Walnut Creek Golf Course By Brian Weis

Walnut Creek Golf Course

Getting To Know The Course - Interview With Randy Ballinger

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 Ty Robinett 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
Walnut Creek Golf Course is part of a 36 hole complex including Club Run that is nestled in the Walnut Creek Valley. Mature trees two creeks, several lakes and elevation changesup to 50 feet make Walnut Creek a fun and interesting test of golf. Away from the busy cities but convienient to interstate 69 makes this the perfect getaway. With Walnut Creek and Club Run being connected by cart path in the same complex golfers rarely see crowded conditions and golfers enjoy a variety of course design that creates a memorable experience. The Walnut Creek Complex opened in 1970 and has enjoyed 42 years of family ownership including 3 generations. The Ballingers truely welcome every guest to their family operation. Hotel guests have a variety of lodging choices located less than 2 miles from the course.

With the lodging choices and the many restaurants located close to the hotels make this the perfect golf retreat! An added attraction is the 1840's Historic Jenkins Golfhouse and Museum, it includes a full room of golf collections as well as collections of local history of the area. Walnut Creek Complex enjoys numerous awards: Indiana Golf Course Owners Course of the Year Runner-up National Course of the Year Grant County Readers Choice Award; Grant County's Favorite Golf Course Hoosier Hospitality award Veterans Service Award Gas City Chamber Community Image award NGCOA Champions award Golf Digest 4 Stars.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Walnut Creek has a family atmosphere where all golfers feel welcome. The personal attention to guests enjoyment creates a lasting impression. The staff strive to keep each course in the best condition possible and the two courses provide a fun golf experience. With the variety of teeing areas, golfers can find exactly the challenge that they are looking for. The Walnut Creek Complex is easy to find located less than 2 miles from interstate 69. The complex gives the feeling of being secluded because it is not located next to any highway and each course meanders through woods and over creeks. The Walnut Creek complex is not a housing development, it boast great views and plenty of wildlife call the complex home.

Any Tip(s) or Local Knowledge That Will Help You Score Better?
Walnut Creek and Club Run feature their own Gallus Golf App. The first in Indiana to use the Gallus technology. Descriptions of each hole can be found on the app. Also, if this is a first time visit, ask for the famous "Pencil Tour" , it is a hole by hole description written from a bogey perspective that is always a big help.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole? And Why? The most talked about hole is #14 at Club Run, the famous Pencil Tour describes it as being two bulldozers wide. Not that tight but a persimmon might come to mind while playing it. The most photographed hole is probably # 9 at Club Run where 4 ponds come into play, or it may be the #18 at Club Run where the background of the Historic Jenkins House and museum adds to the flavor of the course.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Why? And Your Tip(s) to Play The Hole?
It is hard to give a favorite hole, I guess I would have a favorite course. Club Run is more strategic in nature. It can be easy to score on if you play a controlled game. If your game is about hitting the ball long then Club Run will eat your lunch. Club Run requires the golfer to keep his head in the game a lot more than Walnut Creek. Club Run takes the strength factor away from the young ball busters and gives it to the more controlled game player.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Our Famous Pepperjack Cheeseburgers have made a name for themselves. People from all over talk about our Pepperjack Cheeseburgers.

Who Holds Course Record? Their Score? Any Details?
Jim Gallager Jr. holds the offical course record from the Walnut Creek Championship tees, 66. His record was established before he turned professional. Pete Delongchamp holds the record at Walnut Creek from the forward tees at 61.

Course Stats From The Back Tees
Course Slope Walnut 121, Club Run 127
Course Rating Walnut Creek 72.1/ Club Run 73
Par 72/72
Yardage Walnut Creek 6907/ Club Run 6226

Course Contact Info
Walnut Creek Golf Course/ Club Run Golf Course
7453 East 400 South
Marion, Indiana 46953

Proshop: 800-998-7651
Web Address Walnutcreekgolf.com

Revised: 09/19/2012 - Article Viewed 31,920 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.