Golf in Celina

Noble Hawk Golf Links brings the haggis-flavored flair of Scottish course design to this 6,817-yard Northeast Indiana haunt. A moderate-length opener, hole 1 (par 4) tests club-wielding precision from the first tee with a series of deep bunkers hugging well-contoured fairways. From there, a round gets rowdier with diverse challenges such as a drive between water at hole 4, a huge mound bisecting the green at hole 5, and an over-water tee-shot into a large, undulating green at hole 15. Click here to take an online tour of the course, or let the innovation, diversity, and slumbering deer on the luscious greenery surprise you while you play. Pre- or post-round, practice drives with the large bucket of balls to fine-tune form and eliminate embarrassing mid-swing pirouettes.

The flowing waters of the Maumee River gird the northernmost fairways of River City Links' 18-hole putting course, inviting misaimed golf balls to plop alongside the aquatic artery’s cargo ships floating down from Lake Erie. The waterway nestles alongside the course without cutting through it, enabling the course to maintain its straightforward layout. This, in turn, lets golfers focus on the fundamentals of their game without the distraction of elaborate hazards such as lava pits and ball-eating goats. After a relaxing day on the course, players can lounge on the clubhouse’s white wraparound deck and look out over the river, listening to the breeze that whispers through the weeping willows.

Cardinal Hills Golf Course caters to players of all ages and skill levels with three sets of tee boxes and a traditional layout strewn with manageable challenges. On the front nine, two ponds loom menacingly on holes 5 and 6, forcing wise club selection to avoid its murky depths or wise snorkel selection to search for ancient cartwrecks. Elsewhere on the course, eight bunkers impose their powers of intimidation and dense forests line the fairways, extending their boughs into many a flight path.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 6,338 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 70.2 from the back tees
• Course slope of 125 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole.

Golf Etc. Lakeland helps golfers through the entire process of upgrading their arsenal, from finding brand-name equipment to adjusting their current gear to fit their game. Brothers Luke and J.J. Miller—the latter of whom coaches golf at Southeastern University—run the shop and personally oversee the custom club-fitting process. In the hitting bay in the back of the store, visitors are likely to see Luke—who fits and maintains clubs for many local pros—analyzing a client's swing with technology that helps him prescribe the right club or zone in on any modifications, such as adjusting the length of the shaft or replacing the club head with a jai-alai basket. Golf Etc. also features an indoor putting green for golfers to test out prospective flatsticks, and J.J. and Luke regularly perform club re-gripping and repair services.

When fitting clubs, the skilled staff at Golf Etc follows a seven-step process led by customer interview to analyze shots and swings and determine optimal shaft weight and launch angle. In creating a custom fit and build, the shop aims to cut shot dispersion in half and boost overall distance.

Golf-A-Round Indiana invites clubbers to test their swinging prowess amid the fairways and greens of more than 75 of Indiana's top golf courses. Golf-A-Round Indiana selects participating venues in a curatorial process that assesses each course's difficulty, United States Golf Association rating, and performance in people's-choice surveys—building a list of high-caliber semiprivate and public courses. Players receive 40%–50% off at each course and a minimum of two plays at each course, and certificates run through two seasons.

The majority of the courses also offer weekday and weekend discounts, giving busy golfers a chance to enjoy the game without having to take off work or convert the neighbor’s sandbox into a convenient practice bunker. All discounts remain valid throughout both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.