Courtesy of Jim Mandeville
Courtesy of Jim Mandeville
Courtesy of Jim Mandeville
Courtesy of Jim Mandeville
Courtesy of Jim Mandeville
Courtesy of Jim Mandeville
Sycamore Hills Golf Club
Fort Wayne, IN • Private
Sycamore Hills Golf Club
11836 Covington Rd
Fort Wayne, IN 46814-9720
United States
Overview
Jack Nicklaus has redesigned some aspects of every hole at Muirfield Village over the decades, in efforts to make sure that the course remains competitive as an annual host of the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament. But he’s done no major remodeling at Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, just modest adjustments. Although the course sees its share of amateur competitions, Nicklaus has seen no need to toughen it for everyday member play. After all, it has always had plenty of challenge, like the long freeform bunker left of the fairway on the par-4 third, the 14 bunkers scattered about the par-5 fifth and the serpentine stream that crosses the fairway four times from tee to green at the par-5 15th. Sycamore Hills is Nicklaus at his most imaginative, with strategic golf on some holes, gambling golf on other holes and target golf on still others.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
Second 100 Greatest: Ranked since 2013.
Previous ranking: 136th.
2025-'26 ranking: 142nd.
100 Greatest: Ranked for 18 years from 1993-2004 and 2007-'12.
Highest ranking: 40th, 1993-'94.
Best in State: Ranked first, 1991-'93, 1999. Ranked second, 2011-'12. Ranked fourth, 2013 to current. Ranked inside the top 5 since 1991.
2025-'26 ranking (and previous): 4th.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Very difficult course with long par 3's and 4 tough par 5's. Fun to play if you select the correct tees."
Read More2023
Review
“A private club with a very nice golf course. No two holes alike. In great condition."
Read More2023
Review
“Sycamore is the definition of what makes up several of the GD catagories. No two holes are even remotely the same…each is quite distinctive and calls for specific shots to be hit…all while allowing for a different assortment of shot options depending on where the pin is located. Most greens are angled kidney shaped which allows for both slight depth differences and fully different challenge. If you miss a green on the wrong side, you will be lucky to make a bogey. It rained for ~3 hours before we teed off, yet greens were incredibly fast, rolled true, and surprisingly firm. What I particularly appreciated is that shots from the rough would roll 10 or more yards on the greens while well hit shots from fairways were receptive. 16-18 is really tough closing stretch. If there is one minor complaint of this course, it's that the real difficulty on both 9s comes on the last three holes of each. However, some could argue this is a nice crescendo. Would put this firmly in the top 100 list of GD courses, and one the more fair tests designed by Jack Nicklaus."
Read More2022
Review
“Difficult course from the back tees, small approach targets that seemingly are very narrow or very shallow....and well bunkered on most green complexes. Would be a difficult course to walk w/ some of the distances between green and tee. Conditioning was superb despite very hot and dry conditions in the weeks leading up to evaluation visit. Saw tooth bunkering that was installed during restoration in 2013-2014 period is a rarity for Nicklaus courses."
Read More2022
Review
“One of my top 5 golf courses I have played as a golf digest rater over 12 years. It has great variety and plenty of risk/reward holes. It is in a beautiful setting with large trees and meandering streams which come into play. A must to play if you get the chance."
Read More2021
Review
“Beautiful but demanding Jack Nicklaus design. Holes are beautifully framed by hardwoods and have small greens. A creek meanders through the property and is evident on a majority of the holes. Very tough but fair test of golf."
Read More2021
Review
“Extremely difficult, so not recommended for high handicap players, but a recent renovation has resulted in a wonderfully conditioned course with a terrific variety of holes and challenges."
Read More2020
