Pete Dye Course
French Lick, IN, USA
Perched atop the rolling hills of Southern Indiana, the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort is a testament to audacious design and breathtaking vistas, forever altering the landscape of Midwestern golf. The course, a modern marvel carved from the region's highest elevation, is defined by its dramatic contours and panoramic views spanning miles of forested terrain. It's a course that favors the bold, requiring strategic shot-making and a willingness to navigate demanding carries and undulating greens. Pete Dye's vision, realized in 2009, incorporated vast waste bunkers, imposing hazards, and challenging green complexes. While lacking any official "championship" pedigree, the course has become renowned for its sheer difficulty and visual impact, immediately recognized and remembered. Golfers may not find perfectly manicured fairways at every turn, but instead, a course that demands respect. The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort offers a unique experience, challenging players of all skill levels. The course is known to be a long, hard walk with a bit of quirkiness to it.
Ranked by CV ratings from golfers who've played this course. Positions are shown worldwide, by country, and by state; the Public column compares courses anyone can play.
Best in World
Public: #100
Best in USA
Public: #40
Best in IN
Public: #1
8.7
109 players
The Pete Dye Course at French Lick is every bit the challenge you’d expect. Massive elevation changes, panoramic views, and unforgettable holes make it one of the most dramatic public courses in the Midwest. It’s brutally tough but fair if you play the right tees, and the conditioning is as good as it gets. A true bucket-list round that’s worth every shot.
Played it a week after the KFT Championship, fastest greens I’ve ever played (~12 stimp with crazy slopes) and was told they were quicker for the championship. Hardest course I’ve played so far. Obviously bad shots were punished but didn’t feel like good shots were as rewarding. The conditions were phenomenal and the views are the best you’ll see anywhere. But from a pure course standpoint, extremely challenging. Dye’s motto for the course was “golf isn’t a fair game so why should I make a fair course?”
Unbelievable views and difficulty. Horrible caddy.
Public courses closest to Pete Dye at French Lick Resort.
Most visitors to French Lick Resort arrive via Indianapolis International Airport (IND), roughly ninety minutes north, though Louisville International (SDF) offers a comparable alternative from the south. The drive from either gateway follows interstate corridors before peeling off into the rolling, forested terrain of southern Indiana's hill country, where the landscape softens into limestone bluffs and quiet valleys. As the road descends into the town of French Lick, the twin towers of the resort's grand hotels rise unexpectedly from the trees - a striking reminder that this remote pocket of the Hoosier State once rivaled the great spa destinations of Europe and remains a place where arrival feels like stepping back into a more opulent era.
FAQ
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Pete Dye at French Lick Resort has a Course Vaults score of 8.7 out of 10 based on 65 explicit golfer ratings.
Pete Dye was designed by Pete Dye.
Yes. Pete Dye at French Lick Resort is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Pete Dye is 72.
Pete Dye plays 8,102 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Pete Dye is 148.
