A Midwest Summer Excursion - Day 2 - Stop 1 & 2
Stop 1
A great first day of travel brought me to a great morning on day 2. I woke up early and enjoyed walking around Notre Dame’s campus. I stayed at the The Morris Inn right in the heart of campus, which came recommended by Tom Coyne, who is a proud ND alumni, editor of The Golfer’s Journal, and author of several great books like “A Course Called America”, and “Paper Tiger”. I saw The Golden Dome, Notre Dame Stadium, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart, The World of Life Mural (aka Touchdown Jesus), and a few other ND notables. Being there in the summer was really nice to see the campus so quiet in the morning without the buzz of students headed to their 8 AM lecture hall. Just me and all the squirrels strolling the dewy campus.
After a look around Notre Dame’s campus, I made the short drive south to Culver Academies for the Sugarloaf Social Club event held at the Culver Academies Golf course that morning. Ian Gilley, of Sugarloaf Social Club, has strong family ties to Culver Academies with over 30 different family members having attended the school or summer camp. Culver Academies is a renowned college preparatory boarding school in Culver, Indiana, founded in 1894 on the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee. Known for its rigorous academics, leadership training, and rich traditions, Culver shapes students into well-rounded young men and women of character, honor, and service. Ian served as a camp counselor during a summer of college and helped instruct the campers around the course and enhance their golf acumen. Ian shared that he played the whole summer with only a 6 iron which he attributes to helping him develop a creative shot making ability. The Culver Academies Golf Course is Ian’s “home of golf” and is a place he feels a strong connection to the game through. I was fortunate to get to loop the course twice with Ian. It was great to have some local knowledge for the first loop, and to see how passionate he was about the course, and golf in general. For example, Ian mentioned how cool it would be to add a bell at the first hole green to aid in the clearance of the green for the blind approach, or to donate a bench to overlook the course.
Sugarloaf Social Club is a golf brand whose ethos really aligns with ours. At Wellington Golf Co., we aim to document our golf travel to unique golf destinations, whether that be the Culver Academies Golf Course, or TPC Sawgrass. Our destinations are more about the opportunity to see a new place and learn more about how the course ties in to the surrounding area, than checking off a top ranked course. Some of the courses we have highlighted do fall into national rankings, but that is not the driving force that brought us there. Sugarloaf has done a great job over the years of highlighting incredible golf courses around the country, in your own backyard. These courses wont necessarily make a Top 100 list, but thats what makes them special. The courses that they visit and explore have a true community behind them that cares deeply about the connections between the town, people, and course. A really cool feature on their website is the Hidden Gem Map that aims to encourage you to explore your area for courses with character that are a fun resource to the community.
Culver Academies Golf Course is a historic gem nestled between Lake Maxinkuckee and the Culver Woodcraft Camp on the campus of Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana.
Originally created nearly a century ago in the 1920’s by renowned Golden Age architects William Langford and Theodore Moreau, the course is celebrated as one of the finest nine-hole layouts in North America. Langford and Moreau were masters at sculpting the Midwestern landscape into bold, strategic courses that both challenge and inspire excellence.
In 2015, Bobby Weed Golf Design restored the course, carefully uncovering unique architectural features that had been hidden over decades of natural overgrowth. Since the restoration, Golfweek has ranked Culver as the No. 2 campus golf course in America, second only to Yale.
Today, this beautifully restored nine-hole course is home to Culver’s boys’ and girls’ golf teams and is cherished by the entire school community. It offers not only a classic walk through rolling Indiana terrain but also a practice area with a driving range, short game facilities, putting green, a new Golf House, and state-of-the-art indoor simulators — ensuring year-round training, even in the cold Indiana winters.
More than just a place to play, the course serves as a landscape where students and campers build skills, strength, character, teamwork, and lifelong respect for the game’s traditions.
The conditions of the course were top notch. By the second loop of the nine hole gem, the greens and fairways firmed up and enhanced the playability of the course, opening up a whole new range of shots to attempt. The camaraderie enjoyed by the small group in attendance was special. On the second loop, I finished birdie - birdie on the par 3 8th hole, and par 5 9th. We capped off the great day with some ice cold root beer, burgers, and fries which Ian had delivered to the course from The Original Root Beer Stand.
Stop 2
From Culver, I drove back to Chicago, IL where I returned the rental car to the airport. I had one more fun night ahead of me before flying home the next day. I checked the MLB schedules and both the Cubs and White Sox were in town. After dropping the car off, I took the orange line on the L into the city to check in to The Drake Hotel. After tossing the clubs and my bag into the room, I met up with Ryan Deslauriers who is a college buddy of mine who recently moved to Chicago. We took the red line down to Rate field to watch the White Sox vs. The Cardinals. This was Ryan’s first time to Rate field as well. Generally, I would have opted to go to Wrigley Field for the history of the ballpark, however, I had a particular rooting interest for Brendan Donovan on the St. Louis Cardinals who I graduated high school with. Brendan has been on an absolute tear lately, batting over .300 for the year. We got to catch up after the game which was a really nice surprise bonus of my trip. After the game, we hoisted a few pints at O’Leary’s Public House which is Ryan’s neighborhood pub.
The next morning, I took a walk down Michigan Ave to the riverwalk, taking in the sites of the interesting architecture of Chicago. It was a misty morning in the Windy City, but that did not stop the hustle and bustle of a major American city during the work week. I grabbed a quick breakfast sandwich from the Billy Goat Tavern, which is a long time Chicago staple, and I was soon on my way home to Charleston for the completion of an incredible Midwest Summer Excursion. This was a really fun solo trip to an area of the country that I would like to spend more time exploring. Read about Stops 1 and Stops 2 from Day 1 along the way!
