Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (Kampen)

Overview: Kampen is the links-style course at Purdue University's Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette. Pete Dye shaped the 18-hole, par-72 layout from the former North Course into a broad, demanding landscape of native grass, large bent-grass greens, waste areas, ponds, wetlands, and a natural celery bog. The championship tees extend to about 7,465 yards, but multiple tee sets allow the course to be played at a more manageable scale. Its open ground and wind exposure contrast with the more wooded Ackerman-Allen course at the same complex.

History: Dye first walked the former North Course in 1994 while Purdue was considering changes connected to road construction. The project grew into a complete transformation, with construction beginning in 1996 and a redesigned Kampen course opening in June 1998. Purdue students and staff from forestry, entomology, water-quality testing, and agronomy worked alongside Dye and superintendent Jim Scott. The result was intended both as a championship venue and as a practical classroom for the university.

Did You Know? The course includes a water-reclamation system in its design story. Purdue's own account describes the project as a collaboration involving students and several academic departments, and reports that the water used on the course is recycled.