Cobblestone Golf Course

When you’re thinking about where to go on your next golf vacation, Fort Wayne isn’t likely to be top of your list. But if you live in the upper Midwest, maybe it should be. There are no less than 25 courses in the area that are open to public play and several of the top tier courses have been packaged together by Great Indiana Golf, which operates out of Cobblestone Golf Club in Kendallville, IN. Here are three “must-play” courses when you're in the area.

Cobblestone is one of those elite courses I was talking about. The course has been around for a while and has always been a favorite of locals. One of the accolades it has received over the years was to be selected as one of "America's Best New Courses" in 1999. The golf course is situated on about 250 acres of rolling terrain with several natural and manmade hazards along the way. Cobblestone offers a great practice facility that allows you to work on every facet of your game. The driving range, chipping green, and putting green are all conveniently located right behind the clubhouse.

Cobblestone offers 5 sets of tees and can be played anywhere from 7,005 yards from the tips to 4,734 yards from the forward tees. The finishing holes on each nine are as different as can be. Number nine is a 375-yard par-four dogleg right that is the #1 handicap. It’s a tight hole with considerable elevation changes. The 18th hole is a 495-yard par 5 that is handicapped as the easiest hole on the layout. It’s not often that a par 5 is handicap #18Sand can come into play on the left side if you pull your tee shot. Play your layup shot down the left side to give yourself a clear shot downhill into a green that is well protected by bunkers.

When the weather turns cold outside, golfers can move inside and play a round on Cobblestone’s indoor golf simulator which is loaded with over 20 of the world’s best courses. Their pro shop is also well-stocked with logoed apparel from several top brands.

The Best Western Kendallville Inn is the preferred hotel partner of Great Golf Indiana. The hotel is locally owned and was recently renovated. The Best Western Kendallville Inn has all of your typical big-city hotel amenities and a heaping helping of warm, small-town hospitality. They offer a variety of rooms and suites that are perfect for golf groups and couples. Rooms include a microwave and refrigerator, 32-inch LCD TV, high-speed Internet access, and a full breakfast buffet. Be sure to ask about the “special perks” available for their golf visitors. Nearby Fort Wayne offers big-city entertainment, dining, and shopping.

The Fort Wayne area is poised to be the host of a multi-venue golf tournament like they have in Myrtle Beach and Mesquite, Nevada. They have the courses and accommodations to pull it off and with a little participation from local restaurants I’m confident it would be a success. Great Indiana Golf has put together some great golf packages that include some of the best golf courses Indiana & SW Michigan has to offer together with overnight accommodations at the Best Western Kendallville Inn.

We played Cobblestone today under beautiful 75 degree weather. The course is in very good shape, but for the bunkers, which are in need of fresh sand as they are hard-pan throughout.

It’s a popular course for the area, and at $50, it was filled with mostly foursomes. Our 2some was slotted in, even though we arrived 30 minutes after our tee time. The clubhouse is very friendly.

The course plays hard, even while the fairways are generous and wide. It’s a good “second shot” course, and oftentimes tricky. The fairways ungulate, but without much elevation. We played with a steady breeze, and parts of the course are certainly exposed to the vagaries of the wind.

The greens were large, in good shape, somewhat contoured, and held well... they were firm to putt.

We play a strict game, and we were truly perplexed, and somewhat annoyed, by the lack of markings around the course. Some of the “natural land” is marked in (almost hidden) red stakes.... while others are not marked at all!

It’s difficult to determine what’s a lateral hazard versus a lost ball without the markings to govern play.

There are no local rules on the card.

Is it enjoyable? Absolutely.

Is it memorable? Probably not.

some decent elevation changes make this course a fun challenge. conditions will likely be better in the middle of the summer, so I can't knock em for it. there's a few memorable holes but a lot of forgettable ones. If I'm in the area, I'll for sure play here again. but I won't drive out of my way.

Great course, fairways wide enough to land a 757 on.

Beautiful course in the country. One of the best in Indiana.