Rock Hollow Golf Club (Peru, IN on 06/01/25)

After some fun golf days in Northern Michigan, I got back to South Bend late Saturday night. I’ve got a bucket list trip coming up in late June and am hoping to play course no. 1,100 on that trip. With that goal in mind I drove a bit south to Peru, Indiana on Sunday to check out another new course. Course no. 1,094 for me was Rock Hollow Golf Club.

Rock Hollow was recommended by someone on social media and the course appears to get some love in the golf community. Currently, Rock Hollow is listed as the 11th best course in Indiana. I’m not sure I’m buying that, but I’m not exactly an Indiana golf expert.

Rock Hollow is a Tim Liddy design that is kind of in the middle of nowhere. Peru is about halfway between Indianapolis and South Bend. The course has a mix of wetlands and wooded holes with only a few homes nearby. Overall, Rock Hollow presents well visually and is a good value – $69 to ride on a weekend. I was surprised to find this nice of a course in the area, given that this part of Indiana is very rural.

The 6th is a narrow par-5.

Tim Liddy worked with Pete Dye for many years and there is definitely some influence from Dye that can be seen here. I didn’t see any railroad ties, but the 9th and 18th are tough par-4’s that play on opposite sides of a lake. That is a pretty common design characteristic from Dye.

I played the Rock tees which are 71.2/132/6463. Not going to lie – shooting your handicap here is going to be a tall order. While there are challenging design elements – think elevated greens that have false edges and fairways that drop off steeply into grass depressions – there is also a lot of target golf. My advice is to hit whatever club you can to keep the ball in play. There are many narrow corridors (e.g., the 6th) to play through and many areas to lose balls.

Looking back on Rock Hollow’s 18th hole.

I’m not sure there is a signature hole at Rock Hollow, but the par-3’s are pretty interesting. The 4th is 152 yards and plays to a table top green. The green is large, but if a shot catches the edge the ball will run down into a chipping area that circles the green. The 11th is 163 yards and has a green that angles from front right to back left. The 14th – 201 yards – is a controversial hole and I have to say, I’m just not fan. It is another elevated green with steep banks on all sides. Water is off to the right and shots hitting that bank will kick into the water. Ugh.

The conditions were nice. Rock Hollow is well cared for and offers a good value considering the price. The fairways were lush. The greens rolled well and at a medium pace. The rough was cut down in most areas. The bunkers were the only issue. The sand had many small rocks, with a crusty top layer.

Depending on what someone likes in a course, Rock Hollow could be close to getting that hidden gem status. Personally, it felt like the designer went out of his way to make the course unnecessarily difficult. But, as I was putting my golf bag into the car after the round, I heard another group talking about how much they liked the course. So, if you are in South Bend or Indianapolis and haven’t played Rock Hollow, then give it a try and see what you think.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):

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