Our Comments

Busy club with a busy schedule. While playing through a housing area, the fairways are very wide and backyards accessible in only a couple of spots. A wide variety of holes keeps regulars from being bored. Many doglegs, wet par 3s, and fast typical Pete Dye undulating greens make the slope quite high. 

Plenty of shade from mature trees that sometimes intrude into fairways.

Most people play from the blue, 6300yd, tees. Bogey players can score well if they hit fairways stay short of the well-protected greens, and chip well for the occasional 1-putt par. Some greens - #7 comes to mind - are very well protected and, in addition, need an approach from the proper angle. Some course knowledge is helpful. In fact, the tee boxes aren't even marked and there is no course map.

With fairly low rates, it's popular not only with area residents but also among folks from Morse Lake to Carmel. Bar is elegant. Food is first class. Houses are established and lots are bigger than in most subdivisions. Sunday is traditionally family day where relaxed rounds are the norm.

More info at their excellent web site.

6/21/02 - Harbour Trees is in pristine condition with fast Dye greens as befits a premier private course.

Our visit was sponsored by member/guest (w/hcp) champion and frequent IndyGolf contributor, Greg Golightly. Thank you.

Reader Comments

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6/2/04 - This is a very enjoyable course to play. From the blues it's not overly long, but offers plenty of challenge. Generous, forgiving fairways make your tee shots reasonably easy in terms of finding the short grass, but from there the difficulties start. Well-protected greens make most approach shots rather tricky if you want to end up in the right spot for a shot at par. The greens are, as noted, undulating and treacherous if you're not in the right spot. I don't usually like finishing on a par 3, but #18 here is a very good design. Difficult enough that finding the green feels like an accomplishment, and visually a very beautiful hole. The course was in fantastic shape, and the greens were thankfully more receptive than they probably normally are with all the wet weather we've had this week. Very helpful and courteous staff. - John Nixon

4/5/01 - HT is in good shape for this time of year. They have been mowing for a week or so. Greens are hard (as most places are right now) but roll rather well. The driving Range should be ready by mid May - will be very nice to be able to hit more than just short and mid irons at the range this year. All new carts this year with windshields. The Men's club had a great turnout for the first meeting and looks to have a great turnout all year. - Greg Golightly

Club's Comments

Harbour Trees Golf Club is a private club located on beautiful Morse Lake, just a few miles north of Noblesville, Indiana. This 18-hole Championship course is surrounded by North Harbour, one of the finest residential areas in Hamilton County. It opened in 1973 when The Shorewood Corporation started developing the subdivision, and it became an equity club when Shorewood sold the club to the members in 1979. Being in the heart of a housing development, Harbour Trees is a family-oriented club.

Pete Dye, the nationally renowned golf course designer, had the golfer in mind when he designed the gold course. Players of all skill levels can enjoy their round of golf. It is challenging but fair and difficult even for the pros. Harbour Trees hosted the LPGA Mayflower Classic for three years in the early 1980's and hosted the Indiana State Open in 1974, 1984, and 1992.

Pete Dye designed a number of courses that are regular stops on the PGA and Senior tours. He designed Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana, site of the 1991 PGA Championship. Harbour Trees has all of the attributes for which Pete Dye is noted: the use of railroad ties to buttress the land, especially around water; small uniquely shaped and rolling greens; and a variety of golf holes. Some of these holes are long and some are short but "tricky." Hole #18, a par three, is the signature hole; about 175 yards downhill, over water to a sloping green that is tucked around an inlet of Morse Lake. Many a friendly wager has been decided on the 18th hole.

Noblesville High School boys and girls golf teams call Harbour Trees their home course. The girls have won the State crown twice in the last ten years (1986 and 1987). The boys won the State Championship in 1998 and 1999. We are proud that many team members have earned college golf scholarships, and five of our young men have become PGA golf professionals. We think that playing on a demanding golf course has conditioned them for competitive golf.

We are continually improving the facilities at Harbour Trees Golf Club. In 1996 a major Tee Project was completed. This included repositioning and rebuilding all of the tees. We now offer 4 Tee Stations from which a player can choose to test his or her skills. In 1993, a new watering system was installed to protect against a future drought. Our most exciting project of all has been the completion of a new 16,000 square feet Clubhouse in 1998. We can now boast of a Clubhouse which is of equal caliber to our golf course.