we were lucky enough to get a tour of the Ackerman-Allen Course across the street. That place looks great too. Can't wait to get back and give that one a try.

Lots of great reviews below this one, so I don't have much to add. Kampen is next to the perfect Indiana golf course. This is Pete Dye in all of his glory. I've played it twice now, and I've had my lunch eaten both times I've played it. Got the group golfer voucher which is the best money I spent on golf in 2019. Kampen would be right near the top of my short list for best courses in the state of Indiana.

Played a 1pm tee time on a hot day from the whites. Course was pretty empty, so we could take our time.

I"ve never played Bethpage Black in NY; but I know that sign "Warning: The Black Course is an Extremely Difficult Course...". So while I can't make a first person comparison, I can tell you the Kampen Course can easily warrant its own version of the famous warning sign.

This place ain't for the fair of heart. I've played nearly every Dye course in Indiana and hand's down this is Dye's at his meanest. Tons of misdirection off the tees, trouble left and right, and lots of bunkering to catch your eye (and wayward shots). Add in dense fescue and waste areas and you should be getting the picture.

I've played here a handful of times and the lines off the tee are the hardest thing to get right. Once in the fairways, you'll see how much room you have. So experience is huge. What will rapidly destroy your score is the long fescue that surrounds a bunker - so if the bunker doesn't grab you, you're probably hosed by the fescue your ball found instead.

The course is 20 years old and the turf is all-around top notch, tees are level and lush, the fairways are first rate and the greens are a perfectly trimmed patch of green carpet. (Though oddly not very fast today.)

The routing is fantastic - Not an overly hilly property, there are some subtle undulations and hills to enhance the framing. All the par 5s are great and there are some great quirks like the split fairway on the 7th and the daunting tee shot of the 8th (there is some room out there). I love the Alps-style 15th hole, followed by a great par 5 on the 16th.

You will use every club; do yourself a solid and pick a good tee-ball line. Oh and practice hitting out of the sand with at least half your clubs. And one more note: if you're in the deep fescue, just punch out to the fairway in the shortest path possible: you can't squeeze extra yards out of that stuff. I should know!.

Kampen is the best course I've played in the state of Indiana. It's visually beautiful and intimidating at the same time. All the classic Pete Dye hallmarks are there. Pick the right tee box, and stay in the sometimes narrow fairway. If you don't, most holes have tall/thick rough, water, and/or sand traps waiting to collect your ball. I had difficulty advancing it more than 20-30 yards from the tall stuff I found. If you do stay in play, you can find your way around it, as the greens have some undulation but putt true. Though finding the right line off some tees were a challenge the first time through. Practice facilities were top notch as well. It is well worth the stop if you find yourself traveling to Purdue's campus or nearby on I-65.