Back of the Card:
Location: French Lick, IN
Length: 4,587 – 7,030
Slope/Rating: 75.7/149
Architects: Donald Ross
Est. 1917
Price: $100-$150
Accolades: Donald Ross course, host of 1924 PGA Championship, multiple LPGA Championships and Senior PGA events, Golfweek’s No. 2 Indiana public course every year since 2011
Course Website: https://www.frenchlick.com/courses.htm
TL;DR
Don’t overthink this one. It is a public Donald Ross course, kept in excellent condition, and boasts some of the most exciting and challenging green complexes I’ve ever played. The logo is top notch and the history is even better. Make sure you take advantage of the well-stocked pro shop and the opportunity to judge other players from the rocking chairs on the wraparound porch.
The Course
Top 5 most important chance encounters in history:
- Lennon and McCartney meeting at a church function
- Theodor Geisel bumping into an old classmate of his and getting a publishing deal just before burning the manuscript of his first Dr. Seuss book
- Me and the guy that told me to drive from Kentucky to Indiana to play the Donald Ross Course at French Lick
- Isaac Newton and the falling apple
- Matthew McConaughey hitting it off with a fellow bar patron who was also the casting director for Dazed and Confused
For some reason, none of the numerous years I spent in the education system provided me with a geography class; U.S. or global. It should then come as no surprise to you that on a trip to Kentucky it did not occur to me how close I was to Indiana and I exclusively looked for a place to play locally. When a chance drugstore encounter with a gentleman wearing a polo from a top 100 golf course led to me learning that the Donald Ross Course at French Lick was less than two hours away, my search came to an end.
The drive to French Lick resort is a scenic one. A naturally canopied road leads to a wrought iron gate through which you can glimpse the classically-designed clubhouse. Perched atop a hill that overlooks the practice green and course – a feature I will always love – the clubhouse welcomes its patrons with an old world elegance and simplicity. If you have the time, I highly recommend meandering about the clubhouse and engaging with its history. A well-preserved course that was once the site of the PGA Championship, the clubhouse is adorned with Donald Ross course designs, green complex maps, and Championship memorabilia.
I can’t say I’ve ever felt this way about any other course, but in retrospect, this clubhouse really could have used a dog. Kind of a Sam Elliot type. A calm, elegant, slightly elderly, retriever to complete the image and serve as both a welcoming committee and an emotional support animal for those drowning their sorrows at the 19th hole.
A splendid test of golf, the course wasn’t flashy, tricked out, or trying too hard. More than nearly any other course I’ve played it provided an adversary rather than a landscape. Generally, I look at my rounds as an opportunity to conquer a new land that is there for the taking. If I can brave its elements and trials, I can triumphantly stake my claim as I replant the flag on the 18th green. These rounds were different. It felt like we traded parries and thrusts for 18 holes until it was eventually revealed that I was no match and I was metaphorically stabbed to death (both times).
The conditions were immaculate throughout and while the rough didn’t seem insanely deep, I would categorize it as “remarkably grabby”. Fairways were wide enough without being generous, I had to use every club in my bag, and each bunker seemed to be positioned just perfectly enough that I had to consider it without it necessarily being in my way. However, where this course truly separates itself from the others is on the greens. If you fail to place your ball in the right quadrant of the green, your ensuing lag putt puts your ball on a rollercoaster with no discernable tracks. We aren’t talking about a buried elephant here and there, we’re talking about an elephant graveyard. I get why Mufasa told Simba to avoid them. The greens rolled at a fair speed though and putting truly felt like a game within the game.
Ultimately, the Donald Ross Course at French Lick feels solvable, but only if you bring your “A” game. This place has layers. Like a parfait. Everybody loves parfaits and everybody should love the Ross Course at French Lick.
The Ratings
Ease of Access: Not the most convenient place to travel to as it’s roughly 85 miles from the nearest major airport. That said, it isn’t too far from places like Indianapolis (2 hours) and Louisville (an hour fifteen) and making a tee time as a non-resort guest was easy. At least it’s a scenic drive. Score: 7/10
Fairness: Such a tough call. The rough can really grab your club and ball, but the fairways are generally wide enough that you shouldn’t be in it. The greens have crazy undulations that can make your lag putting about as accurate as a game of Plinko, but if you’re in the right quadrant you should be faced with a relatively makeable putt. Ultimately, I think the course is pretty fair, but the long par-3s and the essential irrelevance of a GIR if it’s not a close one, push the score down a bit. Score: 7.8/10
Side note: I will probably get rid of this category in future posts. It’s too hard to qualify and explain.
History Logo: This is a great logo. I love the primary Donald Ross logo, but also the alternate “Hill Course” logo. On a related note, you can’t convince me that Donald Ross isn’t in some way related to Mike D’Antoni and the Pringles guy. Score: 9.1/10
Memorable Holes: Every par 3 is a challenge and there are just enough quirky layouts (looking at you, 8th hole) on the other holes that you hardly ever run the risk of monotony. A year later, you can show me a picture from any tee box and I can tell you exactly how I played that hole and where I 3-putt from. Score: 7.8/10
Setting: There’s something about the privacy and seclusion of the forest locale that speaks to me. You are there to play challenging golf and something about the setting seems to respect that. The wind whistling gently through the trees, birds calling to one another, the sounds of woodland creatures scurrying about, and if you listen carefully, the sound of the occasionally exuberant swear word from off in the distance all collaborate to make you feel as though you are playing golf as it should be. Score: 7.9/10
Course Conditions: No notes here. Smooth greens, manicured fairways, freshly raked bunkers. I wish conditions were worse so I could blame my score on them, but alas, the problem continues to lie within. Score: 9.2/10
Doak Scale: “An excellent course, worth checking out if you get anywhere within 100 miles. You can expect to find soundly designed, interesting holes, good course conditioning, and a pretty setting, if not necessarily anything unique to the world of golf.” Yep. That pretty much sums it up. For the record, I drove roughly 80 miles. Score: 7/10
How Impressed/Jealous Will Other Golfers Be When You Tell Them You Played This Course:
In my experience, people generally give the appropriate eyebrow raise and head nod when you tell them you’ve played here. For reference, the appropriate eyebrow raise is about a 6.5/10 on the Eugene Levy Scale. The head nod is not as aggressive as one you might exchange with a guy who sees you dating a girl way out of your league, but more demonstrative than the one you might get when you pass your used shopping cart over to someone who needs it rather than dumping it in the parking lot. It’s not quite an “if you know, you know” course because it’s more famous and storied than that, but it’s also not as sought after as its cousin in Pinehurst, NC. Score: 8/10
Overall Experience:
It was everything you’d think a hospitality-owned Donald Ross course would be. Rich in history, great conditions, fun layout, challenging greens, and solid staff. I have no idea who the starter was that day, but I’d like to particularly thank him for getting me on the course early as a single before a foursome with roughly 380 years of combined experience in some industry or another clogged up the course behind me. Score: 8.3/10
X-Factor: It is time to give some much needed weight and attention to the history of this course. We’ve talked about the architect, but it’s time to talk about the players. Seven years after its construction in 1917, the course at the French Lick Springs Golf Club (as it was then known) hosted the 1924 PGA Championship which was won by one of my all-time favorite golfers: Walter Hagen. For those of you that don’t know Hagen, the best comp I can come up with is “what if John Daly was in shape, handsome, super suave, changed the fabric of professional golf for generations, and won 11 majors?” Just imagine how high Hooters’s stock would be right now.
Hagen’s victory over “Long” Jim Barnes started an as yet unmatched streak of four consecutive PGA Championship wins. Newspaper clippings, pictures, and memorabilia from the tournament adorn the clubhouse. In fact, one of my favorite golf pictures ever is one taken of the entire field. Due to the slow nature of the panoramic photography style of the day, Hagen had time to be photographed on the left side of the group, run around everyone’s backs, and make it to the right side of the group in time to be photographed there as well.
The last tidbit I will share in favor of both the course and Hagen is that the clubhouse restaurant is named Hagen’s. I hope to one day be good enough at literally anything that someone names a restaurant after me even though I have no connection to it. Heck, I’d settle for a sandwich. Score: 8.5/10
Total Score: 80.6/100
The score feels lower than it should be because when I was in school an 80 was a B- (believe me, I’d know) and this is not a B- course or experience. It could be that I’m a harsh grader. Could be that my categories need to be adjusted. Could even be that I don’t know what I’m doing. Possibilities abound. However, I would like to remind you that if you’re anywhere within 100 miles of French Lick, Indiana, you should play the Donald Ross Course. That’s a hell of a lot more encouraging than any of the teacher comments that accompanied my B- report cards.
The Awards
Marion Hollins Best Hole Award:
Winner: Hole 14
It’s got so many of my favorite elements of a hole. Blind tee shot, green in a cool shape, water somewhere in play, excellent views. When I played it the first time, the first look at the green struck me hard and was probably the most excited I had been up to that point. On my second go around, it was the hole I was most excited to see again.
HM: 3 (first really cool visual on the approach), 5 (some visual trickery with the bunkers)
The Coldstone Gotta Have It Award: This was one of the best pro shops I’ve been to. Such an excellent selection. My favorite thing in the pro shop was this t-shirt that says “The Hill Course”. Now you might be wondering, “Ronnie, if that t-shirt was your favorite thing in the pro shop, why did you buy an entirely different t-shirt?” An excellent question that I’ve been gently bludgeoning myself with since I left. I didn’t need another reason to go back, but it never hurts to have one.
Lake M Award for Hazard That Will Plague You Every Round:
There wasn’t any one hazard that stood out to me during my rounds there. However, the bunkers appear to be meticulously placed so as to either trick you visually or force you to make a strategic choice. It’s the first course I had played to that point where the bunkers consistently forced me to choose a strategy outside of “just don’t hit it in the bunker”.
The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort deserves your attention now and demands your attention when you get there. It’s one of the best Donald Ross-designed public golf courses you can access. It’s worth the drive if you’re remotely “local” and worth the airfare for your next buddies trip. Donald Ross doesn’t need my endorsement, but I’m going to give it anyway: go play the course and thank me later. (6.0)
