May 9, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee has selected the teams and individuals to participate in the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships and Stanford has earned the fourth seed in the Indiana Region, to be held May 19-21 at the Wolf Run Golf Club in Zionsville, Ind.
It marks the second straight year the Cardinal has began its quest for a ninth national championship in the state of Indiana. Last season, Stanford captured the Central Regional held at the Warren Course in South Bend.
Joining Stanford in the Indiana Region (in order of seeding) are Alabama, Illinois, Iowa, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Indiana, Florida State, Michigan, Charlotte, Memphis, Wichita State, Missouri-Kansas City and Sacred Heart.
The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals to be held at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., May 31-June 5.
Stanford, coming off a fourth place finish at the Pac-10 Men's Championships, has won eight national titles, with the last title coming in 2007.
About the Wolf Run Golf Club
Wolf Run Golf Club was conceived in the early 1980's by the late Dr. Jack Leer, a local dentist and successful amateur golfer whose dream was to build a demanding, world-class golf club for serious golfers.
Dr. Leer wanted to craft a course employing the strength and beauty of the natural landscape while emulating the unique theories of 1920's design. To create his vision, Leer turned to Steve Smyers, an accomplished player and well-traveled student of the legendary architects and the golf courses that they created.
The course construction began in 1987 at the heavily wooded 218-acre site featuring meadowlands, a large bluff cutting across the entire tract, and Eagle Creek winding through the property. "We didn't move a lot of earth but built the course using the existing landscape," said Smyers. Dr. Leer desired his course to be so challenging and dramatic that it would attract a membership of top players from around the country.
Soon after its opening in 1989, Wolf Run received high praise from some of golf's greatest players and the course acquired a reputation for being too tough for the average golfer. After touring the course for the first time, Gary Player said, "Wolf Run is the best new course I've seen in twenty years." Nick Faldo played the course and told Smyers that Wolf Run had more variety than any course he'd ever seen. Faldo stated holes twelve through fifteen were "the most demanding yet fairest of any golf course I've ever seen." By years end, Wolf Run acquired a course rating of 74.3 and a slope of 151 from the back tees, which resulted in being considered among the toughest courses in the country.
The golf course is as diverse as its scenery, yet tests every facet of the player's ability. With narrow fairways and firm, fast greens surrounded by dramatic and strategic bunkering, players quickly realize that all the shots are required to play Wolf Run. Wolf Run's par three holes require intense strategy and range from a short, downhill shot of 132 yards to a small green that boarders Eagle Creek to another that requires the player to carry his tee shot more than 230 yards from a severe drop off to a green heavily surrounded by deep bunkers. Many of the par four holes demand long drives and carefully carved approaches to small targets, while others require precision in order for the player to find the best angle to attack the pin. Holes three, ten, and seventeen make up the par fives and are as beautiful, yet as challenging as any in America. As a result, Wolf Run is a thinking man's course, where a player at the top of his game would be offered strategic and at times heroic options on every hole.
Through the years, the course has been modified to take out some of the bite that the original design presented. However, the course is still quite demanding with a current course rating of 74.2 and a slope of 143. In 2003, Smyers renovated the course, which entailed the lengthening of several tees, the addition of several new bunkers to recreate the original design of certain holes, and finally the redesign of the 13th green.
Wolf Run is one of the Midwest's best kept secrets. There are few places that offer beauty and uniqueness while testing the player to his highest capabilities. Wolf Run is as finely balanced and strategically sound as it is challenging, which has lead to several awards and praise from the golfing community. Wolf Run is currently occupying the #18 position in Golfweek's America's 100 Best Modern Courses. -- Courtesy of Wolf Run Golf Club