IndyStar correspondent Stefan Krajisnik and IndyStar IU Insider Zach Osterman were among media members given a sneak peek of IU’s new Pfau Golf Course, which will open to the public on June 15.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – To the average golfer, playing with one ball through 18 holes may sound feasible only in a round of mini golf.
But in a Zoom conference call Tuesday, Indiana men’s golf coach Mike Mayer was explaining how the rounds he plays at Indiana University’s new course — the Pfau Course — only require one ball.
Most will find that Mayer is the exception rather than the expectation when the course opens to the public on Monday
It was around the seventh hole when we lost track of how many balls we lost.
The Pfau Course is everything Mayer and IU women’s golf coach Clint Wallman could have asked for. The course design by Steve Smyers and two-time major winner Fuzzy Zoeller is brilliant, and it puts Indiana on the map with some of the top campus courses in the nation.
There are six tee options which give some flexibility ranging from 7,908 yards to 4,609 yards. This will allow both teams to prepare for essentially any course they will be competing at.
Hit the fairways, and your round will be pleasant. Escape the fairways, and you don’t have much to work with.
Outside the 8-10 yards of bluegrass rough is a blend of red/orange fescue. In a statement regarding the opening of the course to the public, the fescue “significantly enhance(s) the already picturesque views throughout the course.”
Adding to the picturesque colors is the plethora of red-hot balls that Osterman played with and had no chance of finding in the fescue.
“If you play within yourself, if you keep the golf ball in front of you, there is room to play golf,” Mayer tried to warn us Tuesday. “If you’re reckless… then you might want to bring a couple extra balls.”
Mayer is entering his 23rd season at the helm of the program. While he felt the old course was outdated, even he struggled to see the image Smyers had in mind with certain hole designs.
The Pfau Course essentially wiped the slate clean from the previous course, which closed in 2018. The new course is a recruiting pitch that’s already seeing results, but it’s also giving the university a public course to draw in golf tourists.
“It’s really awesome that we have a great facility now that is built not only for today and today’s level of play, but for the future of golf,” Wallman said. “This has an opportunity to be one of the best college golf courses in the country.”
The course opens up with an unforgiving par 5 which has a rectangular green. From there, the front nine includes a pair of par 3s, par 4s that at times require lower irons and another par 5 to close it out. If you play from the farthest tees, the ninth hole plays the longest at 630 yards.
“From the first hole, it could be a two-shot par 5. But from (615) yards, it’s probably not a two-shot par 5,” Mayer said. “The flexibility we have on this golf course, I mean, you could play it 100 times and never play it the same way.”
At the turn is an opportunity to stop at the George L. Thomas Clubhouse which features a pro shop and concessions that will be managed by Upland Brewery to sell beer along with pub-style dining.
When Mayer retires, he plans on writing a book titled “Situational Golf.” The back nine of the new course should have a section dedicated to it.
After a par 4 to start the back nine, you can see the full image of what Indiana is doing with the land that since the 1950s has been home to the IU Championship Golf Course, a par-3 course and the IU Cross Country Course.
The 11th hole plays straight toward IU Health Bloomington at the Regional Academic Health Center which is in the midst of its construction on what was once the driving range. The former golf clubhouse is the only fragment that remains.
The par 3s on the back are intriguing due to their uphill green locations. Hole 14 seems to have a 90-degree turn right on its fairway but slice your shot too much and you’re in the fescue again.
The most humbling part of the round came at No. 15, when Mayer came to check in on our round and remind us the greens usually play faster and the 14th hole is nothing compared to No. 18.
We had just scored a bogey on No. 14, with a mulligan or two being used. Just as Mayer left, I landed a drive on the fairway at No. 16 — my first of two successful fairways on the day.
Somehow our foursome managed to knock in a birdie on 18 thanks to a beautiful pitching wedge from about 120 yards out by me. Osterman made the final putt from less than 10 feet out which was essentially all he was good for.
The course is challenging for an everyday golfer, and it could be intimidating. But it’s an accessible way to play a course that Mayer and Wallman believe could host tournaments bigger than just the Big Ten level.
For high-level recruits, the Pfau Course makes IU a notable destination. Mayer has landed two top-35 recruits for the upcoming season, swaying them from schools such as Clemson, Texas and Alabama.
“I just don’t know if we could’ve got either of these young men without this golf course,” Mayer said. “It was a big, big part of the recruiting. It’s a game-changer recruiting wise.”
Big Ten schools have already shown interest in playing the course in future competitions. Mayer and Wallman hope that athletes can return soon with the course opening to the public and Indiana announcing the return of certain fall sports on June 15.
The men’s team hopes to host the Hoosier Collegiate on Sept. 5 and 6.
Those athletes might still be coming across balls lost at Thursday’s media outing.
