The Journal is where CR&J captures the breadth of our golf experience; courses played, places traveled, and ideas that don’t always warrant a full architectural review. Not every course demands 4,000 words, but many still deserve to be seen, rated, and contextualized. The Journal allows us to build a meaningful ratings record, explore regional golf, and document how courses fit into the larger landscape of the game. In each Journal entry, we will try to provide short-form ratings for three to five courses in the same general geographic area.
Read: How We Rate Courses
Courses Reviewed in this Journal:
(Click Link to Jump to Review)
Course Review: The Club at Olde Stone
CR&J’s Final Rating: 64/80 (Best in State List)
Olde Stone is Bowling Green’s, and arguably, the State of Kentucky’s best golf course. Of course, opinions vary, but by most accounts, there are three golf courses in Kentucky that one could reasonably argue are the best in the bluegrass state: Valhalla GC in Louisville, Idle Hour in Lexington, and Olde Stone.
Olde Stone could host a U.S. Open tomorrow and present a challenge to the world’s best golfers – it is quite difficult as designed. Olde Stone is conditioned in a way with firm and fast greens and a very thick rough (among the thickest I’ve ever played) that makes it a serious test. I think the USGA recognizes that the course is of the quality that the USGA desires, but perhaps Bowling Green, KY is not the ideal destination for its biggest event. Rather, the USGA opted to host the 2022 Girls Junior at Olde Stone, and I anticipate more USGA championships will visit Olde Stone in the future
For some reason, Arthur Hills is very underrated as a course designer, but Hills often creates fun and playable courses that have unique hole designs, and Olde Stone is no exception. Bottom line here, Olde Stone is a good enough golf course to be in the bottom of the Top 200, and certainly contends with Valhalla and Idle Hour as the best course in State. If 250 courses were ranked by Golf Digest instead of 200, I feel confident that Olde Stone would be included.
What Works: Olde Stone uses a couple of really inventive hole designs and keeps things fresh all throughout the round. The course also makes use of a ton of elevation, much moreso than you would expect from the land that surrounds Olde Stone.
There is a significant ridge that bisects the property into two distinct areas. The first hole, along with the eighth through eighteenth are in an upper area of the property where each hole possesses significant elevation change. The second through the seventh sit in a flatter valley, probably some 50-60 feet below the other holes. However, the course keeps a pretty consistent character throughout the round, and just leans a bit more heavily on hazards rather than elevation on the flatter holes. Conditioning is typically great, but traditionally features that very long rough that can make things difficult.
Best Hole: The best hole is probably the short par-4 sixth hole that has a few different options from the tee.
A player can choose to challenge the large bunker, but the hole plays a bit uphill and its all carry to clear the bunker. Alternatively, a player could choose beside-of or in-front-of the bunker with less than driver off the tree, but a left miss puts the three bunkers on the left in play with less than driver.
Regardless of which option is chosen, the green is a grass-island green, surrounded by deep rough and pot bunkers that make any miss here difficult. Meaning, if you have the carry distance off the tee, it may make sense to attempt to carry the bunker and reduce the risk of missing the green on approach.
Interesting Hole: For the interesting hole, I have to pick the mid-length par-4 fourth hole which is almost a direct copy of Valhalla’s fifth hole. I find it humorous that these two holes, from two courses who probably both think they deserve to be considered the best in State, are essentially carbon copies with a slight difference in bunker style.
At Valhalla’s version, Valhalla uses a few sweeping bunkers to frame the fairway, as it doglegs through the narrow area between them. Olde Stone’s version uses a litany of small pot bunkers to accomplish the same purpose, and routes the fairway a bit further out to the right before straightening. Both versions feature room to the short-left of the green and a bunker below the right of the green. It is a really good hole design, I’m just not sure there needs to be two of the exact same holes within a two-hour drive.
Limitations: Olde Stone could probably be higher if some slightly different decisions were made. Anyone who has played there will tell you that the first and tenth holes are very similar and slightly too quirky. Some of the holes feature really distinctive architecture, but a few of the holes (eight, nine, fourteen) could be plucked out of any course in America and you’d have never known. While Olde Stone has some aesthetic value internally, the external aesthetics are good but not great in inland Bowling Green, Kentucky. The course abuts Drakes Creek, but only features a view of the small river on one hole. These are clearly nitpicks, but those nitpicks are what separate elite country clubs from the Top-200 courses in the U.S.
Final Thoughts: Olde Stone will likely forever sit on the precipice of inclusion in the Top 200 course rankings. I think it would be reasonable to argue it is of that quality. I found it to be a course that is probably just outside of that ranking, but more comfortably included in the Top 300, if that were a thing. Regardless of the ranking, Olde Stone is a fantastic golf course, very difficult, and fun to play. Reasonable minds may differ on whether it is the best golf course in Kentucky, or just one of the best.
CR&J’s Final Rating: Shot Options: 8; Challenge: 9; Layout Variety: 8; Distinctiveness: 7; Aesthetics: 7; Conditioning: 9; Character: 8; Fun: 8. Total: 64/80 (Best in State List)
Course Review: Indian Hills Country Club
CR&J’s Final Rating: 47/80 (Average)
Indian Hills Country Club in Bowling Green, KY is a course that knows what it is: a solid value with one very clear strength and one very clear limitation. The strength is the greens—pure, true, and confidently defended. The limitation is the landscape, which can feel bland and exposed in parts, largely because a tornado a few years back stripped a significant amount of the tree framing that would normally give this place more visual definition. Through no fault of the club, the course lost some of its “parkland character,” and you feel that.
But golf courses aren’t judged on how good they look in a real-estate brochure. They’re judged on what happens when you’re standing over a four-footer that matters. Indian Hills does that part very well.
What Works: If you’re the type of golfer who cares how a ball rolls (rather than how a hole photographs), Indian Hills is speaks your language. The greens feel like the center of gravity for the entire course. They’re the kind of surfaces where you can actually commit to a read, hit your putt, and then accept the result like an adult. No mystery hops or weird patchwork. Just an honest roll and enough contour to keep you paying attention.
Indian Hills doesn’t rely on gimmicks to create interest. It leans on sensible golf: angles, position, and greens that ask you to hit the correct quadrant rather than just “somewhere up there.” You can score if you drive it well and control distance. You can also get punished if you don’t (a lesson I learned quickly with a classic left-headed-left, miss off the first tee), without the course feeling unfair about it.
Indian Hills feels like a club that prioritized playing quality. It doesn’t try to sell you vibes. It sells you a round that holds up over time, especially if you’re someone who measures a course by replayability rather than novelty.
Best Hole: The mid-length par-3 tenth hole is the best hole at Indian Hills, because it combines real design pressure with social pressure, creating both excitement and a slightly uncomfortable pressure.
The design pressure is obvious: the hole is guarded by water and a tiered green that’s effectively saying, sure, hit the green—now pick the correct layer of the green. Between the water, the tiers, and the way the putting surface is protected, the target plays smaller than you want it to. You can’t just “find the green” and relax. You have to hit the right part of it, or you’re immediately putting from a different zip code.
Then there’s the setting: it sits in front of the clubhouse, where people are arriving, leaving, lingering, and absolutely not watching you (except they are). And, because it’s near the traffic flow toward the pro shop, the consequences of a truly bad miss aren’t just “bogey,” but rather an ad for an insurance commercial. The water, the tiered aspect of the putting surface, and the guarded target already demand commitment. Add the clubhouse spotlight and the very real incentive not to create an insurance claim, and suddenly your pre-shot routine gets unusually tense. It’s a great hole. It’s also a great reminder that a large part of golf is mental, and that is not always a positive.
Interesting Hole: The second hole, a long par-5, is interesting because it’s one of those par 5s where the tee shot doesn’t just start the hole, it writes the plot. This is not unique on its face for par 5 holes, but the angle of the tee shot here is what creates the intrigue.
Hit a proper tee shot and you have a realistic chance to cash in, or at least put the hole into an aggressive posture. Miss the tee shot and the whole thing turns into a long, responsible three-shot exercise where your best outcome is “par with minimal emotional damage.”
The approach is what makes the hole stick, though: the green is extremely narrow on approach. Get out of position, and a chip shot may starts to look like the tenth green at Riviera or the fourth at Spyglass Hill. It invokes that same feeling that the green isn’t a target so much as a runway, and your window is only open if you earned the correct angle first. If the approach shot is even slightly wrong, the hole doesn’t scream at you. It just quietly removes birdie from the menu and hands you a stressful up-and-down, or a long putt coming back down a tiered green.
It’s a smart hole because it rewards positional golf in a way that’s very legible. You’ll know exactly what you did right or wrong.
Limitations: This is the limitation that keeps Indian Hills from feeling “special” in the purely visual sense. Without the tree-lined framing the course used to have, parts of the property feel more open and exposed—less definition, fewer dramatic visuals, fewer moments where you stop and say “that’s a picture.” And again, this matters: trees don’t just add beauty. They add shape. They provide boundaries and contrast. When they’re gone, the course can feel flatter and more uniform even if the golf itself is still strong. The upside is that the course didn’t try to compensate with artificial tricks. It stayed honest. The golf holds up. The scenery just isn’t going to carry the day.
Final Thoughts: Indian Hills is a course that is quietly good. It’s not trying to compete with destination golf on aesthetics, and it doesn’t need to. The value is in the quality of the greens and the way the course asks you to play real golf: good angles, good speed control, and to navigate the defense around the targets on approach.
If you need your round to feel cinematic, you may find yourself wishing for the older tree canopy to return. But if you care about the playing experience (and especially if you care about putting surfaces), Indian Hills delivers a round that’s better than the scenery suggests.
And if you want a single moment that captures the day: stand on the 10th tee, look at the water, look at the tiers, notice the clubhouse energy, and then remember that someone’s windshield is probably more expensive than your green fee.
CR&J’s Final Rating: Shot Options: 6; Challenge: 6; Layout Variety: 6; Distinctiveness: 5; Aesthetics: 4; Conditioning: 7; Character: 6; Fun: 7. Total: 47/80 (Average)
Course for Review: Bowling Green Country Club
CR&J’s Final Rating: 48/80 (Good)
Bowling Green Country Club has the kind of history you can’t manufacture, just with a renovated clubhouse and a new logo. Founded in 1913, it’s the oldest club in the area, and it feels like it in the best way: traditional, settled-in, and comfortable.
The course’s character is defined by two themes: conditioning and length. The course is well maintained throughout, the greens are on the smaller side but in good shape, and even the practice putting green is the rare case where what you roll before the round actually resembles what you’ll see once you start keeping score. The limitation is that it’s a shorter course, and that reality drives the entire shot mix, often in a way that’s either a feature or a mild letdown, depending on what you came for.
What Works: The conditioning of the course is steady across the board. Fairways, rough, tee boxes; all are maintained in a way that makes the round smoother and more predictable. It’s hard to overstate how much that matters when you’re trying to evaluate a course on the merits rather than spending four hours mentally cataloging excuses.
The greens are relatively small, which is a nice counterbalance to the course’s shorter overall length. You’re not just firing at giant landing zones all day. Smaller targets require a little more precision, even when the approach club in your hand is something you’ve been holding since high school. The practice putting green is in good condition and, more importantly, it feels representative. You’re not tricked into practicing on one speed and then immediately walking onto a completely different world once the round starts. It’s a small thing that signals the club’s attention to detail.
BGCC can be challenging, despite it being a shorter course, because there are holes that force a tee ball to be placed in the right area if you want a real chance to score. Particularly the tenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth holes all stand out in that way. It’s a good reminder that “short” doesn’t have to mean “easy,” and that driver-wedge golf only helps if you’re giving yourself the correct angle and window.
Best Hole: If you like holes that have some character and mess with your head a little, the first hole at Bowling Green CC is the best hole on the course, a mid-length par-4.
The first is a perfect opener because it gives you an immediately honest picture: water comes into play on the right, the left is tree-lined, and the visual message is pretty clear—hit the middle of the fairway or start your day negotiating with yourself. It’s the kind of first tee shot that makes you feel like you’re supposed to be sharp already, which is always a warm and welcoming way to begin.
What I like is that it doesn’t force a player to hit driver. In practice you can take less club, take the narrow landing area out of play, and still have a very realistic chance to start with a par. But the hole has a built-in tradeoff: if you want a shorter approach, now you’re choosing to challenge a narrower landing area off the tee. So you’re making a real decision immediately from the first shot: play conservative and keep it tidy or press early and earn the wedge.
It’s a strong first hole because it’s not complicated, but it is demanding in the exact way good golf holes tend to be: it asks you to commit to a strategy.
Interesting Hole: Not really sure there’s a hole out here that I’d call “bad.” Bowling Green Country Club is more old-school steady than chaotic. Nothing feels gimmicky at BGCC and nothing feels like it was designed during a meeting where someone said “make it pop.”
That said, the second is not my favorite, and it’s almost entirely because of what it feels like from the tee. The whole right side is very tight off the tee, almost claustrophobic. And it’s not just run of the mill hazard, it is property line out of bounds, of which I am not a fan. I don’t mind being penalized for a bad swing. That’s fair. I just don’t love when the strategy is basically “aim left or reload.” The right side isn’t “challenge.” It’s “no.” It’s effective at demanding a good tee ball. I just prefer when the pressure comes from the golf design rather than the invisible fence line that turns a miss into a full penalty.
Unfortunately, the rest of the hole doesn’t provide any intrigue to offset the poor tee shot, as the second is basically a shorter, straight, runway par-5.
Limitations: Bowling Green CC is ashorter golf course, only measuring 6,800 yards from the back tees, and the approach-shot variety reflects that. This is the main limitation, and it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker, as the course maintains an above-par course rating. But, for most players, a large portion of the round is going to be driver, then wedge, which means you don’t get a ton of variety on approach. This, of course, negatively impacts our “shot options” category by bringing down variety and shot values.
Of course, some golfers will love hitting a lot of wedges, especially if they like scoring, like hitting wedges, or just prefer a more manageable day. But if you’re someone who values diversity of approaches and enjoys being asked different questions, this course can feel a little repetitive in the “how” even if the “where” changes from hole to hole.
Final Thoughts: Bowling Green Country Club is exactly what a traditional club with real history should be: well maintained, consistent, and enjoyable to play. The conditioning stands out, the greens (and practice green) are in good shape, and the course has enough moments, especially off the tee on key holes, to keep engagement high.
The only real knock is the length, which affects overall shot options and distinctiveness. If you want a round that’s playable, scoreable, and well cared for, BGCC checks a lot of boxes. If you’re looking for a course that forces a wide mix of approach clubs and shot windows, you may leave wishing it asked a few more questions from farther away.
Either way, it’s a solid experience. Sometimes, the highest compliment you can give a club that’s been around since 1913: it still knows what it’s doing.
CR&J’s Final Rating: Shot Options: 6; Challenge: 6; Layout Variety: 5; Distinctiveness: 6; Aesthetics: 5; Conditioning: 7; Character: 6; Fun: 7. Total: 48/80 (Good)
Author of BGCC & IHCC: Jordan Williams
Jordan is the lead product reviewer at The Course Review & Journal. Jordan has been playing golf for over twenty years, is a three handicap, and actively competes in amateur events.
Author of Olde Stone: Jaxon MacGeorge
Jaxon is the founder and lead course reviewer at The Course Review & Journal. Jaxon has been playing golf for over twenty years, is a scratch handicap, and actively competes in USGA and Tennessee Golf Association amateur events. By trade, Jaxon is an attorney and lives in Gallatin, TN, a suburb of Nashville.
Leave a Reply