THE STORY

Where Golf Began Again: The Enduring Joy of the Putt

Long before putting courses became places to settle bets, gather friends, or welcome non-golfers into the game, they were born out of something much simpler: time, imagination, and a love for rolling a ball across the ground.

It started quietly in St. Andrews, well before 1860. While golfers played the Old Course, caddies laid out a small patch of ground and passed the time by putting. When the course grew quiet, adventurous young ladies joined in. In an era with few respectable recreations available to women, this small corner of ground became something special.

What began as casual play soon became purposeful. To ease tensions between caddies and ladies a rough, untamed parcel of land north of the Swilcan Burn was chosen. It was dotted with rabbit holes, covered in whins, and used by washerwomen to dry clothes. Onto this unlikely canvas, Old Tom Morris laid out a fifteen-hole “miniature links,” requiring little more than a cleek and a putter. In 1867, the St Andrews Ladies’ Golf Club was formed
Over time, Old Tom smoothed the ground, trimmed the whins, and transformed the course into a place where only a putter was needed. Fishermen’s paths crossed greens, floods required planks to continue play, and a hilly expansion in 1893 earned the course its enduring nickname: the Himalayas. In a place where friendships, and marriages, were formed, the course eventually opened to the public, becoming one of the most democratic and joyful expressions of golf in the world: inexpensive, welcoming, and endlessly entertaining

Across the Atlantic, the spirit of putting found new life at Pinehurst. There, the Thistle Dhu Putting Course re-imagined what a putting green could be, not merely a warm-up, but an attraction in its own right. With 18 distinct holes cut into real grass, Thistle Dhu challenged golfers and non-golfers alike to read subtle breaks, conquer bold slopes, and appreciate the artistry of green design. Surrounded by manicured vistas, it proved that putting could stand proudly alongside championship golf, not beneath it.
Thistle Dhu also paid homage to its own past. The original course, laid out decades earlier with molded clay, sand, and wooden bridges, showed that even then, architects understood the magic of short-form golf. Every hole reachable in one stroke, penalties intact, imagination encouraged. It wasn’t about length. It was about feel.

Later on came Bandon Dunes, where the idea of the putting course reached its modern expression. Inspired directly by the Himalayas at St. Andrews, the Punchbowl sprawled across 100,000 square feet of natural contours, hollows, and movement. Designed by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina, it wasn’t fixed or formal. The routing changed daily. The holes evolved. No two rounds were ever the same.
Here, putting became communal again. Groups gathered at dusk. Bets were settled. Laughs echoed across the green. You might face a putt you’d never imagined, or one you’d never forget. The Punchbowl wasn’t an accessory to golf; it was part of the soul of the place.

From rough ground beside the Swilcan Burn, to elegant resort greens in North Carolina, to windswept dunes on the Oregon coast, putting courses have always shared a common thread. They strip golf down to its essence. They invite everyone in. They remind us that the joy of the game doesn’t depend on distance, difficulty, or exclusivity—but on creativity, connection, and the simple pleasure of watching a ball find its way home.

And more than a century after a few caddies and young ladies first rolled putts across uneven ground, that joy is still very much alive. We present to you our own version at the Golf Club of Indiana, simply named The Ridge. As one of the first putting courses located at a public golf course, we are proud to carry forward a tradition that brings golfers and non-golfers together — to play, to gather, and to grow.

Please join us for a round of something larger than a normal round of golf—a place where generations meet, where laughter travels farther than any drive, and where the game is rediscovered in its simplest and most human form. At The Ridge, every putt tells a story, and every visit becomes part of a legacy still being written.

Become a party of the legacy and join The Ridge Legacy Club today.