Hickory Point

Getting To Know: Hickory Point

An Insightful Interview With Rick Anderson, Director of Golf

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Rick Anderson who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Parkland style course designed by Larry Packard. Recently renovated new bunkers and irrigation. Hickory has hosted the Symetra / Futures Tour for the past 28 years. The tour is the LPGA'S mini - develomental tour.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Always in tournament quality condition

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Short putts should be played inside of the hole and firm, do not over read short putts

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Number one by National Golf Foundation for customer loyalty in our category...hosts the IHSA GIRL'S STATE 'AA' CHAMPIONSHIPS

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
HOLE 15 PAR 5 WERE YOU PLAY ACROSS A CREEK FOR EACH OF YOUR SHOTS

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Number 4 150 to 225 yards slightly down hill with two bunkers guarding the right hole locations and a rolling collection area on the left side of green

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The beer is always cold and service is friendly breakfast by Carol best in town

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Kurt Rogers 60 and Hilary Anderson 68

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 6848
Slope: 125
Rating: 72.4

More Information
Hickory Point
727 Weaver Road
Decatur, Illinois, 62535
217-421-7444
golfdec.org

Revised: 08/25/2012 - Article Viewed 34,525 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.