Purgatory Golf Club - Hole #17

Getting To Know: Purgatory Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With Jon Stutz, Director of Golf

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 Jon Stutz 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
You don't need a single-digit handicap to enjoy Purgatory Golf Club, but you do have to love a challenge. Masterfully laid out over 218 acres, this links-style course has something for all skill levels and provides memorable experiences that keep golfers coming back.

Purgatory is known for:
* Multiple tee boxes: Choose from six tees on every hole with each providing the right challenge for your handicap. We took great care with the design and alignment of each tee, pointing you toward the best possible route for success.
* Course length: Pick the tees that best suit your game or mix and match them to make the course your own. Purgatory has the longest sets of tees (7,754 yards from the tips) as well as the shortest (4,562 yards from the far forwards) in Indiana.
* Bunkers: Live dangerously by hitting over and around our 130-plus bunkers, each filled with white, crushed limestone. It's almost plush. Strategic golfers can navigate most of the bunkers but there are enough in the way to keep it fun and interesting.
* Fescue: Many of the fairways are lined with tall, fescue rough. Purgatory has the look and feel of an authentic links-style golf course.
* Risk & Reward: The course is very strategically laid out. It provides birdie opportunities for those looking to take risks while also presenting safer routes to wide areas on fairways which leave ideal angles to greens. Play it safe or chance it all, Purgatory offers the classic risk-reward dilemma, which makes it fun to play time and again.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
In medieval poetry, Purgatory was referred to as "sweet misery." Golf often feels like that; acts of difficulty while obtaining something wonderful. The golf course is named Purgatory because it's a beautiful place for you to test your limits. Purgatory is a name that immediately resonates with golfers and it fits with why people play golf. We at Purgatory believe golf should be an enriching experience rooted in the traditions of the game. With over 218 acres dedicated to the golf course, that is sure to entice and deliver a memorable golfing experience for all levels of players. Our motto: "Time spent here is well rewarded" is on the front of the scorecard. While we enjoy the recognition and the awards, what we really find special is the enjoyment and interaction we have with our customers detailing their favorite aspects of our facility.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Purgatory conjures images of great obstacle; it's a name you remember. Every golf course is difficult if you play from the wrong tees boxes. Is our golf course a challenge? Absolutely. But does that mean you have to make it too difficult for yourself? The answer is no. Play a distance that allows you to enjoy the course and the day, you will find the course to be almost heavenly from the correct set of tees. Please ask the staff about our Play It Forward Tees that are sure to deliver a fun and gratifying experience. Our staff is eager to assist all guests with any questions or offer recommendations on course playability. Purgatory prides itself on being playable, but challenging for all. Another helpful hint is to use the GPS units on the golf cars to identify the distances to the bunkers as many of the bunkers are used as aiming points throughout the course.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Purgatory has been recognized for the following achievements:
* Indiana's Course of the year 2014 by the National Golf Course Owners Association
* Hosted all Major Indiana Golf Championships for Men and Women
* Hosted NCAA Regional events for Men and Women
* Hosted multiple USGA qualifiers
* PGA.com: A Quick 9: Best Public Courses in Indiana, Purgatory Golf Club ranked No. 2
* Golf Digest: Best in State Rankings list, numerous years
* Golf Digest / Golf Digest Woman: America's Top 50 Courses for Women 2010 - 2013
* Golf Digest: America's 100 Greatest Public Courses
* Golf World: Top 50 Public Courses, Reader's Choice Awards 2009
* Golf For Women: Top 50 Courses for Women 2003 - 2008
* Golfweek: Ranked No. 1 course in Indiana
* Golf Digest: Top 10 Courses in the State of Indiana 2001 - 2012
* Indiana Business Magazine: "Indiana's Best Golf," readers named Purgatory one of their favorite 18-hole courses
* Great Lakes Golf Magazine: Top 25 Courses in the Midwest
* ADDY award, 1999 American Advertising Awards, Visual/Audio Elements - Logo/Trademark Design

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
The 17th Hole "Hells Half Acre" is our most photographed hole. This par 3 has over a half acre of bunkers and can play anywhere from 90 to 180 yards. The longer the yardage the more difficult the angle of approach. This very large island green is surrounded by a sea of sand. It's probably the most visually interesting or dramatic hole on the property, but a sound struck shot will give the player a well-deserved opportunity for birdie.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
My personal favorite is number 10. This challenging par 4 requires a precise tee shot. While the left side of the fairway is ideal, the bunker on the left must be avoided at all cost. A bailout to the right, will bring some very large trees into play. The green surrounds is one of the most dramatic on the course with bunkers and grass swales coming into play along with a severe pitch from back to front. A short approach is often in a better position than an off target shot.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Our most popular sandwich is the Cajun Club made with deep fried chicken breast, thinly sliced, and piled on focaccia bread with Swiss cheese, horseradish Cheddar, crispy smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato and spicy Cajun mayonnaise. Our signature 12 ingredient Bloody Mary is a great way to start out your golf round. After playing Purgatory, many golfers come to our lounge, "The Confessional" to enjoy one of our 6 local craft beers on tap with a bowl of Sriracha popcorn.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The competitive course record is 65. It is shared by several players from Professional and Amateur events we have hosted through the years.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7754
Slope: 140
Rating: 77.60

More Information
Purgatory Golf Club
12160 East 216th Street
Noblesville, IN, 46060
317-776-4653
www.Purgatorygolf.com

Revised: 02/19/2016 - Article Viewed 33,353 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.