BOB HADDAD, JR. has a vision of creating something special for the citizens of Columbus, Indiana, and beyond.
Haddad, owner of Harrison Lake Country Club, recently renovated by Pete Dye disciple Tim Liddy, and Otter Creek Golf Course, formerly a Top 100 U.S. Public Course, has a plan to make his hometown a golf destination where Hoosier hospitality will reign supreme to create a golf and family experience par excellence.
This plan started in earnest with the upgrade of Otter Creek, which is being rebranded as The Otter, a once prominent golf layout created by famed golf course designer Robert Trent Jones in 1964 that needed a facelift. To help in this task, Haddad and his team selected former U.S. Open champion and PGA Hall of Famer Tom Kite over several other interested firms, including Jones’ son Reece.
“Tom came to us through a member of Harrison Lake. This person was a cousin to Tom’s wife,” says Haddad.
It wasn’t just Kite’s expertise that attracted Haddad; it was Kite’s team, which includes Billy Fuller, a former superintendent of Augusta National for 12 years who invented the “Better Billy Bunker,” a game-changing sand trap erosion and drainage system. Kite and Fuller are mentoring Eric Belgum, an up-and-coming architect representing Pike Design. “His group is what really sold us with Tom,” Haddad says.
Kite’s design philosophy is simple. “You have to think about who is going to play the course,” he says. “You want to reward good play with creative shots. It’s a public course, so we don’t want to kill you. There are two things you must always consider. … You can’t make it so difficult that it’s unplayable, and you have to make sure you can maintain the course.” Meaning you must make sure the maintenance equipment has room to do its job.
As Kite was finalizing the design of the 18th hole, which is a takeoff of No. 2 at Augusta, he stopped everyone and proposed adding more to the green to create a devilishly difficult pin placement guarded by a deep trap in front and a grassy mound behind. Tight placement requires a great approach shot to get the ball close to the hole, or it will roll off into a greenside collection area.
“Not everyone has that shot in their bag,” says Kite. “But if they do, you want to reward them.” With a wry smile, he adds, “Sure, it’s a quirky pin placement, but quirky is okay. You want the hole to be talked about. You want the hole to be a challenge, interesting and fair.”
As it turns out, Kite had been to Columbus on many occasions to look at its famed architecture while visiting with his wife’s cousin.
“He’s an architecture geek,” says Haddad. “Tom had actually been to Otter Creek to see the clubhouse, not the golf course.” The facility was built by renowned modernist architect Harry Weese, whose portfolio includes Chicago’s Time-Life Building.
Haddad’s father, a successful Columbus business owner, loved golf and purchased the struggling Harrison Lake club in 2005, and Bob followed by purchasing Otter Creek from the city of Columbus in 2022 for a total long-term commitment of $5.87 million. That’s when the shared vision of creating a place where families can go and relax started to come to fruition.
So, Haddad and his team built two short courses on property Otter Creek previously used as the East Nine. The courses are called the Pup and Romp. A baby otter is called a pup, and a family of otters is called a romp. The Pup is a 12-hole putting and chipping par 3, and the Romp is a traditional 13-hole par 3 with holes from 150 to 230 yards. Both are set to open mid to late summer in 2027. The Otter is set to fully open in 2028 but may have limited play late next summer.
“It is my main purpose to help other people discover their own greatness and realize that there is a purpose in this life for them. And, for us, providing a great golf course for people to enjoy with their families, get them away from a lot of the craziness of the world, relax, and enjoy friends and family,” he says.
