Charlie Frensenmeier
Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Indiana, announced it has selected former PGA Tour player Tom Kite and former Augusta National superintendent Billy Fuller to guide a major redesign and course enhancement project.
Owner and CEO Bob Haddad Jr., who purchased the Robert Trent Jones Sr.-designed course from the City of Columbus in fall 2022, selected Kite and Fuller for the work after conducting interviews with multiple architects.
“Tom and Billy won our trust with their wonderful personalities, outstanding ideas, professional experiences and burning passion to restore Otter Creek to the great championship golf course it is meant to be,” Haddad said. “Our team has a big vision, and we can’t wait to get to work with Tom and Billy to make it happen. Otter Creek will always be historic, friendly and memorable.”
Opened in 1964, Otter Creek is a 27-hole public facility in southern Indiana. The course’s original 18 holes, which hosted the 1991 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, were designed by Jones. Rees Jones designed the third nine in 1995. Otter Creek has hosted the Indiana Men’s State Amateur Championship 26 times.
“Robert Trent Jones was one of the most creative and prolific golf architects in the history of the game,” Kite said. “Otter Creek was long regarded as the finest course in Indiana and all who play it know that the ‘bones’ of the course are fabulous. But so many things in our game have changed since 1964 and it is time to bring Otter Creek up to today’s standards.”
Areas the project will address include:
An outdated irrigation system
Use of new grasses developed since the course opened
Bunker drainage, maintenance and playability
Addition of forward tees to accommodate players of skill levels
How the course can continue to test elite players
Improved strategy through the placement of new tees
“Just as many ‘mid-century moderns’ have been updated, Otter Creek will be updated,” Kite added. “But when all is said and done, the ‘bones’ that Mr. Jones laid out will still be recognizable, praised and hopefully enjoyed for decades to come.”
Otter Creek will be Kite’s 11th design project. A 19-time PGA Tour winner who won the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Kite cited the quality of people he met during the interview process as a big reason for his desire to work at Otter Creek.
“There are so many reasons why I’m excited about the opportunity to work on Otter Creek Golf Club, but first on my list would be the people I will get to hang out with while we do the redesign,” Kite said. “Everyone associated with Otter Creek is a golf junkie, very passionate about the game and committed to creating one of the finest golf experiences in Indiana. I truly expect to have some wonderful friendships long after the project is completed.”
Kite and Fuller will work closely with Otter Creek director of agronomy Brent Downs, superintendent Mitchell Eickhoff, director of golf Austin Wright and head pro Jimmy St. John throughout the planning and execution phases of the project.
“As a team, we are thrilled at the opportunity to work with Kite Fuller Design,” Downs said. “Visionary owner Mr. Haddad had the GCM team involved from day one. Mitchell and I connected almost immediately with Mr. Fuller, based on our shared background at America’s finest golf course. The relationship blossomed between our team and Mr. Kite and Mr. Fuller, and it is exceptional. Under their direction and Mr. Haddad’s visionary leadership, Mitchell and I cannot wait to begin the process of renovating a golf course that respects our past, repositions our present and secures our future.”
