100 Years: Indianwood Country Club
By Tom Lang
Settled into the rolling hills of Oakland County stands a testament of time – 100 years serving golf lovers in Lake Orion.
Indianwood’s famed Old Course celebrates one century in June, and the party will include a past national champion as the guest of honor. British pro Roger Chapman, the 2012 U.S. Senior Open Champion from when that event was contested at Indianwood, plans to participate.
“The milestone is huge to us. For any company to be around 100 years is a big achievement… quite an accomplishment… whether it’s a big building downtown… We’re pretty proud of that,” said Kevin Aldridge, president of the club and son of the local business legend Stan Aldridge who bought the club in 1981 but who passed away in recent years. “My mom and my dad were pretty deep into history, so being a big part of a 100-year-old (club) means a lot to our family.
Aldridge explained to me that his father was not a golfer, but bought the golf course anyway and the family was very surprised. “We asked him if he fell down and bumped his head,” he said with a chuckle. “Then as he got into it and we got into it as a family we realized how special the old course is, and how special the club is, and its history.”
What might explain that the elder Aldridge did not bump his head is the fact his uncles, during his childhood, were members there. There is a family photo of Stan at age 9 in front of the club. Kevin surmised that his dad’s childhood memories were a draw, not so much the sport itself.
“That was his attraction to the club and its history,” Kevin said. “And it was the first golf course I had ever been to, and I remember walking around behind the 18th green and looking out over the golf course and just thought to myself how really cool it looked.”
Kevin eventually became a golf course builder, in one case taking the designs of Ray Hearn and constructing the Strategic Fox par 3 course at Fox Hills in Plymouth.
At Indianwood, he says the top attributes are the green complexes.
“In general, I think the green complexes are pretty special… as well as how Wilfred Reid put the golf course onto the property,” he said. “Back in the day you were limited to horse and plow. And as a golf course (building) contractor, I can really appreciate the things that happened out here back in the 1920s. Guys like Donald Ross and Harry S. Colt, they really had to put golf courses on to the land (mostly as is), and that’s not an easy task (like it is today with machinery).
“The whole layout of the course, the topography, is really spectacular,” Aldridge added. “It’s really incredible out here. Everyone from Pete Dye to PJ Boatwright (of USGA fame), all these big shots in the golf industry, when they come out here, they are wowed.”
PGA Tour pro Tom Gillis of Lake Orion, who retired from the Champions Tour last year, began his golf career at age 14 as a caddy at Indianwood. He was a long-time fixture at Indianwood honing his skills for the PGA Tour.
“My favorite time to play Indianwood was late in the afternoon,” Gillis told me. “The setting sun over the course makes the golden-brown heather pop. Just majestic.”
Part of Indianwood’s history includes hosting at least a half dozen pro tour events. There was the Western Open in 1930 won by Gene Sarazen, and then back to back Michigan PGA Championships in 1948 (Horton Smith) and ’49 (Chick Harbert).
The USGA came to town when selecting Indianwood as host to the 1989 and 1994 U.S. Women’s Opens, followed by the 2012 U.S. Senior Open. Chapman won by two shots ahead of Fred Funk, Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin and Bernhard Langer.
In a course review found on top100courses.com, a writer had this to say about Indianwood:
The Indianwood clubhouse emanates baronial splendor with its tower entrance and ancient tapestries adorning the interior walls. You expect Lancelot to emerge from Indianwood in hot pursuit of a dragon.
Both the Old and New courses at Indianwood are links-like in style but the Old course is the most authentic of the two designs with numerous, deep pot bunkers and waving fescue grasses. Indianwood is an underrated championship course in SE Michigan.
I know that the greens have come under some architectural criticism for being monotonous but I found them to be extremely unique, thought provoking, and challenging. I wanted to tee it back up on #1 right after finishing just to get another crack at them. The course is littered with top notch strategic holes. The 2nd and 4th stand out on the front as it relates to strategy but the 5-7th holes offer a terrific execution challenge with three difficult par 4s in a row. I thought the 9th and 10th felt a little out-of-place compared to the rest of the course but the rest of the back 9 was very fun. The 16th-18th holes provide a wonderful finish to the course (the massive 18th green is an adventure onto itself). All-in-all, this is certainly a top 10 course in the state.
The movement in land is often dramatic… If one is a good bunker player at Indianwood, they will be a good bunker player at any course. Often one stands on a tee and gazes down a hole that makes one want to linger a bit longer.
