Chariot Run – Caesars Indiana – A Review

I made it over to Chariot Run on Friday, April 14th. It was Good Friday, but it was a tough Friday for golf. At about 5:30 AM a storm blew thru and the winds stayed with us all day. Was about 20 mph at all times and gusts to 30 + were common. Even though we didn’t play til noonish, it was still tough to play a links style, albeit an American links style, golf course in those kinds of winds.

I had a tough time on the front, with a 44. Having never been there and not being sure of where to hit it, I was uncomfortable enough to have a bogey-double bogey for holes 2 & 3. Holes 4, 5 and 7 also got me.

I found my game on the back and shot a 40, for an 84 round. About 6 strokes more than I should need.

It didn’t help that they had aerated the greens about a week ago, so they were a bit like a Chinese Checkerboard. Better than almost every other set of aerated greens I’ve played this year, but still tough to putt. The only place I’ve ever putted aerated greens that were smooth and slick is the Jeffersonville ( IN ) Elks Club. My friend Bob Burgan lives there and they know how to do it better than anyone else.

The course there at Chariot Run is still fairly new, about 3 years old, so the grass isn’t as full and lush as it will be in a few years. They need about 2 more years to get it to where it will be THE place to play in southern Indiana.

As for the service, there were more maintenance people on the course than there were golfers. I’m sure Caesars has more than enough dollars to make sure there are plenty of bodies to go around. I doubt if they need for the course to pay for itself right away.

The Bag Drop boys were very courteous and the Pro Shop employees were outstandingly nice.

The Starter had a very nice script, which he kept reading, even though we told him we’d be good. He read it all the way thru 2 of us trying to hit. Must have gotten points for reading it all the way thru, otherwise he’d have hushed so we could play. First they tell you to be fast, you’re on the clock, we’re watching you and then they read you a bedtime story. That part they can cut out for my part.

The course was really well marked, as almost every sprinkler head had a yardage to the middle of the green and the sheet in your cart gave you a plus or minus yardage to the pin that day. This should be done everywhere and done this well. These were the easiest yardages I’ve found in a long, long time.

I really don’t like hitting into every landing zone with maintenance workers out there either, but every fairway had a little green vehicle and two or three people in it. Kind of disconcerting for those of us who hit the ball a long way.

Of course, I didn’t hit it that far INTO THE WIND. I had one drive I nailed go a whopping 225 yards. About 50 less than my average drive.

The greens were well built and well thought out by the architect. They were generous in size and had enough slope to make you work hard, but felt like they were fair.

Same with the fairways, generous and well maintained. Just not as mature and full as they will be in a couple more years.

The turf under the bent grass fairways was the best I’d ever seen. Really well built and my visors off to the maintenance staff.

There’s more than enough sand to make your life a living heck and there’s some water to get you if you aren’t careful.

That’s the one element that we Americans overdo when we try and design a links style course. Too much water. Too much Pete Dye trickery. When the dang wind is gonna be as strong as it will be on this course, with no trees to slow it down, you don’t need as much water as they have.

If I’m not mistaken, there’s water on 9 holes and that goes against links courses as far as I’m concerned. You’ll really have to flight your golf ball well, if the breeze picks up and that may be a little too much to ask of the casino goers who’ll be paying top dollar to play this gem.

The rolling Indiana farmland, and this dude is WAY BACK IN THE BOONIES, is beautiful and the scenery will calm you down in a Hoosire minute.

I’m looking forward to playing it again. I’ll know more about where to hit it and where not to. I’ll know when to go long and when to go short. The greens will be really good in about 2 weeks and the fairways will be even better than they were. There were a quite a few scraggly spots and that’s not something I expect when it costs this much to play golf.

I’ll keep you posted about this course and how it develops thru the year.

If you do go, make sure and spend some time in the casino. I’m sure they are using the gambling dollars to make the course into one of the best in southern Indiana.

And if you happen to be going to Louisville for The Kentucky Derby, bookmark this site or subscribe to the RSS feed, as I will be giving out some gems for those heading to Louisville.

Dining, golfing and lodging tips galore, coming up !

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