Our Antwerp Chamber of Commerce spotlight for May is the Pond-a-River Golf Club at 26025 River Road Woodburn, In. 46797.
The course is owned by David Gerig which he purchased in March of 2012 from John Chilcote. Today the club is run by James Fislar. James hails from Auburn, Indiana and has quite a background in golf. He moved to the area in 1999 and has a background in sports eventing. James has played, worked and taught golf in many of the elite clubs in the area. He ran into Dave and they became fast friends, both sharing a passion for golf.
The course has quite a fascinating background. Pond-A-River Golf Club opened as a nine-hole course in 1969 built by the Arnold Radke family. Before it was a golf course, it was a farm owned by William Harry Stephenson. In 1972, Dick and Martha Chilcote bought the course from the Radke’s. Dick and his son John designed the back nine in 1975 on 37 acres. Robert Beard did the construction of the back nine. All 18 holes cover 86 acres and offers a unique experience along the Maumee River with hills, ponds, trees, and creeks. Some historic artifacts were found when the course was built. Where number 8 green is, an early settler had a log cabin. Mr. Radke dug up some old log planks from where the cabin sat. The No. 4 green had two or three packs full of hammers, bows and arrows from American Indians. Records show it was called Knaggs’s Indian Reservation. With the number of apple trees out this way, Johnny Appleseed must have traveled through the area.
Pond-A-River Golf Club is a fun golf course that sits in a quiet country atmosphere just across the state line in Indiana. Golfers can enjoy a peaceful round of golf in a natural environment away from housing additions and highways. The front nine offers a traditional layout with a par 36, while the back nine — carved out of a thick forest — offers some of the most scenic holes in northeast Indiana. A winding creek and several ponds amongst the woods make this one of the most unique and challenging nine holes to play.
What both Dave and James find exciting about the club is the ability to encourage and shape the youth of the area and hopefully lead them into a lifetime of golfing. Golf course use actually increased by 20% in the past year. The business has a small town feel to it and everyone knows everybody. That allows them to maximize leagues, outings and memorials. Many league outings that you might know about are the Jean Detmon Memorial, the Rotary International outing, Woodburn Christian Children’s Home and the Antwerp Invitational. Thinking about a golf outing for a fund raiser? At Pond-A-River the staff will work hard to ensure your outing is run smoothly the entire day of the event. They take pride in knowing that all of the golfers are pleased and well supported. If this is your first event with them, the staff will help guide you through the process of planning, developing, and promoting your outing. If your event is one from years past then they would like to offer our help for new ideas if you are looking to re-vamp your event.
One of the new things you will see this year is a new snack bar with few changes in the menu. They will have their traditional hot dogs and are adding grilled hamburgers and hot ham and cheese sandwiches. The new Par Burger features house made BBQ sauce, bacon crumbles, pepper jack cheese and onion crisps. Pair this with some fries for $6.00.
You can golf Monday- Friday before 1:00 at just $24.00 for 18 holes. After 1:00 the cost is $28.00 and on the weekend it is $32.00 for 18 and a cart. There are senior and junior rates available. Leagues begin around 3:00 and the weekends are open unless an outing is scheduled. You can use the new GolfNow: Tee Times app and book your tee time before you get there and also prepay and have a cart ready for you. You can still call for a tee time at 260-632-5481.
Dave, James and their crew are working hard on upgrading the course this year. They are rebuilding the bunker on #1. Installing a new ladies tee box on #11 and upgrading the irrigation system. They also plan on purchasing twenty new Club Car Tempo carts. Combine all of that along with the upgraded 19th hole clubhouse you can expect to have a great golf experience. James would like to add 8-9 tournaments this year and have a player of the year.
So, come on out. Golf 9 or 18 holes. Cart or walk the beautiful course. Join a league- a scramble, stroke league, a ladies league or a senior league. You can’t go wrong at Pond-a-River Golf Club.
The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce is excited to have Pond-A-River Golf Club partnering with us in the Antwerp Community.
