Best golf courses in Indianapolis: find options near you

We enjoyed this course so much and plan on coming back soon. Beautiful and very well maintained. Lodging is available on site along with a beautiful state park. The staff were very professional and welcoming.

This might be one of the best value for money courses I’ve ever played. The layout is fun and challenging with a lot of variety. It’s tough – the rough is long and has a US open vibe. The greens could have been a touch better, but for a municipal course it has a country club vibe without the joining fee. I’d play here again whenever I am in Indy.

I have been playing for about a year and half now, but I’ve been either at the range or course almost every single day. I’ve played at courses across Washington, Arizona, and Indiana. This is probably my favorite one and the most unique layout as well.

This might be the best public course I’ve been able to play in my 5 years of regular golf.

It is well maintained, the staff is lovely. Even on a gloomy, wet day, the course played true. It’s a challenging layout, that varies from tight fairways surrounded by trees to rolling hills with room to work. Absolutely worth the visit I cannot wait to come back!

For $100 this place is trash. First and foremost they stack there tee times 10 minutes apart. If I am paying $100 I expect great spacing and zero people holding me up in front of hitting into me from behind. The course was honestly in rough shape for $100. It took 4.25 hours for 16 holes. Waiting on every single tee box for about 15 minutes at a time. To top off everything. It’s a Pepsi place. Nobody wants Pepsi

Beautiful course. Well designed. TaylorMade M2 rental clubs. 5w was pretty fun I don’t have one in my bag

Awesome layout. Fun course , cool location . Friendly staff. 5 hour round on Friday afternoon. Course was in great shape except for the greens were pretty beat up. Did not run true. Ball marks everywhere. If the greens were better it would be 5 stars

This is one of those bucket list courses, especially if you are any level of a car or racing fan. You are seeing off right next to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Just very cool. Course was in great shape. I was in town for the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race. I played on the Monday after the race. So the course was not crowded at all. Just a big smile on my face. Then all of a sudden the cart path takes you in a tunnel and you come out inside the Speedway. Now this is amazing. You get to play holes inside the golf course. The first hole inside is a par 3. Yeah I was nervous, but actually hit the green. One of the other holes inside is parallel to the back stretch of the Speedway. Miss hit your drive and you could be bouncing down the track.

Loved every minute playing this course. Wish I could go back and play it again. If you ever travel to see one of the races at Indy, stay an extra day to play this course.

My only regret is I learned later that one of the creeks on the course has bricks in it from the old surface of the Speedway.

We had a 10am tee time today! We are in town for LIV – traveled from Pennsylvania. The course was in perfect shape – tee boxes were perfect – the fairways were like carpets… and the greens rolled beautifully! There were race cars practicing (for what I don’t know) on the track and as we drove our carts into the infield for the 7th hole we were pretty much distracted but that was okay. We had no one behind us pushing us so we were able to take our time and enjoy the sounds and the sights and take some cool videos. The Pit Stop at the turn was great – good drinks, great hot dogs, and restrooms. They had coolers with water bottles through out the course and every staff member we encountered was fabulous. What a great time and a course to remember and hopefully come back and play again! The day before we spent a few hours at the museum as my man is a true racing fan – highly recommend if you are a fan as it was a very nice museum and experience.

Great conditions considering how hot it was. Great round and even better catching some of the Ferrari challenge during the round. Beverage cart girl needs to learn not to park 2 holes after the turn. Golfers on the front are thirsty.

Great course… had not been there in many years. Very challenging!

Excellent course, Amazing Staff!! Course was in great shape and the rough was rough… Great hole layout and challenging. Love it!!

Awesome course! Had a great time.

Amazing Mother’s Day weekend experience with my son. The staff was friendly and very helpful from the pro shop to the rangers. The carts are great, when you lose a club and can contact the shop for the ranger to deliver. Great service. The course is beautiful and very well maintained. Stay in the fairway because the rough is thick and brutal. Definitely a course to put on your list when in the area.

Amazing. I play here every week and have not had one bad experience. Sometimes the ground can be rough. But it is still fun. Excellent greens and amazing workers

Heard this course had 100 year anniversary everything’s five star here if you’ve never golfed here it’s a must stop and it has a stretch bar for pre-warm-up and a nice putting green foods good and Pleasant run is a beautiful historical course for sure ⛳️ ️‍♂️ The 18th hole is definitely worth a picture

One of our favorite courses in the city! The course is always well kept and easy to play in 4 hours or less. It’s a unique layout with fun and challenging holes. The price point and location make this a regular on our list and we highly recommend it!

East side Gem. 5 star muni operation with 100 years of history. Practice green. No driving range. Carts or walk. Use caution on each narrow bridge. 3 Forced Carries. Diabolical greens. Blue tees / White tees / Gold Red tees. Forward tees are forward of the red/gold tees. Lunch in the clubhouse is homemade. Counter service. Enjoy!

Called to book tee time and make sure it was okay for my newborn to come along since he will be carried the whole time. Staff said yes TWICE. We took the time get our newborn baby together and out of the house and got refused service once we showed up. He’s a BABY and would do no harm to be with us on the course. We even said that we called ahead and confirmed it would be okay but still got turned away. Terrible service and will not be back.

Absolutely and phenomenal shape and in my opinion the best city horse in Indianapolis between it and Sarah shank which are owned by the same people.

Easy access, clean & ready to serve. Course is wide open spaces with appropriate challenges over creeks and elevations = Fun. 18 w cart is minimal

Decent course condition for the price. Greens are overall good and roll well. Plays short with plenty of tree trouble, but not very punishing. Definitely recommend.

You get what you pay for, here. I’d give it three stars, but why on earth don’t they pair people up? Everytime I go there as a single, they have me behind three twosomes instead of combining the groups. Doesn’t make any sense.

The worst course on the Northside of Indy, probably worst course in Indy. Besides the course being terrible, the staff isn’t friendly, the parking is bad, and they have only strict rules. Go anywhere else.

Plenty of places available on the range. Good parking. Friendly service. Fill your own bucket . Reasonable prices

Everyone knows that this is the municipal of Indianapolis, among the most beat up courses we’ve got. Interestingly, despite being the least-prestigious course, they have some of the strictest rules. They don’t allow me to walk the course with my kiddo in a stroller, every other course I’ve played in Indianapolis will allow it. Sahm is nothing special, and they shouldn’t act like they are either

Rudest staff I have ever encountered at a golf course. Also very poorly maintained, especially the front 9. Take your money somewhere else.

Easy course, decent driving range. Good place to hit a ball around for a relatively low price.

This is a great course friendly staff they offer a driving range, a simulation room, as well as great food! Highly recommend this it is open to the public as well.

Twas a beautiful day on the course with the hubs. And my tenderloin and potato chips were delish.

Giving the course a 3 because I found a mix of good and bad. So I’m my opinion right in the middle seems fair. Overall it was a fun and challenging course to play for a great price.

PROS:
-Paved cart paths running the entire length of the course
-Great value (around $48 for 18 w/ cart on Sunday)
-Challenging natural obstacles as well as bunkers force you to put thought into each shot.
-Newer carts that were clean when we got into them
-Friendly workers in the clubhouse.

Cons:
-Starter didn’t seem to have a rhyme or reason to his ordering or grouping. Wasn’t asked my tee time when I approached 1. Was on the fairway waiting for the green to clear when balls started landing near us. It’s my understanding that this persons role is to insure these things don’t happen. (We we’re also instructed to hit towards the group in front of us and told to ask if we can play through).
-As some other people mentioned the grounds are in pretty bad shape in a few areas. Just about every green was hard as a rock with dead spots. Tee boxes were just as dry, some areas the tee would just crumble the dirt. So I often found myself poking around trying to find a good spot.
-Bunker sand had small pebbles and even medium sized pebbles/rocks. This is not good for clubs.
-Clubhouse. Outside is a site to see, inside is nice but not really what I thought I was going to see. Still nice though.

In conclusion, I would say there are limitless possibilities for this to be a truly amazing course to play. I’m sure they have their hands full with grounds maintenance so I can loom past some bare spots for the price. Hopefully at some point maintenance becomes a priority. When this happens I’m confident $48 won’t pay for 18 holes. So my advice is that if you’re in the area take advantage of the value. It’s not hard to look past the faults to find a truly fun and challenging experience. Play a course designed by a golf legend for $48? I think it’s worth it!

My Brother and I played a round here for our very first time today. My expectations were fairly high for the price and the outward appearance from the road. We were pretty excited, however, as the day and round wore own we realized that the course and staff severely underperformed our expectations. We’re recreational golfers so I can assure you that there’s no bias here. The staff themselves seemed rather apathetic in attitude and action to our first time visit. As if they could care less whether we were there or not. We booked as a pair but also got paired with another twosome which we didn’t really appreciate because this was supposed to be brotherly bonding time and it also dragged the day out in high heat temperatures. Now to the course itself. The most disappointing part were the greens as they were poorly maintained. Tons of scorching and divots in the greens which made for much more difficult putting. The fairways were average kept at best. The cart path had tons of spots with broken path which made for quite a bit of bumpy driving. The bunkers had not been treated and the sand was rather hard to hit from. Overall, very disappointing experience that fell way below our excited pre round expectations. For the price and traffic you all have to do much better. We won’t be back and that’s quite a bummer to say because my brother and I love to Golf. Hope this reaches the right people and the necessary steps are taken to improve the golfing experience. I

Challenging course with plenty of water and sand hazards, some sand had rocks in them and were compacted traps. Tee boxes need some love and most importantly the greens, which had plenty of dead spots. They need to fill the the divot repair jugs, both carts were empty. Can’t walk the course easily, back 9 has some holes that will likely get you passed by 1-2 foursomes.

Great course. Very well priced and course plays really good. Nice golf carts, staff is friendly. Bar and grill is priced well. Love playing here when I get chance.

Well maintained course. It was really fun playing here. I am a beginner golfer and felt the course was a bit challenging, but I had fun nonetheless!

Host a charity outing here in July each year. Course is one of the nicest you will find for a city course anywhere. Great layout, challenging but fun!

Definitely a golf course we will continue to host our event at each year!

what a beautiful course and driving range everything here five star⛳️ ️

Smock is a well taken care of Golf course with great fairways and greens!! They have professional staff on hand with a good selection of food and drinks to choose from as well. Ethan was the one that assisted me with my round of golf and recommended the Blue tees rangefinder I purchased you can see in the pictures I posted. I highly recommend this rangefinder and I can’t wait for the warmer season to start so I can return to this great course.

They over pack the course and then blame you for slow play and offer you a “rain check” (refund) middle of the game. Then they’ll send some kid out to tell you what your doing wrong. Absolutely a waste of time. Joke of a course. Will not be back to this place. Management needs some serious overhaul.

It’s a decent course but they pack way too many people on it. Having to wait 20-30 minutes at every hole is ridiculous. I’ve played here 6 times never played past 14 because we got tired of waiting that long. 6.5 hours just to play here is ridiculous.

Nice city course for a reasonable price. Greens are in good shape and reasonably quick. Definitely worth a visit.

Great place to golf. Course is in really great shape. Staff is very friendly.

Honestly a great course for the price. Has a nice grass driving range. Scenic views and fair greens. Staff, GM, and owner are all friendly and helpful. I’d highly recommend for any recreational golfer.

My wife and I really enjoyed playing here today. The course is in pretty good condition considering how the weather has been this summer. The greens roll true. It’s a gem of a course and the staff works hard to keep it looking good.

I love the course and playing there but the management staff is HORRIBLE. Their attitude is terrible they make you not even want to play there. There is a black gentleman who works there and when he’s there I’ll play but the red head guy and the kinda heavy set guy were rude in their conversation and it wasn’t the first time. So if I play ever again it will be because neither one of those guy’s helped me . Get some employees to match your course saddlebrook and we’ll be back. Love your course though.

First tee was backed up upon arrival. Grant it we were late due to receiving an improper tee time online versus what the pro shop had down. The ranger advised to was a reoccurring problem. The ranger sitting at the first tee was very rude and yelling at people. Very unprofessional. Amidst all of the chaos, we tee’d off and proceeded down the fairway. Waiting for the 2 golfers in front of us to finish, we were rudely approached by the ranger yelling at us for not teaming up with 2 individuals behind us. Instead of asking if we heard him yelling at us to team us he could have politely asked why we didn’t. Will never return to this course due to the disrespect we received and other golfers received

I’ve always enjoyed Saddlebrook. It’s short, score-able, and in a nice location. Unfortunately I can no longer do business there. 6/8 people committed to golf, showed up to the tee time. I clarified with the pro shop while setting tee time that we are planning on 8, worst case scenario 6 will show because of kids/life/schedule. It was our buds birthday and we wanted it to be a fun day.

Once we got there, we had 6/8 and the guys working the desk (assuming manager or assistant manager with red beard) immediately changed his tone, lectured my friend group and myself and the impacts this has to a small business. I thought he was going to cry or scream, wasn’t sure. He continued to explain how money works and make sure my friends and I felt like garbage. I explained that whatever fee I need to pay I will pay, I apologized over and over again. He made sure to explain the entire time that my cards on file and I’m going to get charged so i didn’t argue, and I understood his point after the first sentence. Instead he raised his voice, insulted my intelligence, and then said “you guys are nice so I won’t charge you extra.” Seemed like that interaction wasnt as much about me and maybe some underlying issues.

It sucks that I felt compelled to write this review, but you can’t talk to people that way, even if the customer did something that really pisses you off.

The workers were busy and u can tell this place is taken good care of. Players do need to be more educated on replacing their ball marks especially on the green.
Only problem I do have is I was told they do not offer a rain check…. I fully expected this and it’s okay since I just am passing thru the city. but as I got done with the front 9 I headed to the 10th hole, there were 4-5 groups of 3 or more lined up… I understand some people just go do what they want even if the proshop said start at the 1st hole. But for those who are following etiquette and rules they get punished.. I’m not going to spend 3 hrs or more to play 9 when we had a decent pace going prior to the back 9…

Played course7/16/2025. Great shape! Staff was courteous and professional. Price for afternoon play was super. Will return. they have really been working on the course, and it shows.

Course is kept in good shape and fun layout! Not long but still need to be accurate.

Beautiful course. The greens are EXTREMELY fast. The fairways are pretty standard with only a couple dog legs. A must visit if in indy!

Absolutely the worst golf experience I’ve had in a long time. Our group booked our tee time over a month in advance, yet when we showed up the course had squeezed in a last-minute outing and completely shoved us aside. We were rushed onto the back 9, forced to split up, and treated like an inconvenience. The staff running the course were unprofessional, disrespectful, and made rude comments to our group. It’s clear this place cares more about cramming in extra outings than honoring the customers who book ahead. I would not recommend Sarah Shank to anyone looking for a course that values its players.

#1 City Course in Marion Indianapolis. Fast Greens with open fairways but Lots of trees, not much water or sand. Go Play Shank. RIP Chuck Gregory & RIP John Durham

We were told that we couldn’t stop at the clubhouse and eat. Asked to leave and take our over-priced credit card surcharged food to the cart after one of our foursome had a medical issue where they just needed to rest. Nice course, but staff was lacking personal skills. Never again.

Very nice course at a very reasonable price. Would definitely go back…

Played on the 4th. Conditions are excellent for the price, greens were firm and lightning fast. Reasonable pace of play.

Course is in decent shape but you better have 7 hours to golf 18 here. They manage tee times so poorly. I’ve golfed here twice and the first round took 6 1/2 hours. I just finished 9 and it took 3 3/4 of a hour. Went in to get some of my money back from paying for 18 holes which cost $47. Oh to add, the ranger told us before we tee’’d off 30 minutes after our scheduled tee time that they let 4 groups of foursomes golf together this morning. Not a good look.

Was only offered a rain check. I would not recommend this course to anyone. Doug the pro is also unprofessional. Just a grump of an old man.

To management, you guys should really start caring about this course and not so much about putting Tee times back to back to grab the extra money. You are ruining this place .

BEWARE.

It’s a fun course and I’ll definitely be back. Does have the amenities like beer and food which is well appreciated. I’ve been golfing for a few years so I do know that I can enjoy this one ( if im not slicing and/or 3 putting). Can say though that the greens are a bit fast. The slope of the greens mean business so you have to take your time on the putt. Overall well maintained. However greens are a little to fast and divots are a bit much, to still fun course to play.
Also to add the prices are pretty good as well. Don’t really put a dent into the pocket.

I’ve golfed twice a week for 20 straight years. I have never met a more rude club pro/pro shop worker. Based on previous reviews I assume it’s Doug.

My buddy called in here last Tuesday and booked an 8am tee time. We showed up at 7:50 to pay for the round and was told there was nothing on the sheet with out time. We went back outside, he showed me the call log from Tuesday, and we went back inside to show the pro shop. By this time it’s 8am. After finding out they had booked us incorrectly for 7:52, we got no apology and instead were told that we “would’ve been late for the tee time regardless”

Clearly this isn’t the only review labeling how much a rude grouch this pro shop is. Give your green fees to a course that respects its patrons. Won’t ever be coming back here

7 minute spread on tee times combined with not pairing up doubles leads to almost 5 hours for 18. I’ve golfed here 4 times now and this has been the case every time. 9:45 tee time, tee’d off with a 9:37 group at 9:58. We asked to join them, the marshal said nothing. Greens aren’t bad, staff could be friendlier. Wish I took a picture of how many groups were on the first tee waiting. Huge audience.

Very nicely maintained course. Reasonable pars and nice sloping hills.

Not very well mowed. They need to water much better. On a hot day they couldn’t even keep water coolers full. Power lines in the way. Smock golf course is MUCH better and cheaper.

So if I was just rating the course I’d prob give it a 2 star. Lots of clover throughout the course. Paths are in bad shape…. My reason for the 1star is bc I forgot my 56 on a hole (my fault) and didnt even notice until my next round a week later. Called and they said they had it to my surprise. So I asked my mother to grab it the next day bc I live out of state. And in that one day it magically disappeared. I can’t fault them for me losing it. But I can for them allowing someone to just take my club after it was returned to them.

T boxes where absolutely shot. Trees are not maintained. Good luck if you hit your ball off the side of the fairway. Grass is to long. The greens are full of duvets. Sand traps dont get serviced. Cheap course. Wont be back.

Nice course, but you better hit your drive straight or it will be a long day!! Huge trees on nearly all holes. Course was in great shape and greens in nice shape. Play was very good today.

This is a course I have played while living in downtown Indy the last few years! It’s a decent course for the price. Main issues I give about the course are all the trees. There are too many and some are not meant for a golf course. Gets frustrating if you hit your tee shot slightly right and the branches are so low you can’t even make a reasonable punch shot. Lot of them are so tall too that you can not hit over them! I’m a decent golfer shot an 81 from the back tees but this is always been annoying playing here. This year the rough is taller than normal and it’s sometimes hard to find your golf ball if it’s not in the fairway. Overall a decent course but those are my main complaints!

Listen, the course layout is fine but the conditions are horrible. You cant distinguish where the fairway starts and the rough begins. Courses like these are great for golfers that are new to the game but I can honestly say this is the worst course I’ve ever played. Management was fine, greens weren’t bad, and pace of play was decent. The course looks like it hasn’t been mowed in years. My first time playing the course and will never be back. I hope they either put money into the course or just let it close. My highlight of the day was seeing a homeless person shit across the street from hole 3!

South Grove is one of the better city courses in Indianapolis. The course is in decent shape, fairways and tee boxes are subpar on certain holes but not terrible. Greens are fairly well maintained, but the bunkers that are remaining are basically dirt.

In turns of amenities, selection is rather limited. Not much to chose from in terms of food and they do not offer liquor, only beer. I’d advise getting a cooler for beer as the singles are not very cold.

Overall pretty good course for the price. Not terribly busy if you play early morning, even on Sundays. Not a terribly challenging course as there are virtually no bunkers or water on the course.

Good affordable city course. Most greens are in good condition. Challenging layout with lots of trees. I enjoy playing a round here.

Nice public course, wish the city of Indianapolis would commit to upkeeping it better. Hole 12 is supposed to have a pond, however it is dry and full of weeds. The trees and course layout are very nice! Enjoyable course, just wish the funds would go into getting it back on the level it used to be.