HISTORY

THE ORIGINAL 16

 

In 1956, the sixteen founding members of Indian Hills acquired land on the east side of Bowling Green, Kentucky overlooking Barren River. The land was previously an orchard and farm. Their foresight in choosing this location places Indian Hills conveniently between I-65 and downtown. The location has made Indian Hills the most accessible club in Bowling Green.

The members wanted to form a club with a friendly, comfortable atmosphere in which you immediately felt at home. The members decided to build a nine-hole golf course with the hopes of acquiring enough members to support the construction of a swimming pool. In the early days of the Club, a small farmhouse located in the area between #10 green and #12 green (originally #16 and #18) and the driving range served as the clubhouse. An early application/pamphlet for membership mentioned hiking, picnicking and “dancing under the stars.”

Our long-term members and their children remember meeting in the afternoons with their wheelbarrows and buckets to pick up the burr rock that covered the fairways. The process was repeated when the second nine holes were finished in the 1960’s. Indian artifacts have been found during each phase of the course’s development. Although it was a nine-hole golf course until the mid-sixties, Golf Course Architect William B. Langford designed the existing 18-hole layout in 1956 when the club was formed. Naturally, rolling hills and tree-lined fairways make Indian Hills a tough, but enjoyable day of golf. With the sloped fairways, strategically placed bunkers and elevation differences, Indian Hills provides a challenge every round.