The Ackerman-Allen Course

Golf Travel Guide To Lafayette-West Lafayette

An Interview With Emily Weisenberger, Sports Marketing Manager

By Brian Weis

Looking to plan the perfect golf trip to Lafayette-West Lafayette? Planning a buddies trip or a romantic golf getaway can be a full time job not to mention pressure filled to deliver a memorable experience. Below is an interview with Emily Weisenberger, Sports Marketing Manager who shares some insider information about golfing and traveling to Lafayette-West Lafayette, must play courses, a sample itinerary and where you can go for more planning tools.

Give our readers an overview of your destination and why they should consider it for their next golf trip?
Lafayette-West Lafayette is 63 miles northwest of Indianapolis and 105 miles southeast of Chicago. Our destination is the perfect central point between Chicago and Indianapolis. West Lafayette is home to Purdue University. This Big Ten college town has tons to offer with 8 golf courses, 2,500+ hotel rooms, great restaurants, exciting annual events and more.

What are the must play courses in Lafayette-West Lafayette?
Give the Pete Dye Trail a try at Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

The Ackerman-Allen Course, a Pete Dye design, is an 18-hole, parkland-style, championship golf course recently renovated in 2016. Mature hardwoods line this rolling hills layout, which added acreage to the old back-9 holes, expanding the footprint of the course.

The Kampen Course, a Pete Dye design, is an 18-hole, links-style, championship golf course featuring large bent-grass greens, fairways and tees. The layout presents a challenge for all abilities with vast sand bunkers, native grasslands, ponds, and a natural celery bog. Kampen has hosted the 2008 NCAA Championships, 2009 Women's Big Ten, and 2011 Men's Big Ten Championships. Consistently ranked as one of the best public courses in Indiana, Kampen is also recognized as one of the top collegiate courses in the nation. Golf Digest has awarded the Kampen Course 4.5 stars on its "Best Places to Play."

What is the hidden gem and/or best value course?
Battle Ground is a pristine, traditional golf course formally owned by Lafayette Country Club. Known as one of Indiana's finest private country clubs, it is now available to the public. The 18-hole course features mature trees, large sand bunkers, and receptive greens. The open feel that Battle Ground has gives golfers a chance to recover from every shot. A championship layout that is always in perfect condition and is truly Indiana's best golf value.

Coyote Crossing is an 18 hole, Hale Irwin designed Championship Golf Course. It is a course that golfers of all skill levels will find appealing. It also features a new clubhouse full of amenities. Visage GPS System on all carts. Awarded the 2000 Golf Digest ranking as the #1 Best New Affordable Course in Indiana, #7 in the Nation, the 2005 Indiana "Course of the Year" by the National Golf Course Owners Association, and a 4 1/2 star rating in Golf Digest's "Best Places to Play". Hale Irwin himself would agree, as he describes the course as, "Near perfect, with views of open meadows and mature wooded areas." Ranked #9 Best Value in America by Golf Advisor.

Can you provide our readers with an ideal itinerary for a long weekend?
https://www.homeofpurdue.com/groups/samples/Itinerary_AGoodSport.pdf

After golf, what are the "must do" things or attractions to see?
Purdue University has a lot to offer Visitors with Purdue Sports, Events and more. Check out the over 100 pieces of Public Art throughout Lafayette and West Lafayette. Explore our downtown districts and enjoy local dining and shopping.

What is the best time to travel?
Fall is wonderful here in the Lafayette-West Lafayette area.

Anything else you would like to share about the Lafayette-West Lafayette?
Our area is the ideal golf destination with many things to do and see.

Where can golfers go for more information to research and plan their trip?
www.homeofpurdue.com

Revised: 08/26/2019 - Article Viewed 18,048 Times

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.