Noble Hawk

Getting To Know: Noble Hawk Golf Links

An Insightful Interview With Tim Dykstra, GM/Head Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Tim Dykstra who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Noble Hawk Golf Links is an 18 hole championship golf course featuring a variety of beautiful golf holes. Some are pure "up north" with tree-lined fairways and elevation changes; others feature lots of water and sand, while still others are picture postcards from a traditional Scottish links style course. All holes have bent grass tees, fairways and greens. Noble Hawk also boasts one of Indiana's finest and largest practice facilities. The golf course offers challenge and fun for players of all ages and skill levels.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Visitors should choose Noble Hawk not only for its world-class layout and condition but also for the warm, friendly service from the staff. Attentive customer service designed to provide a relaxing and satisfying experience is perhaps the #1 reason to visit "The Hawk" for a day of great golf. Finally, Noble Hawk is considered one of the best values in Midwest golf featuring affordable prices, attractive golf specials, and first class stay and play travel packages.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Noble Hawk is not a long course so power and distance is not necessarily important or required. This course is for the thinking-man who can manage the layout with accurate shotmaking. When in doubt play safe and lean on your short game. This approach should allow the player to post a low score and save a lot of golf balls from being lost along the way.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Since its construction in 1996, Noble Hawk has been recognized as one of the finest golf courses in the state of Indiana and according to the latest rankings by the Indiana Golf Association was ranked in the top 25 ahead of all other northeast Indiana public courses.

In addition, Noble Hawk features a unique design for its market place, is known for its outstanding condition, and has had consistent and committed ownership and management since opening in 1997.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Although Noble Hawk has 18 unique and beautiful holes number 15 is generally considered the "signature hole". Nicknamed "Hawk's Challenge" Fifteen is a par 3 which plays over water to a peninsula green and ranges in distance from 80 to 222 yards. This is not a hole for the faint at heart. The green is huge (13,500 sq ft) so it is very receptive to good shots. However, from the tee, the "fear factor" is high. This is a hole where a player must focus, forget the trouble, and make a confident swing. Rewards here are great but so is the penalty for poor play......Splash! #15 at Noble Hawk is a par 3 to respect.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My favorite hole is #13. Nicknamed "The Jugular" thirteen is generally considered the most difficult hole on the course. It is a true 3 shot par 5 and not a place to lack confidence. Lined by trees and crossing 2 creeks, this hole requires an accurate tee shot up the right side, a long iron or FW wood layup, and an accurate short iron to the long, narrow, 3 tiered green. Double bogie and worse are common here. Par feels like a birdie!

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Without a doubt, Noble Hawk's Bistro is known for its special blend spicy bloody marys and the almost famous Tim's BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Noble Hawk has surrendered many very low scores. Matt Desper holds the record from the Talon Tees (63) and from the Augusta Green Tees (58). Additionally, Bob Matthews holds the senior record, also from the Augusta Tee, of 60. Pretty good!

Back Tee Stats
Par: 71
Yardage: 6817
Slope: 132
Rating: 73.5

More Information
Noble Hawk Golf Links
3005 Noble Hawk Drive
Kendallville, Indiana, 47655
260-349-0900
www.noblehawk.com

Revised: 01/15/2013 - Article Viewed 32,586 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.