This feature is the fourth installment of a series of reviews for golf courses in the Kosciusko County area.

WARSAW – It’s peaceful and it’s concise. Denny Hepler’s Raccoon Run Golf Course on the eastern edge of Warsaw isn’t intended to be overwhelming. But the course does offer challenges for the everyday senior to the beginning junior.

From senior tees to junior tournaments, The Run is a course made for players of every age and provides all of its visitors with open arms. The inviting spirit of this course starts at the top with Hepler and his knack for teaching the game.

Hepler is the head coach of the Grace College mens golf team, heads the Denny Hepler Future Stars Golf Foundation, and is ever present with the Warsaw Tiger golf programs from middle school through high school. Hepler encourages new players to take up the game he loves.

Holes five and thirteen have a unique feature as they share one putting surface.

One way of getting younger players interested is through his foundation’s junior golf outing which is usually held before the start of the new school year. The outing encourages current members of the foundation to bring out a friend to be introduced to the game. The tournament is a nine-hole scramble and will get anywhere from 35-40 junior participants every year.

Hepler also allows Warsaw’s junior high teams to use the course for home match and The Run has been home to the Northern East Lakes Middle School Conference golf championships the past few years.

“Somebody needs to do it,” Hepler said when asked about his focus on teaching the game to juniors. “I’ve been working with the junior high for eight of nine years and I make sure they get the rules of the game, course etiquette, the basics. It just gives them a taste of the game and then they move on to the high school and progress from there.”

Hepler’s knowledge and passion for the game can be seen in the design of the course. Variety is one thing that was stressed when adding an additional nine holes in 1999. That gives the course unique features such as holes five and 13 which share a green.

The “turtle shell” structure of the number four green was inspired by the greens at 1999 U.S. Open played at Pinehurst No. 2. That year’s Open, famously won by Payne Stewart, was going on the week that the number four green was being constructed.

Raccoon Run is a great golf destination that can provide many unique challenges for golfers of all ages.

Day Played: June 19, 2014 the morning after a huge rain. Warm and muggy. Nick and Mike played the front nine.

Best Hole: After an up and down day all over Hepler’s inviting course, Nick and Mike finally settled down on the last three holes to finish and enjoyable day at The Run. Our moods started to change after a rough go on a challenging number six when we arrived at the tee for the unique hole that is number seven.
The par-three seventh from the white tees is 90-yards to the center of the green, 115-yards from the black tees and 75 from the gold. The short hole gives players a challenge before even pulling the club out of the bag. Don’t over think this hole or you’ll end up with a double-bogey five like Nick. Mike took a four on the hole, a theme he developed on the way into the clubhouse.
Mike took another four on number eight, also a par three. Nick found hit a tree on the way to a six. Number nine is a par four that is straight as an arrow and that is just how both of us played it. Nick used a three-putt to get a six while Mike needed just two putts to save par on the last hole of the day.

Standing water in the cup on number two just added to the poor performance on the hole.

Worst Hole: Four courses in and we still cannot find any relief on the second hole. Yes, for the fourth consecutive course we are stamping number two as our most difficult hole. Perhaps it was the pond that cuts into the fairway just enough to make you over-think your shot, perhaps it was the way the hole played after getting nearly two inches of rain the night before, whatever it was, we did not handle it well.
Mike ended up in the drink, Nick ended up in the thick grass, both used three putts and combined for an ugly score of 15 on the par four. Definitely not our best moment on the links this summer.
While that was the worst hole in terms of performance, we dubbed number six as the most challenging layout on the front nine. You can see our preview of the hole in the video above.

Major Hazards: After the heavy rain, the entire course was hazardous. But, that happens at any course after a large rainfall. Hepler wanted his course to have variety and he succeeded. Depending on where you are the course, you could encounter any number of challenges from water, to trees to turtle shell greens designed with the world’s best golfers in mind. We do advise you to keep an eye out for the signs that number each hole. The course is compacted nicely, but can be confusing to navigate at times.

Raccoon Run Golf Course
3085 E. Pierceton Rd., Warsaw
(574) 269-2902
www.raccoonrungolf.com

Links to our previous reviews:
1. Maxwelton Golf Club
2. Tippecanoe Lake Country Club
3. Wawasee Golf Club

The Run provides visitors with one of the areas nicest driving ranges.