Warren - Indiana - USA

Great campus course in that its very playable but still challenging enough for tournaments. Great classic Coore Crenshaw course with some interesting bunkering and greens. The course feels as though its been there for 100 years and has great views of the north part of campus.

The holes on the east side of the property where the ravine comes into play are where the course really comes alive. 7 doglegs over the ravine forcing a heroic carry off the tee. 10 is a great par 4.5 at under 500 yards down the hill to a peninsula green wrapping around the creek. 16 plays back over the river as a drive and pitch to a lion's mouth green. 18 is a brute of a finisher playing in the low part of the property wrapping around the creek.

After being disappointed the previous day by the Ackerman-Allen course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue, I played the following morning at the Warren course at Notre Dame with the first tee time. I was joined by a retired professor of finance who played nine holes due to an injury. I was also joined by a retired couple who moved there to be closer to their only daughter and only granddaughter. Both sent in their retirement notices the same day three years previously, with the wife taking up golf at that point. She was more passionate about the game then her husband. After we finished the morning round in just over three hours, they went right to the first tee for their second round. My point in telling this story is that the Warren course is very playable, not exhausting physically or mentally. Like many "public" designs by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, this course is built more for enjoyment than for challenge.

I had watched on tv Steve Stricker win the 2019 Senior U.S. Open and knew a little about the course. The course has essentially no real change in elevation, save for a few small declines and rises near the end of the round. The course reminded me very much of Hidden Creek in New Jersey, both in its design, terrain, difficulty, and landscaping.

The first thing that struck me was how close the course is built to the campus. While Notre Dame is a mid-size school in population, its facilities are expansive (and gorgeous). One would think they would have wanted this land for future expansion.

The second thing that struck me was how often the course returns to the clubhouse, allowing multiple chances to get refreshments or the restrooms, (only the restrooms were accessible due to Covid restrictions).

I liked the course for its playability. Like many courses designed by Mr. Coore and Mr. Crenshaw, the fairways are fairly generous and the greens sufficiently wide. Unlike their better and more acclaimed designs, the Warren course does not have difficult greens, interesting green surrounds, or an excessive use of bunkers.

There are hazards here but mainly in the form of taller grass on a few holes as the ball will kick into the heavy rough if slightly offline. The back nine offers a bit more trees as well for defense. There are three small ponds on the course and Juday Creek, but I only found one of the ponds to influence one’s decisions. As for the Creek, I did not think it was often worthy of a consideration for the average length player. There are some “nice” holes here but nothing that is heart-stopping or particularly memorable.

In summary, it is a golf course meant to be enjoyed. It is not a golf course where one will be consistently challenged or thinking about multiple options.

The course plays 7020 yards from the Black tees, par 71 rated 73.4/132. From the Blue tees it is 6744 yards rated 71.5/128. From the White tees it is 6346 yards, rated 70.4/125. I played the Blue tees with the husband. There is another set of shorter tees. We had good weather unlike my earlier rounds in Indiana at Quail Crossing (rain), Victoria National (hot and humid), Brickyard Crossing (rain/downpour), and Ackerman-Allen (soggy and rain).

The course is kept in good condition from the teeing areas, bunkers, and greens. Unlike other courses during Covid, each cart was given a rake for the bunkers. Most other courses were not allowing one to rake bunkers.

1 – par 4 372/372/352 – a gentle start with a few scattered trees and ten scattered bunkers down the left side. There is a bunker on the right that sits inside the fairway about 90 yards short of the green. The green has decent slope at its front with two large bunkers sitting on the right.

2 – par 4 462/462/443 – The number one index plays as a dogleg right with heavy trees down the left to stop balls from going onto Douglas Road. There is a single, raised fairway bunker about 75 yards short of the green on the right that sits inside the fairway. This is followed by a single bunker to the left of the green which is raised and sloped back to front. It is a nice hole.

3 – par 4 410/393/357. The third hole features two bunkers on the left with a pond on the right that extends to the right side of the green which slopes towards the water. Bigger hitters can reach the pond where the fairway narrows substantially as the pond comes into play and after the two bunkers. The smart play is to lay up short of the bunkers leaving one 130-150 yards into the green. The green has two bunkers on the left side. This is one of the best defended greens on the golf course. It is a nice golf hole.

4 – par 3 143/121. This is a nice short par 3 to an elevated green with three large bunkers, one fronting the green. The miss to this hole is to go long, otherwise one should hit the green.

5 – par 5 518/518/495. This hole lead to my only double bogey due to a tee shot that kicked left into the higher grass which lead to a series of “recovery” shots where I tried to be too heroic. There are three bunkers down the left side with one very large bunker opposite it. I was convinced my ball was in one of those left bunkers until I saw the hard ground slanting towards the grass. The fairway is sufficiently wide enough so that one should hit it. The hole bends leftward with the green elevated again. There is a small center front bunker and a large, deep one on the left side which I found with my fourth. It is a nice hole.

6 – par 4 473/436/415. I thought this to be the second best hole on the front nine as a slight dogleg right with three bunkers down the inner side of the fairway. The green has large, deeper bunkers on either side with nice inner contouring for both bunkers on this elevated green. I managed to chip it to within a foot on a green that slopes back to front.

7 – par 4 407/398/373. I thought this to be the best hole on the front nine, turning slightly left with trees hard on the left side while the trees are scattered down the right side. A long way up the fairway are two separated bunkers left and three basically connected bunkers on the right lying about 160-130 yards out. The green has a large front bunker right and two on the left to a green sited back against the trees and Nitronwood Road. This was another one-putt for me as the green is straightforward.

8 – par 4 441/414/397. Parallel to Douglas Road and heading the opposite direction of seven this is a straight hole with all of the trees and fairway bunkers on the left side The green has flanking bunkers and is flattish. A more interesting green would have made this a better hole but perhaps Coore and Crenshaw did not want to add a difficult green on a longer hole.

9 – par 3 185/185/164. This is another fine par 3 with a large vertical center bunker about 10 yards before the green with two on the left and one on the right. The green has some nice interior sculpting although more would have been better.

10 – par 5 495/495/473. Passing the clubhouse again leads to a risk-reward par 5 where the longer hitters will try to fly a part of Juday Creek that bisects the fairway about 40-60 yards short of the green but continues hard against the green on the left. Longer hitters likely have as little as a 9 iron for their second. The safer play is to lay up leaving a shot of 100-60 yards over the wetlands and stream that becomes a pond on the left side of the green. The green is angled right to left. I laid up and had a more makeable birdie chance than the husband who barely cleared the stream but had an awkward stance to a green with no bunkers. The hole is fairly bland given its length as a par 5 and should be converted to a par 4 unless it is lengthened. Perhaps they could not get the permits but Juday Creek is also behind the green. A more interesting hole would have had the green on the other side of it requiring one to twice cross the creek.

11 – par 3 245/216/187. The longest par 3 on the golf course with two bunkers flanking the front of the green about 20 yards short and then bunkers on either side. The hole has a significant false front to a long green with a higher tier. This hole is pretty straightforward; hit a long, straight shot.

12 – par 4 443/443/424. Another long flat par 4 that is essentially straight with the defense being scattered trees down both sides and two fairway bunkers on the left. The green has a fairway bunker left and another fairly long green.

13 – par 4 433/433/424. This hole has the same tee shot as the previous hole with the goal being to avoid the two fairway bunkers on the left. The hole ducks to the left with another bunker about 100 yards out followed by two on the center-left front of the green. I liked the hole because it has better contouring surrounding the green that many of the other holes.

14 – par 3 210/197/175. The final par 3 comes a bit early and it feels a bit like eleven with bunkers on either side although this green is set off a bit right to left.

15 - par 4 418/380/357. Heading back to the clubhouse, this is a more heavily bunkered hole with two on the left and three on the right pinching into the fairway about 150 yards out. There are two bunkers at the green which is raised with two tiers. Surrounding the green is basically flat land with no interesting land forms.

16 – par 4 345/345/323. The most visually attractive hole on the course from an elevated tee has you hitting across Juday Creek which cuts across on an irregular/diagonal line. Down the left side are trees and five large, but shallow bunkers. The green has fronting bunkers and has good interior shaping. It is a nice, short par 4.

17 – par 5 565/480/462. I felt this hole to be too short for a par 5 playing downhill then up to the green. There is a pond off to the left which can catch tee shots. There is a bunker well short off the tee on the right that I could not figure out why it was there. There is ample room to the fairway and to the right of it. When the pond ends is another bunker on the left that I could not understand why it was placed there. The one on the right about 125 out made a bit more sense as did the bunker 45 yards short of the green on the right. The green itself has a single bunker left. I felt the hole to be only good from the Black tees and a missed opportunity from the other tees as it is too short for a par 5 and was an easy birdie for me.

18 – par 4 455/434/415. From another elevated tee, one plays over Juday Creek for the final time, striving to avoid the raised bunker on the right while not playing too close to a ditch and trees going down the left side. The ditch continues all the way down the left beyond the green. There are no other bunkers to a two-tiered green which is not very interesting.

The course suffers from a lack of interesting greens as well as no real contouring for the green surrounds. Two of the par fives are too short from the Blue tees. If the objective was to build a very playable public course then Mr. Coore and Mr. Crenshaw definitely succeeded. It is not a course one should make a special trip to play as it is one of the mid-tier courses they have built. But if one lives near Notre Dame it is worth having a membership without the normal charges of a private club.

Super Impressive on Notre Dame Campus. Difficult Greens, most undulated greens I have played. Bring the putter! Good layout, must avoid the fescue (or junk as I call it) in order to have a good score.

Cool Course, Friendly staff. Well maintained fairways the greens where good as well. Not particularly quick but well maintained. The course is great, lots of nice scenery. Challenging and one has to do a risk reward evaluation on many shots. Would I play Warren again? Yes . Would I come from afar to play Warren? Hard question if your in the area 2-3 hours away I would give it a look. Anywhere further and its just not worth the drive.

This is the second best 18-hole campus course I’ve played – only Yale is better in my opinion. Just like everything at the University of Notre Dame the golf course is perfect for the students and just about everyone else from beginners to the champions who will tee it up here next year for the 2019 US Senior Open. There are many things I liked about the Warren. It’s very easy on the eye and it’s a breeze to walk. There’s a great deal of class to a course that’s laid out on a relatively flat site. The only downside I’m told is that there are a few issues with the par four 18th due to flooding problems, but on the two occasions I played here the hole played as it should.

The front nine offers width, angles and options where most of the trouble is set around the smallish and well-protected greens. The back nine is where the action builds with some water in play and the closing three holes are very strong. I’d say my favorite is #16 which is a short par four where Juday Creek and bold fairway bunkering must be negotiated. It’s considered the signature hole and for good reason although I loved the elevated tee shot on #17 and the dogleg left closer, again with the creek in play is a brilliant way to finish.

The people here are just exceptional and I’d thoroughly recommend a visit to see this gem and if you’re in the area a 45-min drive down to Culver will present the best 9 hole campus course in the world.

The subtle parkland routing of the front nine gives way to a fantastic back nine capped off by a great stretch from 16-18. I have never played an English heathland course but I imagine this is as close as it gets in the US.

Fantastic routing around streams and ponds by Coore/Crenshaw and the conditions were some of the best I have seen in awhile. The greens are slick but not out of control and the back nine gets you fully enmeshed in a great woodland experience.

It will be interesting to see when the routing changes for the Senior US Open if they keep the routing for the day players as that may take the course to a higher level.