By Sam Elliott
Rick Eaton’s family has called Fishers home for four generations, with houses on the property now known as Balmoral Golf Club at 10101 Hamilton Hills Lane having hosted plenty of family gatherings and celebrations over the years.
Now the Eatons are inviting others to party on the property as they recently celebrated the grand opening of the new Balmoral House wedding, reception, corporate and social events location.
“We felt there was a need for an event center. We had some friends of ours say they’d had trouble finding venues, whether it be for weddings or corporate outings or even golf opportunities,” owner Rick Eaton said. “The opportunity arose and we were able to then work, over the last probably year and a half, at turning this facility into what we hope it will continue to be for a long time to come — an event center at Balmoral we can all be proud of.”
The Balmoral House was formerly the home of Rick’s brother, Lyman, who now lives roughly 300 yards away in their parents’ former residence where the brothers grew up. Rick and his wife, Diane, live just to the east of the Balmoral House facility and golf course’s pro shop.
The 10,000-square-foot Balmoral House was rebuilt, remodeled and transformed from its residential roots into an elegant three-floor commercial event venue. The house features an open floor plan with a large deck on the main floor and a grand staircase leading upstairs to bridal preparation suites. The building’s basement includes a large bar plus rooms with other amenities, including a 90-inch projector screen.
“We would like Balmoral House to be a special place in peoples’ lives, to take their breath away on their celebrations in life, and we’d like Balmoral to be a special place that you can celebrate life’s milestone and achievements,” Diane Eaton said. “We want to be part of your life journey. Life is special and we want to be a part of that.”
“If you want something truly different that the typical wedding reception at your typical banquet center, that’s Balmoral House,” added house manager Missy Hancock, who joined the Eaton’s staff last August with a background in marketing and event planning. “I just love creating magic for memorable moments. It’s been a labor of love, but it’s been great.”
The house can host up to as many as 200 guests depending on the event’s arrangement, with a capacity for more if the golf course and green space outside is utilized.
“Really the neat thing we like about this is as a job you can tie in fun with the green space and various sports, and hosting events where people are having a good time,” Rick Eaton said. “They’re celebrating things they’re proud of, life achievements, and you get to help participate in that. You get to party and enjoy the fun parts of life.”
10101 Hamilton Hills history
Four generations have called the Eaton’s family property home over the years.
“Many, many years back in the Depression, my grandfather traded for this parcel of land and then offered his children, as wedding gifts, parcels of land if they wanted,” Rick Eaton said. “Well, my mother took him up on it along with one of her brothers… We’re very fortunate and happy they set down some roots 65 to 70 years ago in Fishers.”
A nine-hole golf course opened for play on the 40-acre property in 2000 for family and friends’ enjoyment, and opened for additional members beginning in 2007. The course has also added elements for footgolf — a combination of golf and soccer played by kicking soccer balls along the golf course holes at cups nearly two feet wide.
“Diane and I have lived on this property and in Fishers for over 60 years, so we’ve seen a lot of things evolve,” Rick said. “The whole community has been something we’ve been a part of and been very interested in and very tied to how we can make this a better place for us to live.
“It’s been a great place to grow up,” he added. “We’ve enjoyed everything about Fishers and it’s been a great place to raise a family. We have two children (Jessica and Nicholas) who are on their lives’ journeys in Charlotte and Chicago… We keep hoping they’ll come home and maybe participate and see Indiana as a final destination, but if not we’re going to carry on here for a while.”
For more, visit BalmoralGolfClub.com.
