The Woodlands Course at Whittaker

The front side may be one of the toughest around, bring plenty of “water balls”.

I have avoided playing this course for two year, but made the mistake of playing it this past weekend. In that time between rounds, the course maintenance has gone to pot. A large number of sand traps are filled with tall weeds, the tee boxes, fairways and greens are eaten alive. Greens roll like shag carpeting and are riddled with dead areas with no grass and the ball hops and bounces and every putt. I highly recommend that you not spend the fortune they're asking for greens fees and find another course in the area. I have taken this place permanently off the ;list, and I hope after reading my review that you will do the same. Ownership needs to bring this course back to what it used to be. My score for this course in its present condition is F.

The course was in horrible shape overall. Tee boxes super thick and clumpy. Even the couple boxes they had mowed were still in bad shape. Worst I have seen at this course. Fairways were thick and clumpy and even the ones that were mowed had dried grass clippings and the fairway had grass clumps randomly. Only a few fairways were even in what I would call decent shape.

The rough was spotty and non existent in a few spots as it was dirt in a few spots. The greens were the only thing that wasn’t bad, but they still needed to be cut and playing super slow. They also were not in the shape they have been in the past. Even if they cut those greens I don’t think they will be considered “good shape”.

There was dandelions everywhere in the rough and light rough that had been killed but still were dead and everywhere. Not enough good grass to grow up and choose them out. Really looked bad and I get it this was early April but by mid May there shouldn’t be this many issues with the a course.

Overall this is a great layout and could be a fun course like it always has been but it really needs a LOT of work. I would not pay full price to play it. Currently it is playing like any other $35-40 municipal course you can find all over NW Indiana. Those are in much better shape and cost half that money to play. Sad as it is a great track but really gone downhill.

Whittacre used to be a very nice well appointed course. Challenging such that all dog-leg lefts. Although the course charges a stiff price still, the conditions have steadily deteriorated each year. Granted, this was first week opened and some extreme weather conditions occurred recently. Got a fair price on golfnow and was happy to be out playing but the carts were programmed to not let you off cart-paths and on some holes the GPS did not work and we could not move until calling staff to cut the GPS. We obeyed and did not stray from path but the glitch was frustrating.

Course was in pretty good shape for mid November. Leaves were not too bad. Great layout. Looking forward to playing again in the future.

Still struck with the disease greens, fairways tee boxes, better than earlier this summer but not good. Make matters worse the aerated the greens the day before. Would have been nice to know that. Sand traps in rough shape due to neglect and for some reason most filled up with the cores from the greens, would have been nice to know. I have played this course over 100 times in the 3 decades, never been in this condition. Love the layout!

This course has an awesome layout that challenges all levels. It was generally in good shape but a few rough spots throughout. The staff was great to work with. I do recommend playing here!

Course was below par for conditions. Good layout and staff.

I played Whittaker Woods with a friend, on Wednesday, September 25th. It’s been over four years since I last played here and yes, I still call it Whittaker Woods. It was cart path only, due to the heavy storm the previous night. Before I go any further. I’m no course superintendent by any means. I have no idea what challenges face them to keep a course in great condition. I read the reviews before we came out and I can understand how some people felt. There was also a letter on the front desk, from a Michigan university, explaining the reason behind the conditions. With that being said here are my observations. The greens were in good shape and rolled well. The fairways were rough in a few areas. The sand traps were fine and playable, even with the rain the night before. The tee areas were the worst part of the course and will need addressing. The upside was the grounds crew were still working on the course when we played and Mike in the pro shop was very professional and friendly. The course is still tough. Maybe not as tough when it first opened were the cattails prevented you from seeing where you were going. You still need to be on your game when playing. Some holes are tight, and some have forced carries. Like I said, I have played here a handful of times since they first opened, and I will be coming back.

I loved the course layout, but unfortunately the Fairways and some of the greens are in bad shape. I probably wouldn't play her again until 2026.

We feel sorry for Whitaker Woods but won’t be back anytime soon. Played here many times and not only worst conditions ever seen here, worst we have ever seen. Weeds, bare spots, disease, torn up and flipped over turf. Gravel bunkers. Can’t believe it could go down so far so fast.

Overall myself and my group really liked this course. It has a great layout and makes for a really challenging 18 holes. Also being so close to new buffalo is a huge plus. The ownership of the course needs to invest some money into getting the conditions of the fairways and greens back into good shape. That is really the only issue with this course and is fantastic otherwise.

I played the course last year and thought for the price the greens would not be riddled with ball marks….i was wrong!! But this year…was the worst! Sections of greens just missing, cracked g anyone and just missing grass on over 65 percent of every green. It’s a shame such a great laid out course could be be so neglected is sad to say the least! Save your money and play any other course!