The Course

Purgatory is known for:

• Multiple tee boxes: Choose from six tees on every hole, with each providing the right challenge for your handicap. We take great care with the design and alignment of each tee, pointing you toward the best possible shot toward the cup.
  
• Course length: Change the course to make it your own: Purgatory has some of 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+ bunkers, each filled with white, crushed limestone. It’s almost plush. Strategic golfers can avoid most of the bunkers, but there are enough in the way of the cup to keep it fun and interesting. Our signature hole, #17, is an island green surrounded by two acres of bunkers. Imagine the thrill of hitting the perfect tee shot over that sand and onto the green.
  
• Tall grass: Watch that slice. Most of the fairways are lined with tall, prairie grass rough. Most people say they prefer to hit out of a bunker than the tall grass.
  
• Risk & Reward: Which do you choose: Do you play it safe at the expense of a higher score? Or do you go for glory at the risk of hearing your ball plunk into the water or whistle into the grass? Purgatory offers the classic risk and reward dilemma. It’s all just part of the fun.

Contains line drawings of each hole, with yardages to the green, hazards, and appropriate landmarks, all courtesy of our wonderful Golf Course Architect, Ron Kern.

View the Yardage Book

Purgatory is one of the shortest golf courses in Indiana when played from the far forward tees.

Why bother with three extra sets of tees? The average course length for men is 6,400 and for women is 5,800. However, the average woman golfer only hits the ball 75 percent as far as a man. As a result, the proper tees for the average woman golfer should be 4,800 or less (6,400 x .75 = 4,800).

The average low handicap woman hits the ball approximately 85% as far as a man, requiring a length of approximately 5,440 (6,400 x .85 = 5,440).

Purgatory Golf Club offers at least six sets of tees on each hole. They are all proper tees, with a sand and peat base. If you have ever played a course that have push up dirt tees for the forward tees, you know it can make it very difficult to get a tee in the ground. At Purgatory you will be able to put your tee in the ground on a forward tee just as easily as on a back tee.

The forward tees were leveled with the same patented technology first used at Augusta National, home of the Masters. It provides for a perfect one degree fall. The forward tees are of the formal square type, again, just like the back tees.
We do not call our tees men’s, women’s, or senior’s. We simply call them by their color and suggest that guests select the appropriate tee based on handicap. We have had some very good women golfers out here, and we would not insult them by suggesting they play the forward tees. Most courses use red tees for the ladies tees, but we decided to use the red tees as our far back tees. We had much discussion prior to bucking the trend in this respect. It was our conclusion that women would play the proper tee for their handicap, and would not feel required to play a red tee.

At Purgatory there are tees that challenge the scratch player, are comfortable to the beginner, and those in between. Each of our six tees are rated by handicap so that a player can automatically know which tee to use.

The large number of tees will make it possible for a wide range of golfers to enjoy the course based on their skill level.

The PGA and the USGA have also championed playing from the tees that best match your skill level. Their recommendations are based on how far you hit your driver.

Driver distance, Course Yardage:

• 275 : 6,700-6,900
• 250 : 6,200-6,400
• 225 : 5,800-6,000
• 200 : 5,200-5,400
• 175 : 4,400-4,600

You will face over 125 bunkers at Purgatory Golf Club. They’re filled with white sand, made from crushed limestone. (Bunkers are most commonly filled with river sand.)

Many of the bunkers will be outside your best line to the hole. On the 16th hole, large bunkers line the fairway and surround the green. On the 4th hole, the bunkers only protect the green as trees outline the fairway. But the most memorable is “Hell’s Half Acre,” the 17th hole, where the green is surrounded by two acres of bunkers, making the it an island in a sea of sand.

At Purgatory, you’ll quickly learn it’s easier to get out of a bunker than the tall grass. You can find your ball in a bunker, and often get out with little difficulty.

If you’re a fan of golf course architecture, you’ll appreciate the links design of the course. This by nature means very few trees, and fairways surrounded by tall grasses.

The tall grass will encourage you to think more carefully about your tee shot. If you hit your ball into the tall grass, it can slow you down. You may have to look for it, and it can make for a challenging shot.

Last of all, the tall grass is a beauty to behold. It becomes golden brown in the fall, and as you stand at the tee, it can take your breath away.