Southern Dunes Par-3 Golf Course

Really enjoyed my round at Southern Dunes. The course was in immaculate shape: tees, fairways, and greens. [I avoided the traps, so I can’t speak to those.] The holes have a lot of variety. Although there are hazards, the landing areas are large enough to provide a bailout. The greens were very fast compared to those I have played recently and a couple of times I was shocked when my approach shots rolled off the back or off the sides of the greens. The greens have enough slope to keep you on your toes without being ridiculous. Despite there being houses near the course, there was enough separation that they were intrusive; they didn’t made you feel as if you were playing in someone’s backyard, which is the case at some Indy courses. In fact, the way the course is laid out I was rarely even aware of players on other holes. The layout is a little unusual: 34-36 with 6 par 3’s and 4 par 5’s. The back 9 has 3 par 4’s, 3 par 3’s, and 3 par 5’s! It would not be a good course to walk: there are several very long treks between the last green and the next tee. The senior weekday rate was very reasonable for the quality of the course. I played the front 9 in one and a half hours and then foursomes slowed things down on the back nine, but I still finished in four hours. This was a weekday, so I can’t speak to the pace of play on weekends.

The first cut rough is literally crab grass even just off the fringe of the greens. There were several groups of 6 or more all over the course. I was a single golfer. Un-real! They have a “ranger” but he lets this go. It’s one of the more expensive around, go figure. Not good won’t be going back. It’s like going to a restaurant and then having a stranger seated at your table.

First time playing the 18 hole course. We had played the par 3 before. Not too crowded for a holiday. Tee boxes and fairways nicely trimmed. Too many unrepaired ball marks on the greens - golfers’ fault. One green appeared to have had a vehicle driven on it in the past and is still healing. Lots of lakes on the course which test your nerves. Plenty of decisions need to be made to lay up or go for the glory. Nice variety of holes, in a links style layout. Good pricing through the week for us old guys. Holiday pricing was fair, and included a sleeve of balls. Would play here again for sure.

I had heard some good things about this course and thought I’d give it a try. I will say the clubhouse looks impressive from the outside but on the inside, there was a lot of empty space.

Got paired up with a married couple that were a delight. Seems like they play the course semi-regularly as they were quite helpful with where to aim. On nine, someone behind us hit a snap hook off the tee that nearly hit my cart. No. 12 was a LONG and straight par 4 that seemed like it should be a par 5 from most tees. No. 15 might be the most interesting on the course with a short second over the corner of a lake.

The layout was pleasant with water coming in to play on a decent number of holes. However, the greens looked bad and dead in spots. I was told they tried to expand the size of the greens but instead they killed them, especially on the edges of nearly every green. The bunkers had almost no sand in them and instead had big rocks or even chunks of asphalt.

Seems like it was a good course but has really gone bad recently. Has the potential to return to what it probably used to be. Not sure I'd ever play there again, so once is probably enough, especially as a visitor to the area.

I have played this course several times, and this was by far the worse condition I have seen it in. I honestly hate giving this review!

1. Greens were in terrible shape, with a lot of damage.

2. Hole cuts were terrible, the depth of the cup was inconsistent, and you could tell they had not been changed in quite some time.

3. The fringe was overgrown with weeds or damaged.

4. Sand traps were mainly rock with no sand

5. Tee boxes were not mowed, and were patchy. Tees were placed in the more weed infested areas making it very difficult to find a decent spot to tee from.

6. Lack of water on course (regarding for drinking)

7. Fairways were mowed far too late and lots of clumps of grass were remaining making it difficult sometimes to even find your ball in the fairway.

Again, I have loved this course for years. This was just sad to see.

I've played this course about half a dozen times now, so i feel comfortable giving a healthy assessment of the course. The layout is fantastic with lots of forced carries over lakes and ponds, the greens are moderately sized with a good amount of slope to them, and the course has a fair amount of bunkers.

There was a fair amount of water damage when we played, but to be fair this was the worst spring i can remember. The grooming is average, and the bunkers could use substantial work. The club house is huge but has sparse amenities.

I played with DrOldSchool when he wrote the review below in 2017. My brother in law and i jumped on the deal advertised on facebook for this season and we have given southern dunes a go twice now. The course has been in solid shape this spring. The greens are much healthier than 2017 and they have rolled well. Id like to see them a little faster, but come midsummer I'm sure I'll get more than I asked for. There is so much water on this course, and I am pretty sure I've been in every pond on the course. The staff is friendly and this course easily has one of the best layouts in town. I am curious to see how it holds up as the season goes on. Should make for a great course to play this season!

This course is fun and very challenging. A lot of water in play. Course is pretty dry, the ball rolls out 25-50 yards on the fairways. Greens are very fast. With normal rain this course would be beautiful. I will definitely be back to play again!

This course has so much potential, it's a shame what it is right now. The layout is a lot of fun with water in play on several holes. But the greens, rough, and tees boxes are all in very poor condition. Several greens have giant patches on them where the are either completely browned out, or sand has been placed and they didn't even mow. The rough is patchy at best. The tee boxes appear to have some sort of disease as many of them are wasting away to nothing. Even the good ones are very brown. The sand traps were basically hardpan throughout as well. The fairways were ok though.

My playing partner and I both agreed this could be up with the top tracks in town if they put some money into it to repair what is going bad because the layout is so nice. The sparse clubhouse and conditions suggest money problems though, so who knows. I'll give it another go next year to see how it's doing. But it's just sad to see what it is now.

This course was one of my favorites on a recent trip to Indianapolis. Clubhouse looks like an southern mansion, inside it's not as extravagant but still very nice. Driving range and putting area were nice, carts seem new and plenty of yard markers on sprinkler heads which are easy to find. Nice layout to the course. I thought is was challenging yet very fair. Fairways were in excellent shape and so were the greens. You can see the layout of each hole as its played and aren't surprised by any hidden hazards. You're not too far from downtown yet it feels like you are far away. I played in a scramble so we paid more than normal, but the posted prices were between $35-$40 for 19 with a cart. Very good value. I would play this course again in a heartbeat.

The course was in great shape. It's very challenging but very fair. I had never heard of this course before and thanks to the reviews from this site, I added it to our list of courses for our father-son golf trip. The staff was very friendly. The only drawback was the pace, and we were behind an outing, so that was not the course's fault. Will definitely play again.

I love Southern Dunes. It was described to me as deceptively short and thats very accurate. Everytime I've played the course it has been in excellent shape. A couple of really challenging over water holes, and some short-cut par-5s make for an interesting round mentally and physically. Pair this course up with Heartland Crossing for a weekend golf getaway and thank me later.

Friendly staff and a very playable course for all skill levels. The course is in amazing shape so early in the season. I'll definitely play here again!

I haven't played here in a few years but I really enjoy this course. I wish the weather had been better but the course itself was in good shape and pace of play was great.

Tee boxes were a little rough, but probably from being played so much.

This was a great course. Fairways and greens were in excellent condition. Would highly recommend this course.