BIRCK BOILERMAKER GOLF COMPLEX ( 765-494-3139)
Indiana Golf Course Review
The Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at the University of Purdue is a 36-hole facility that presents two distinctive layouts playing to slope ratings ranging from 124 on the player friendly Ackerman Hills layout, to a whopping 145 slope on the challenging Kampen Course. The Kampen Course was designed by Pete Dye along with Purdue University students and opened in 1998, while the Ackerman Hills layout has the tradition of playing host to the 1961 NCAA Men's National Championship, with Jack Nicklaus as the individual medalist!
The Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex includes complete practice facilities including a targeted outdoor range with both grass and artificial playing surfaces. There are putting greens plus a short game area with sand bunkers. The Adjacent Tom Spurgeon Golf Training Center has indoor hitting bays and a putting green, and is home to the Purdue University Teams. The clubhouse features a golf shop stocked with some of the latest equipment and demo clubs, plus attire and accessories. There also is a snack bar/lounge serving beverages and sandwiches. On course yardage markers are provided at 100, 150 and 200 yards (250 on par fives) on the fairways and cart paths, and color coded flags indicate front, middle and back hole locations.
ACKERMAN HILLS COURSE
The Ackerman Hills Course is the original layout on property, and features a traditional parkland style with an extremely rolling terrain. Formerly known as the Purdue South Course, Ackerman Hills features 3 sets of tee areas that play to distances and slopes measuring 6436 yards/124 slope, 5918 yards/112 slope and 5325 yards with a slope of 115 for women playing from the forward tees.
Course characteristics include small, mildly undulating putting surfaces that require accurate approaches, along with significant elevation changes from fairway to green. There is a mixture of greens, some very open and others protected by sand bunkers on either side. Generally however, there is ample room greenside for up and down recoveries. There are just 14 sand traps, and water comes into play (in the form of crossing creeks) on just two holes.
Choosing the correct club to match the elevation changes and hitting the advantageous
spot on doglegs is the main obstacle to par here; but as the slope ratings indicate, this is course where most golfers should be able to score their handicap or better. The layout varies significantly from the more popular Kampen Course, but players of all skill levels will encounter similar conditioning and an interesting round when opting for Ackerman Hills.
With two courses on property complimented by the fine facilities, the Birck Boilermaker Complex is an ideal venue for outings and corporate events. There are special rates for faculty, alumni and students, and walking is allowed at all times except for before noon on the Kampen Course. For updated rates and other information, visit our page for the course, with direct link to the property's own website by clicking here.
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