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 Imagine four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears standing on the tee of any golf hole and being “intimidated?” Yet that’s the word he uses to describe the #1 handicap hole at Indianapolis Brickyard Crossing Golf Course, a dogleg left par-4 with water all the way down the left-hand side.
Now imagine trying to concentrate on that “intimidating” tee shot with
the roar from Indycars or NASCARs or Formula 1 racers whizzing past you
at 220-plus miles an hour! And now that I’ve experienced it, I can
honestly tell you it’s a feeling you can get at only one place on
earth, Brickyard Crossing.
And while many of you have known for years that there are golf holes within the walls of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it is still news to some that the course itself is a fabulous Pete Dye redesign, and that you can often play it during race weeks.
This course is more than just a gimmick built around a landmark. It’s also landmark in its own right to the design mastery of Pete and Alice Dye, Indiana’s own Hulman and George family of golf. A frequent member of Golf Digest’s “Top 100 Public Courses in America” and a fixture in every Indiana Top Ten list, Brickyard Crossing has been good enough to host a half-dozen Champions Tour events, and playable enough to be set up the same way for the pros as for the rest of us.
 Dye called working around the walls of the legendary track to create his own legacy “like working with the Pacific Ocean at Pebble Beach.” The Dyes then went that analogy one better by incorporating pieces of the pit and outside walls of the track in their trademark bulkheading around the surprising number of ponds and Little Eagle Creek, all of which come into play often at the Brickyard.
The four holes inside IMS are, clearly, the stars at Brickyard Crossing. The feeling as you drive through the tunnel under the backstretch between the sixth green and seventh tee is indescribable. No less than Speedway President Tony George has remarked that “the view from the seventh tee is breathtaking to see the entire race track.” But then trying to remember the task at hand remembers, “hitting the (redan) green is a must, sticking it close is a bonus.” Holding the elevated, table-top green with steeply sloping sides is tough enough, but when the race cars are roaring by just a few yards away?
The aforementioned #8, as “intimidating” as it is to Mears, actually offers a fairway almost as wide as the backstretch. But like the backstretch at the Speedway, keep it between the hazards, in this case, water left and trees right.
 The final two holes inside the Speedway offer great contrasts. #9 might have the narrowest fairway on the course, with 27 tiny bunkers dotting the left and right sides of the fairway of this mid-range par-4. The 10th is a shorter, simpler dogleg-left par-4 around the largest bunker at the Brickyard, running down the left side of the hole from the landing area to thefront of the green. The 10th, along with the 18th, both made INtake Magazine’s list of Indianapolis’ Dream 18 holes. Escape the inside of the track around par and you’ll feel like you’ve earned a checkered flag!
While the holes between the walls at Indy get much of the attention, there’s a lot more great golf than meets the racing spectator’s eye. You’ll need all the confidence you’ve mustered on the interior of the track when you exit the tunnel for the eight finishing holes, seven of them with water in play beginning with the par-4 11th. Four-time Brickyard 400 Champion Jeff Gordon considers the next stretch of holes, 12, 13, and 14 “as the third turn of the golf course, not only because they’re located near turn three, but because you have to set yourself up for the four difficult finishing holes.” At under 300 yards from all but the tips, the 14th will tempt you to try to drive it, but a giant steepfaced bunker can snag wayward drives to the right, and long-time Head Professional Rollie Schroeder truly believes that the longer you hit the drive, the tougher the approach to the well- protected green.
Now comes the homestretch, four holes that usually play into the prevailing southwest wind, that Rollie’s son Jeff considers his favorite holes at the Brickyard. Like the racing Andrettis or Unsers, Jeff has taken over the reins after learning from his father. The 15th is a solid par-5 that will tempt you to cross Little Eagle Creek with your second shot to avoid a mid-iron approach. Its NASCAR star Michael Waltrip’s favorite hole, probably because “I’ve had several opportunities to get wet on this hole and I never got wet once.” You’d think someone who has tempted the racing Gods as often as a Waltrip wouldn’t go teasing the golf Gods too!
 The 17th is a great “down the stretch” par-3 in the words of former PGA and Senior Open Champ Dave Stockton, primarily because of the multitude of pin placements possible on the oversized green. None other than fellow designer Greg Norman raves about the “secret” of Dye’s genius with the 16th and 18th holes. “He balances the course out. 16 is the same length as the 18th, but it plays right to left (18 goes left to right). You’ve still got to contend with the same creek, but it’s a completely different hole.” Speaking of the finishing hole, all the professional “drivers” advise you to rip one straight at the old 1800’s-vintage dairy barn as your target off the tee.
At a place were it is so ingrained that preparation breeds winners, you’d expect a wonderful practice facility at Brickyard Crossing. Besides the double-ended driving range and Golf Academy offering customized instruction to tune your game up physically, the Brickyard even has access to Indiana University sports psychologist Dr. Steve Curtis to deal with the mental part of the game. Director of Instruction Sam Foley also has the most unique pre-round opportunity of any teacher in the country, what he calls the “Driving Force”. How about beginning your day with four laps around the track in the Indy Racing Experience to loosen you up before your instructional session, then after lunch, a round at Brickyard Crossing Golf Course with your teaching pro!
Besides its incredible location at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, location also factors into the Brickyard Crossing’s playability. Just 5 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from downtown, it is easily the closest track, golf or otherwise, for most businessmen, conventioneers or visitors to Indiana’s capital city. Stay-and-play packages are offered through the on-site Brickyard Crossing Inn and the Hamilton County CVB. Catering for special events is available with a pavilion that can entertain up to 600 for large weddings or company outings, or you can unwind in the clubhouse’s sumptuous restaurant and Flag Room lounge.
The “Brickyard” continues to be the home for the greatest collection of drivers, of golf balls and race cars, in the world. It might be one of the few “Once-In-ALifetime” adventures you can experience as often as you’d like. And like the first time you drove fast, you’re next question will be “when can I do it again?” For more information and tee times, call Brickyard Crossing at (317)484-6572 or visit their Web site, www.brickyardcrossing.com.
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