Murdock park is a small city park a few miles west of I-65 in Lafayette . There was limited access to the small parking lot and facilities when i was there due to construction . A nice bathroom is on site near hole #1 and #18's basket . Murdock is an 18 hole course .
The Equipment - I was reading past reviews and found out that the equipment here has steadily improved . The baskets are mixed here , but most favor nice Chainstars . The baskets are encircled by a brick arrangement ( classy ) . There are 2 tee pads per hole .They are mostly cement , and some have a turf carpet over cement . The #11 long tee pad was a paver pad . There were nice Next Tee signs under each basket to help with navigation . A nice touch . The signs are on the orange posts for the long holes and white posts for the shorts . There is a kiosk with map up near the parking lot .
The Landscape -The course was mowed and the grounds were well taken care of while I was here . I have played many courses so far in central Indiana and most are flat or just rolling . This course is not . There are a decent amount of trees in the park , even more on the back holes . They are all sitting on some elevation at Murdock . These holes go from park-style , examples . 1 , 2 , 10 , to semi wooded , 4 ,5 ,6 , 7, 8, 9, to total woods 12-17 . This is a pleasant change from the usual flat courses close by .
The Highlights - There was a lot of variety and balance ( right and left ) here . #1 ( 314' , 420' ) starts you off with a long slightly sloping downhill drive that fades right , protected by overgrowth in the fairway on the right , protecting the fairway angles where the basket is located on the right . #4 ( 245' 296' ) is a short drive to an elevated basket . #10 ( 283' 355' ) is a right to left uphill drive , with overgrowth protecting the basket about 50' in front of it . #14 is a short gully shot to a basket that is level with the ground ( ? ) Beware of #15 . The basket sits in front of a long dropoff . Lots of risk/reward in your drive or putt .
Signature Hole - #11 ( 433' , 598' ) . This choice was a no brainer . It is a long downhill drive along a treeline that slowly breaks left . The ground will start to slope left . The small flat green is protected around it by small trees and overgrowth .
Disc Risk - For having woods holes , there is not a lot of threat to lose a disc , unless you bang one really hard off a tree from the long tees in the woods . The park was clean and well cared for .
Time - It took me just over an hour to play here . A group of 4 should finish in 2 hours , or just under .
I feel there is a lot of fun factor here for both the Average Joe and the better players .

#1 Safety - Even at 8:00 on a Sunday morning , there were a couple of players out here . Some of the fairways do come close together ( ex. 7 & 8 ) , and there is the occasional dog walker . Give them the right of way and be classy .
#2 Rain - I couldn't see laying my life ( or my rump ) on the line after a good rain . Lots of elevation and lack of grass = some nasty falls .
#3 Challenge - upper level players will have their way with most of this course even from the back tees . You are rarely punished for missing your line . Please don't confuse challenge with fun , though . One man's frustrating 3 is another's exhilarating 3 .
#4 Amenities - The course could use some benches or bag hangers , maybe a decent shelter or picnic tables to keep the players in the park between or after rounds .

When I call a course a " Sleeper " , I mean it is a course that is either underrated or overlooked . Murdock is what I call a Sleeper course . In this area , I heard more about Wabash Washout and Camp Cullom than I ever did about this course . It is a veteran course ( ca. 1984 ) , that has tried to improve and keep up with the times .I had this course rated just above a 3 , but I had to move the needle up instead of down . Why ? You have to appreciate the 2 tee pads per hole , and the fact that instead of pulling up holes 11 & 17 during the winter for sled riding , they just move them . I think the course is not only fun , but a great course to either play as a local or coming off of the highway . I just hope this construction doesn't take a chunk of this course .
My Recommendation - This a fantastic course for newbies and locals . even maybe families and 1 discers . With the 2 tee system and the right amount of fun from platform tees , elevated baskets , woods holes to keep them excited and wanting to improve . Intermediates will like this course because of the woods and park holes from 1-10 will warm them up , take them though long hole #11 , and rough them up with the more technical woods holes ( 12-17 ) . Ams should like the course as well . Might be only practice for the pros , but the will have fun doing it . The traveler will like this course . While a little hilly , it is about 10 minutes from I-65 , and fun from either tee . The Course Collector will oove it here . It is an easy add , and you can group Murdock with 2 short courses at Purdue and both Wabash course . Cha-Ching ! Play This Course !!!

Overall it is a great course, there is a ton of elevation change, great signage, and good hole variation. There are a lot of different hole lengths which adds to the variety of this course. This course can be very technical and doesn't always favor a bomb of a drive. While there are a few holes that were meant for a long bomb of a drive.

Some of the tee boxes are old and could use some work. The course can get really muddy if it had just rained. The back 9 become a swamp after just a little bit of rain, so plan your time accordingly.

Overall it is a great course for a technical player as well as long holes to even the playing field.

Hills!!!: Nothing major, but considering we were in the middle of Indiana, I wasn't expecting as much elevation change as there was.

Variety: There are two very different groups of holes on this course - 1-10 and 18 plays as light-moderately wooded with wide fairways, while 12-16 plays in the thick of the woods with tight lines (11 and 17 are transitional).

Multiple Tees: Each hole had two tees and the difference was not small on some of the holes. The different tees also provided new lines on a couple of the holes. I only played one round, but if I was local the variety would be appreciated.

Aceability: There are some tantalizing lines here, even for beginners. Every hole (with the exception of 11) is in range for the average intermediate player.

Baskets: They weren't the worst I've ever seen, but they didn't help catch any off-center putts either... At minimum, they need a good powder-coating to remove some of the rust. They could be replaced with something more visible and catchy and probably add a half-point to the rating.

Tees: They were a mix of concrete and turf. The ones that had turf sometimes had concrete below them. Why put turf on top of a concrete pad? I'm not sure. The turf was actually in pretty good shape and most holes didn't require much of a run-up, so this wasn't a huge con for my day.

Difficulty: This wasn't a con for me, because I was playing with less experienced players, but advanced players will probably find this course too easy, even from the longer tees. There are many holes in the 200'-300' range that make for easy birdies with a not-too-difficult tee shot.

Last time I visited my friend, we played the Purdue 9-hole course and I thought that was the only hill in town. Well, now I know there's at least two!

All kidding aside, this course surprised me. Pulling up, it doesn't look like much (the baskets with rust on them aren't a great first impression), but after getting into the round a bit I realized how fun some of the holes are. This course is great for using a midrange or fairway driver off the tee and working on that aspect of your game. It's also great for beginners to gain some confidence before hitting a course with a more challenging layout.

Pars are fair and multiple tees for different experiences.
Easy to navigate in the open.
Not too easy of a course.
Multiple lines on most holes.

Holes are placed close together.
Somewhat difficult to navigate in the woods.

- Decent Parking
- Bathroom on Course
- Multiple Tees
- 1-10 and 18 are more open park style while 12-17 are tight and wooded.
- Arrows after baskets pointing you to the next hole
- Variety of basket heights, a few that are really elevated and one that just sits on the ground.
- Some holes have really demanding lines which makes up for their shortness
- Play at your own pace, I played it twice and never saw anyone.
- OB roads and parking lots make tee shots more demanding
- Difficult to lose a disc here except in the marsh on the front 9

- Hole 11 is completely unplayable, the entire green is covered in felled trees and the basket was crushed by one.
- Handful of rusted baskets
- So many leaves, I spent 30 mins throughout the round just looking for discs that slid underneath them.
- Lots of holes on the front 9 are next the road so you can hit cars and you will have audiences for your tee shots.
- The line on hole 12 is insane, can someone explain to me how it's possible to reach the basket?

7/30/19 UPDATE: Played this course again after improving a fair amount and decided to go from the long tees. It was the perfect challenge, pretty much no holes played as gimme birdies and most required 300+ feet of power. The par 4 played super long. Course was in perfect shape, well mowed grass, par 4 green was fixed since the storm toppled those trees, all signs and tee pads were perfect. Love this course!

Park/woods hybrid course next to an elementary school. Wooded holes are short but have very tight lines--if you really want a challenge just play the back 9 twice. I was disappointed that the only par 4 was unplayable. Very prone to wind since its on a hill, makes the up shot on hole 10 very challenging.

(2.845 Rating) A mix of tightly wooded shots and moderately spaced tree lanes.
- UNIQUENESS - The overall uniqueness is a bit above your average 18 hole course, mainly due to the holes thru the woods, numbers 11-17. Without these holes, this course would be a 1/2 point lower. Hole 11 is the one and only par 4, and in my opinion, also the signature hole on the course. Hole 11 could also be called a borderline dogleg, as the pocket to the hole is set back more than 50 feet. Other hole types include a run of tunnel shots on 12 thru 17, there are a couple of raised baskets on 4 and 12. There's also a sunken basket on 14, which is only the second time I've seen that out of 80 courses. The course however is void of a true water hazard (see cons) a par 5, a true dogleg and an overhead play.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - This really is not a beginners course per say but beginners should enjoy it regardless due to the low disc losing possibilities. The fairways width are moderately spaced and should challenge rec and intermediate players. Advanced players may come away less than challenged however, until they hit 12-17.
- CHILL AREAS - There are lots of secluded nooks to take a break in on holes 12-17, that is if you brought your own seating or if you don't mind sitting on the ground.
- ELEVATION - "Good for a Indiana Course that is" Although I live in Florida now, I did live in Indianapolis for one year and I know that the state is super-flat. For this reason I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of elevation on this course. It has to be well above average in these terms for Indiana. Figure 35 feet of elevation change along the layout, with the most being used on hole 11 with a 25-30 feet grade difference.
- FINISH AT PARKING - The course finishes back at tee 1, parking and restroom building. The ideal arrangement.
- TOILET AND WATER - In addition to the nice restrooms, there are drinking fountains as well.

Just a few minor things to mention as the course doesn't have any major detractors.
- CHARACTER - perhaps it was the time a year I played but the course seems a bit beat up. A bunch of tee pavers were shifted out of place, stone work around baskets were dislodged and the signage was faded a bit. The course could really use a few more benches and trash cans at tees. There is also no practice area, multiple pin placements or bag holders that you'd see at some of your older established courses.
- TEES - They are a mixture of mats, pavers and concrete. Several of the mats are torn apart. Needless to say, the tees areas are a touch below average in terms of footing as a whole.
- NO WATER HOLES - No water hazards to force a line. Sure there's a marshy area on the right side for both 1 and 8, but for the most part, water doesn't come into play. Some may however consider this omission a blessing
- CHAINS - They are in pretty bad shape. They are still playable but among the most rusted and beat up I've ever come across. I'll add that none of my putts missed due to the condition factor, I can shank a putt all by myself.
- TRASH - There was a bunch of trash in the park spotted during my round. Not just the styrofoam cup and plastic bag variety. I spotted a broken shopping cart on hole 13 in the woods and a few discarded filled trash bags. It was a bit of an eyesore.

My first disc golf venture in Indiana in over a decade. I enjoyed the course very much despite the bad conditions. drizzle, breezy and 40 degrees.

Good tee signs, hole layouts, and variety of holes. The terrain is interesting and they have both amateur and pro tees. Going from one hole to the next is pretty logical and easy with the "next tee" signs

Some tees use uneven rubber mats, and some baskets are old.

Some holes in the woods are way harder than the rest.

Holes 1-6 are classic, clean, wooded yet open holes that are a lot of fun to open up from the tees.

Pavilion here, playground there, busy road over there, parking lot full of cars there... there was a lot of opportunity to hit people here.

Pavers & rubber mats for tees: The pavers are what pavers become; uneven. The rubber mats were worse. And every tee seemed like it was short, as in I couldn't take my full set of steps to throw without ending up off the front of it.

The two elevated baskets were silly & gimmicky... what's the point?

Hole 10 with its swamp/woods in the middle of the fairway (& no way to stay inbounds by throwing out & around it) made it an immediate skip.

Holes 12-16 in the woods were kind of silly. I think it's funny that a lot of people seem to enjoy this group of holes in the woods... and maybe I'm just spoiled with Lemon Lake being my home park... but putting a tee in, then throwing a basket at the other end of the woods 250 feet away, & then providing no fairway, etc... for the hole, but rather just saying throw through the woods/bramble/etc... seems kind of pointless to me.

Was hoping for something more interesting here, with my "home" course being Lemon Lake, I've just seen everything they tried to do here done a thousand times better. I'm always cool with the existence of a course, because, well, it's another course that people can play at... but there was nothing here that would ever bring me back to play again. Was probably the least interesting, & my least favorite, 18 hole course I've ever played. That being said, try it for yourself, & maybe you'll have a different experience.

Now 18 different holes with 18 grippy baskets. Original baskets are the same but the new ones are Chainstar. Original holes 1-9 are still there but most of them have been renumbered.

Two tees per hole: 1-10 and 18 are brick pads for both tees. 11-17 are rubber mats.

Signs - each tee (pro and amateur) have their own signs that include distance, par, and a map of the hole. There are also signs between the wooded holes pointing to where the next tees are (pro or amateur).

Variety: uphill, downhill, flat, open, and wooded holes. Holes 12-17 are new wooded holes. Each wooded hole has elevation of some sort. Bad throws will result in a tough approach.

A few unique baskets: Holes 5 and 12 are raised baskets. Bottom of the basket is at eye level. Hole 13 was lowered to the ground. Adds variety and alters approach shots.

Benches, water, and trash cans on site.

Holes 4 and 8 Pro tees share the same spot. Bricks in the shape of a capital L. Interesting to see.

Rubber tees on holes 11-17. It breaks up the unity of the course. The tees did not alter your throw. I didn't have a probes with it but others might.

I thought holes 1-10 and 18 were pretty bunched together. Across the street, there was plenty of unused land that could have been home to two new holes that would have been downhill/uphill bombs. With that being said, the new holes really improved this course.

Course could use a practice basket or a practice hole.

I was very impressed with the new look course. The wooded holes take this course from a typical course in a college town and make it more of a destination and make it much more challenging.

The last time I played this course was 6 years ago. I'm glad the original holes are mostly still there.

Original course had alternate tees that were considered holes 10-18. Now those have been switched to either the pro or amateur versions of that hole with 9 new holes.

I would recommend this course to anybody looking for not only variety but for a solid round of golf. I will definitely try to return although I'm not often in the Lafayette area.

The redesigned Murdock Park is vastly superior to old course. Large concrete/brick tee pads. Good signage. The swamp has been taken mostly out of play and the wooded holes are fun to play, fairways not too tight and light underbrush, unlike many other wooded courses.

There are a couple of elevated baskets as well as one at ground level which I don't hate, but could do done without. I don't see what they add to the game and they just felt gimmicky to me.

There are many longer holes that may frustrate beginners who've yet to develop distance. This isn't a par 3 course, however if you have enough arm and are looking for a challenge you may play it as such.

Length: several very long holes that let you try to air it out.
There are some "technical" holes on the back 9 through the woods that blend nicely with the open ones.
Regular and pro tees that are well-marked and arrows on the pins that direct you to the next tee.

I'm counting it as a "con" because I'm not happy with how I scored the first time--given how well I thought I played it. But this course doesn't seem to reward "good" drives enough. Even when I put my drives where I wanted them, i.e., hit the "window" or the path I was aiming at, I ended up with a lot of tough approaches with small trees blocking them they even obscure you when you're surprisingly close to the "green".

The course doesn't let up. Every shot is a challenge. Again, though, that could be a feature instead of a bug.

Several OB areas that genuinely come into play. The course is fit into a pretty compact space and driveways and sidewalks do come into play.

I am pleased to have access to a course of this quality as my new "regular" course.

- The first 11 holes (as well as #18) play through a bustling city park with scattered mature trees dotting the grassy open areas. The course shares space on the front nine with other park activities. The back nine crosses the road and then plays through a more secluded wooded area that allows for much tighter fairways and a better mix of elevation. Pin placements in the wooded areas bring the elevation into play nicely.
- A marshy area brings water into play on #'s 1 and 8, but this is easily avoidable for most players.
- A very decent mix of distances results from two sets of tees (white and gold). The long tees are fairly challenging but nothing world-beating. The shorts allow for lots of birdies and/or ace-runs.
- Elevated baskets (#'s 4 and 12) add some artificial elevation.
- Descriptive signage makes navigation easy; the sole exception is #11's long sign, which I swear is misleading as to pin position. I even looked at it again after #17 while heading to #18.
- Mixed pads (mostly brick pavers held in place with wood and gravel to prevent erosion) never affected my round. Not ideal but not a drawback in any way.

- Crowded park conditions cause conflicts in many areas of the front nine. Hole #5's fairway is dangerously close to a playground, and the first several holes share space with a pavilion, grills, etc.
- The front nine, while doing its best to mix things up shot-, distance-, and elevation-wise still falls a bit on the repetitive side. Typical park-style dg, while not bad, isn't particularly great either.

- The more secluded area on the back nine was pretty darn solid, and I enjoyed these holes very much. I liked that you're basically in a small patch of woods, completely concealed, but still at times only a hundred feet or less from bustling downtown Lafayette streets.

- Nice old neighborhood park
- Paver tees on the front, fly pads on the back. All nice and level
- Paver circles around the baskets is a nice touch
- Beautiful large old trees to fly around
- Maximized course for a small space

- If this course is crowded people are in danger. Many of the shots fly near other tees, near streets or near pavilions. Cars and people are within range for a number of shots. Look before you throw!

This course is a nice mix of holes and the pars from the orange tees felt nice and fair both in length and difficulty. The course seems to favor a RHBH thrower slightly, but not so much so that it seems unfair. Here are my impressions hole to hole as I went through.

Hole 1: Long open right turn around some big trees. Slight downhill. Beautiful opener.

Hole 2: Shorter hole with a lane to thread. Slight left tun into the pin.

Hole 3: This is a longer opportunity to thread soem trees to a hole on the right. Nice swamp to the right.

Hole 4: This is an uphill tree threader with a hole located on top of a double poll. I lie when people do goofy things like this to baskets.

Hole 5: Uphill through some thick trees with a slight turn to the left at the end of the flight path.

Hole 6: From orange this was a hard right tunnel throw. While not long, the flight path is a challenging one. Cool hole.

Hole 7: This hole is really close to the road and one tick off of a tree on the right lane could cost you some money. There is a safer lane to the left you can use.

Hole 8: This is a nice bigger right turn around old trees. A bit longer in length. Neat swamp on the right.

Hole 9: This is a longer shot. You have to pick a lane to commit to through the trees.

Hole 10: This is a longer straight uphill shot, some small trees can cause havoc on the left side up toward the pin.

Hole 11: This hole is across the road where the newer holes are. This is a nice long par four downhill that lets you really pull out a driver and rip. Hole is tucked down to the left in a stand of smaller brush trees.

Hole 12: This begins all of the tunnel woods holes. This is an uphill tunnel with a pin on top of a triple poll to the left. Big fun.

Hole 13: This is a straight short tunnel ace race chance. Just rip a putter right at it.

Hole 14: This is the tightest tunnel I may have ever seen. Just try to thread the needle up then take a quick left to a basket embedded in the ground.

Hole 15: This is a straight medium length tunnel with the basket in a step off cliff situation on the right at the finish. Miss a longer putt here and you are in some trouble.

Hole 16: This is a tunnel uphill with a sharp right hook to the basket at the finish.

Hole 17: This is the second par 4 on the course. Nice tunnel uphill to an opening, then left turn to a basket protected by a low hanging larger tree. Fun hole. Emphasis falls on the drive being in a place to let you throw well the the pin.

18: This hole is a longer finish par three where you have a tight tunnel between some big old trees. There is a pavilion on the left that is awful close so be careful on the throws.

Overall a pretty cool course, would definitely play again.

- course has now been expanded to 18 holes and holes 11-17 are very good and different from 1-10.
-marking on the back 9 is excellent
-2 teepads per hole
-holes 11, 13,17

-front 9 teepads are bad--slick. Would rather have pads like the back 9 or dirt.
-hole 7

keep improving the course and add concrete pads!

Murdock is one of those parks where I feel like the locals are going to get tired of it, but new people are going to like a lot. You ever play one of those courses? As in, the shots seem interesting the first time you go out, but after a couple of rounds, you probably have the place down pretty cold. That said, I liked the place, and here's why:

Pads - Every hole on the course has two pads per hole. On the "older" side of the course , holes 1-10 and 18, the pads are all brick or pavers. Very nice, laid out pads that provide for good support . The pads on 11-17 are rubber mats, which is fine. They can get a little slippery however, so watch yourself. But the fact that you have two options per hole is always awesome. From what I can tell, the oranges, AKA the longs, do make the course much different.

Baskets - The baskets on the old course are fine. Pretty sure they are the old Mach 2's, but I could be wrong. They catch fine. The baskets on the new side are the chainstars, and those catch like little, metal, Gary Carters. Also, all of the baskets on the old side are landscaped with brick and what not. It was a nice touch to the course.

Shot Variety - 11 and 17 are really the only long holes on the course, and they aren't terribly far. But they do offer a touch of variety to the rest of the course, which tends to be more technical. The old side is mostly open shots with OB in play. The new side is ALL technical, going through trees and playing drastic elevation changes. The club really made some interesting disc golf shots!

my biggest complaint about this park especially the old side, is that there are walking paths throughout the entirety of the course. This could really pose some safety issues. There is also a massive mountain bike trail through the new side. Too, there seemed to be a lot of random civilians wandering on to the course. a guy I was playing with almost killed some guys dog with a drive.

Be careful on hole 14! That cliff to the parking lot is ridiculous! I could see something really busting their face on that one. It's a looooooong way down.

Finally, I wish there were more amenities on the course. There weren't any benches in play on the course. There were some, but they were scattered about the course on the walking path. Also, there needs to be a couple more trash cans here and there.

Oh! There is a mother hawk around hole 11 that was swooping on some people. She's very big and very scary. Watch your head!

I liked the course, I did. There is nothing I can point to and say "yeah, that was terrible". But conversely, there is nothing where I was like "damn, that was amazing." it's a good course. It is not anything more. I feel like a 3 is perfect for this course. Nothing bad, Nothing great. Just good. and I am glad I got to play this course.

Dual Tees.
Good mixture of "open" and wooded holes.
Multiple shot types needed throughout course.
In town.
Arrows on baskets directing to next tee.
Listed OB's can be modified easily to fit the type of round you're playing by tightening or spreading.

Some fairways can feel like they are on top of each other (8,9,10) when the course is full.
4 street crossings.
Walking path running throughout 8 holes.
Paved teepads can be slippery when wet.
The "swamp" land is nasty if you go in (bring extra shoes/socks just in case).

The title says a lot about this course. It is obvious there are still some things that need to be tweaked out to really finish the course, but when traveling to other courses in the area, one will realize how nice this course is for being smack in the middle of town.

- 18 holes with dual teepads.
- Good mixture of mature trees and tight woods.
- Directional signs on baskets point to next tee. Directional signs also on paths in wooded part of course.
- Good mix of shot selections.
- 2-3 elevated baskets and 1 ground level.
- A lot of work went into redesigning and improving this course.

- Temporary teesigns for now ( permanent teesigns are coming)
- Mixture of basket types (Mach 3 & Chainstars) could be a problem for some.
- Mixture of teepads( Pavers and Rubber mats) could be a problem for some.
- Not too much difference between Orange and White tees on most holes.

This is a very good course for a park course. I never played the old layout but i can summize from the earlier reviews that it was awful. I would suggest that those people should come play Murdock's new layout.