For the first time in the history of the Kentucky PGA Professional Championship, Indian Hills Country Club in Bowling Green will be the host venue for Kentucky PGA Professionals’ most sought-after event. This marks a rare visit to southern Kentucky for the Kentucky PGA Professional Championship, which has not been hosted in Bowling Green since 2015 when it was held at Olde Stone Golf Club.

Indian Hills Country Club was established in 1956 which had previously been an apple orchard before the club’s founding. Indian artifacts found across the property during its construction is what led to the facility receiving its name. Originally, Indian Hills contained a nine-hole golf course and what the membership called a “dancing house” instead of a clubhouse. The dancing house became the site of the members’ place to party and drink after their round of golf. Nine more holes were added in the 1960s with William Langford completing what was now an eighteen-hole layout. Langford also designed Audubon Country Club and Louisville Country Club, three of the fifty-four golf courses he built in the United States. Bob Cupp, who assisted with Jack Nicklaus in the design of Valhalla Golf Club, would come to Indian Hills in 1996 to lead a renovation project giving shape to the golf course’s current layout. The latest change at Indian Hills came last year when the golf course closed for ten weeks to install TifEagle Bermuda greens, something Head Golf Professional John Mullendore, PGA has listed as a huge success.

“We had Bentgrass greens before the Bermuda was installed and at some point every summer the grass on the greens would die,” Mullendore explained. “Indian Hills developed a reputation for being a great club except for having greens that did not last. It was a hot topic at the club and people had many wide-ranging ideas on what to do to counteract the issue. Some private clubs in Nashville started putting Bermuda on their greens, and if they could make that work, we knew we could. Ever since the change, we have been really impressed. Since they are extremely new, the greens are on the firmer side, but any well-struck shot will hold the surface without any issue. We usually have them rolling at eleven on the stimpmeter, but for this tournament we might bump it up to twelve.”

_{The 3rd and 6th holes share a double green; the largest putting surface of the new Bermuda greens.}

While players are putting the Bermuda surfaces at Indian Hills, they will notice the club’s signature image each time they pick up the ball out of the hole. The Lonesome Polecat was created by cartoonist Al Capp in the 1970s for the comic strip Li’l Abner. The club thought the figure was a perfect representation of Indian Hills and received permission to begin using the logo which has been a staple at the facility ever since. Part of its usage came in the Lonesome Polecat Invitational Tournament, a former state invitational that was one of the most popular golf tournaments in Kentucky. Players would flock to Bowling Green from all of Kentucky to compete in the beloved event.

_{The Lonesome Pullcat, as seen on the side of the cups at Indian Hills.}

Indian Hills’ track record of other notable events includes Kentucky’s Boys High School Championship, the Kentucky Four-Ball Team Championship and the KGA Match Play Championship. Indian Hills has also been home to USGA qualifiers for the US Open and US Amateur throughout the years. Hosting the Kentucky PGA Professional Championship, however, will be a new and welcomed event for the facility.

“We are really looking forward to this since we have never had anything quite like it,” Mullendore said. “The Board of Directors, staff and membership are all extremely excited to welcome Class-A PGA Members from across Kentucky to our home. Everyone is excited to show it off and we cannot wait to hear what the players say about it.”

The forty-one players competing can expect to find a golf course just shy of 6,700 yards that puts a premium on accuracy. Wayward tee shots will eliminate a player’s chance at birdie nearly every time whereas good drives will provide the golfer an opportunity to attack on numerous holes.

_{The par-four 11th showcases some of the tight driving holes players can expect at Indian Hills.}

“You must have control of the golf ball in order to succeed here,” Mullendore said. “If you are not on top of your game with your irons or short game, it is going to be a struggle. Since the golf course is not overly long, you just need to be precise and make sure you put the tee shot in play. The lack of length and accuracy requirement will give a lot of people a chance to win this tournament though.”

Mullendore predicts the winner of this year’s championship to record a 36-hole score of -6 or -7 if conditions are tame. Wind can make the course play very difficult due to the tight corridors around the property, while rain tends to make it play easier due to the softened conditions presented to players.

Click here to view a hole-by-hole tour of the golf course.

The competition will begin at 11:30 a.m. CDT on Monday morning. Golf House Kentucky will have full coverage on its Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages throughout the tournament. A live video will be available to view on Facebook when the contenders reach the final hole in the final round on Tuesday afternoon. Click here to visit the tournament website.