THE CITY OF Indianapolis is gifted with many excellent public golf courses, and the top five ranked here are places that can’t be missed. In ranking these courses, layout, condition of greens and fairways, cost, and playability were all considerations that factored into the assessments.
No. 5: Sahm Golf Course, which opened in 1963 under the name of Northeastway Golf Course on the city’s northeast side, is one of the first courses designed by Pete Dye.
This rolling 18-hole layout is flat and open, which makes it a player-friendly course. There is water in play on six holes and sand on nine holes. Golfers must navigate the tree-lined fairways to large greens, which puts a premium on chipping and putting. There are some tight situations in play, requiring shot accuracy.
Green fees typically range from $28 to $48 for 18 holes, with senior and twilight rates available.
No. 4: Coffin Golf Club offers a classic course design. It opened in 1904 as Highland Golf Club, a nine-hole private course until 1931 when Highland relocated. Under the design of William Diddle, the site was reopened as Coffin Golf Course. In 1994, architect Tim Liddy redesigned the course to its current layout.
Because of its challenging 18-hole layout, a significant portion of Coffin is situated in a high-risk flood plain directly alongside the White River, which severely impacts play at certain times of the year. This location creates poor drainage, which causes recurring flooding that wears out fairways, ruins bunkers, and leaves behind debris. Despite all this, the sheer beauty and difficulty of this majestic tract, with its large undulating greens and tight tree-lined fairways, still make this a must-play course.
Green fees range from $24 to $38, with senior rates available.
No. 3: Sarah Shank is another course that opened as a nine-hole tract in 1927, originally designed by Harry Schopp, and later expanded to 18 holes in 1941 by architect William Diddle. This southside course was named for Sarah Robbins Shank, the late wife of former Indianapolis mayor Lew Shank, after she passed away from leukemia.
The course’s fairways are open over this rolling terrain, but the small, elevated greens, bunker placement, and water hazards create a tough environment if your game is shaky that day. It is important to note that this course has not been redesigned and remains largely unchanged since opening.
Green fees range from $24 to $36 weekdays and $28 to $45 on weekends.
