Golf in Chesterton

Whisper Creek’s visionary architects, Greg Nash and Billy Casper, and Orchard Valley’s architect, Ken Kavanaugh, present two championship-style courses of verdant, undulating terrain, flecked with challenging features. Golfers traverse Whisper Creek's 240 acres of protected wildlife sanctuary in GPS-enabled golf carts that provide yardage measurements, record scores, and eliminate the need to ask tiger-head club covers for directions. During an 18-hole round (up to a $68 value with cart), clubs send dimpled orbs hurtling past imported white-sand bunkers, pristine waters, and more than 5,000 character hardwoods. Over on Orchard Valley’s 6,800-yard, par 72 grounds, manicured practice facilities conduct dress rehearsals for the course’s 18 holes (up to a $76 value with cart), which span sand traps and wetlands, including the expansive water hazard on the aptly named "All or Nothing at All" second hole.

Dynamic Golf Institute spurs golfers’ pin-hunting prowess with all-encompassing training strategies that tackle both conventional swing analysis and golf fitness. The institute enlists the latest in training technology, using high-frame-rate cameras and the K-Vest 3-D system to further dissect swings, Titleist Performance Institute software to assess any swing-inhibiting fitness factors, and time-machine prototypes to erase the day a client learned what a mulligan was. Instructors integrate all of the teaching aids into one seamless approach, developing a nuanced understanding of each golfer's unique abilities and forming achievable goals based on their findings.

It’s difficult to hit a target from far away, which is why holes in one are rare and the Goodyear blimp has never been shot successfully with an arrow. Drive hard with a vengeance, thanks to this Groupon.

$49 for a Golf-Instruction Program with Four Lessons ($99 Value)

Expert instructors Jim Garrett and Tim Holt—a PGA professional—impart the fundamentals of driving and putting during a four-week program. The first three lessons last 1.5 hours, and the final lasts 2.5 hours. Though students may bring their own clubs, all necessary equipment will be provided. Choose from eight different sessions on the program schedule, one of which is ladies only; the first program begins on May 7.

[[m:####Juday Creek Golf Course

Instead of easing into a well-earned retirement after years in the restaurant business, Mike and Linda Rogers decided to embark on a new challenge: building a golf course. In 1989, they opened Juday Creek Golf Course, whose bent-grass fairways strike enough of a balance between challenging and accessible to have won the Indiana Golf Course Owners Association’s 2009 award for Indiana Golf Course of the Year.

Now managed by the couple’s daughter Michelle Wittig, the course’s emerald expanses continue to compel swingers of all stripes to lace up their cleated shoes and argyle garter belts. A journey across the course’s thirteen holes brings one face-to-face with manifold water hazards, many of which stand directly in the path to the putting green. There are 56 sand traps that raise the stakes of each game even higher, making for tough shots and partners who would rather build sandcastles instead of continuing on. Before or after games, golfers can take lessons and receive personal feedback from a pair of skilled instructors, one of whom is a PGA professional.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 6,940 yards
• Course rating of 73.3
• Slope rating of 134
• Four tee options
• See the scorecard and layout:

The Meadows Golf Club of Blue Island's 18-hole course winds over a 6,581 layout that showcases the inventive mind of course architect J. Porter Gibson. From the double doglegs on holes 10 and 15 to the back-to-back forced carries over water hazards golfers must face on 13 and 14, the layout enchants and challenges golfers without forcing them to read the Petrarchan sonnets a lonely flagstick wrote for a comely sand trap. Golfers can prepare for rounds at the club's on-site driving range and enhance their bag of trick sticks at the golf shop with gear from top golf brands such as Titleist, FootJoy, and Cleveland.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par-71 layout
• Length of 6,581 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 71.3 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 121 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options
• Scorecard

If the sun is shining, then the Hickory Hills Golf Club's greens are open. The club welcomes players 365 days a year to drive through the more than 7,400 total yards of fairways that make up their 18-hole championship and 9-hole executive courses. Golfers drive carts along a chain of manicured links that date back to 1915, the year the seedlings from Woodrow Wilson's "Plant-a-Golf Course" program began sprouting flagpoles.

Courses at a Glance

Championship Course

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 5,928 yards
• Course rating of 67.9 from the back tees
• Course slope of 116 from the back tees

Executive Course

• 9-hole, par 30 course
• Total length of 1,560 yards from the back tees

Odyssey Sweet Spot lets players unwind with cold beverages, sizzling pub fare, and a lineup of crisp HDTVs that funnel sporting events throughout the tavern. As bartenders sling drink specials, Golden Tee 2011 arcade games allow players to enjoy the game of golf while still giving misbehaving 9-irons the silent treatment.