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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED OLUME 26, ISSUE 5 80 Jim and Lois Ackerman remained fiscally and emotionally behind the project. Ackerman, who died in 2013 about a year before the project became public, was simple in his goals. "(He said) 'Just make it better than the Kampen Course,'" Brouse said. Ackerman didn't become one of Purdue's greatest benefactors without being a very competitive guy. Tompkins had a competitive challenge of his own as the project went from concept to design to comple- tion. He is well aware of the struggles golf courses have faced in recent times. Nationally, play is down. To justify this project, it would all have to be integrated into a comprehensive plan for Purdue golf. "In today's world, most golf courses struggle," said Tompkins, who admitted being a little nervous when Burke first came to him with the idea of renovation. "We can control what we charge for the course, but do you control how hard the course itself is to play?" Tompkins was aware that public perception, especially in the early years of the Kampen Course, was that Dye's design was too difficult for the average golfer. And the perception of golf in today's digital world is that it takes too long to play, is too expensive and too frustrating. "Pete really adapted and is now designing more player friendly, playable (courses)," Tompkins said. "There are no blind shots, and the greens are more level. He recognizes that good golf courses have to be playable at all levels. You can adjust difficulty to what tees you play from." The Ackerman-Allen will be a championship course at the college course. With land added for two holes on the back nine, the course can play 7,546 yards from the championship tees. But as is the case with Dye designs, it will be have five sets of tees. (See box on Page 55.) "There is something for everybody here," Scott said. Purdue will have the rare distinction of having two Dye-designed courses, but Brouse said that col- lege golf programs are in a facilities race and it is always a challenge to keep up. "We are blessed to have two great courses and that will no doubt help us in recruiting," said Brouse, who coached the Boilermakers to the wom- en's national title in 2010. "But every school who is committed to college golf is improving things at a fast rate these days, so we have to keep up in all areas to stay competitive." Another challenge will be keeping the cost reasonable for the general public. The old Ack- erman had the reputation for being not only an ACKERMAN-ALLEN 'FRIENDLIER' COURSE TO CASUAL GOLFER Based on Rating/Slope (an indication of a golf course's relative difficulty), the Ackerman-Allen remains the eas- ier of Purdue's two Pete Dye-designed courses from the shorter tees. Tees Yardage Rating Slope Kampen Black 7,465 75.9 143 Ack-Allen Black 7,546 76.8 137 Kampen Blue 6,874 73.3 139 Ack-Allen Blue 6,863 73.2 128 Kampen White 6,411 71.4 135 Ack-Allen White 6,363 70.9 125 Kampen Gold 6,067 74.9 132 Ack-Allen Gold 6,003 69.2 121 Tom Campbell A view of the new No. 7 hole (formerly No. 9), a par 3.