French Lick Resort Ranked Among Golf Digest Top 75 Resorts

By Brian Weis

With the opening of the Pete Dye Course earlier this spring, French Lick Resort has quickly become one of America's most talked about golf destinations. The latest accolade comes from Golf Digest magazine, which ranked the historic resort No. 29 on its list of Top 75 Resorts.

This historic and elite golf destination, located in Southern Indiana, is making its debut on the magazine's premier resort list in 2009. French Lick Resort now joins other historic resorts on the list such as Pinehurst, Sea Island, The Greenbrier, The Broadmoor, The Homestead, Pine Needles and Mid Pines and Pebble Beach.

The publication's biennial review of America's top resorts appears in the October 2009 issue. Golf Digest used over 900 members of its Course Ranking Panel and asked each to submit ballots ranking more than 400 resorts in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

"We are very excited and honored to be listed among the top resort destinations in the country by Golf Digest," said Dave Harner, director of golf operations for French Lick Resort. "To be listed among these great resorts is a testament to the vision of our ownership."

The owners of French Lick Resort, set among 3,000 acres of scenic and rolling land near the Hoosier National Forest, invested $500 million to bring this world-class resort back the national acclaim it enjoyed in the early 20th century. It was the largest privately funded restoration project in Indiana history and one of the largest such projects nationwide.

The massive undertaking included restoring the beautiful French Lick Springs Hotel and the spectacular West Baden Springs Hotel located a mile apart. The West Baden Springs property, with its massive dome, re-opened in 2007 as a hotel for the first time since 1932.

Following those renovations and the addition of a casino to the French Lick hotel, the owners embarked on a $4.6 million restoration of the historic Donald Ross course that has brought that famous architect's classic design back to its original plans. The Ross course (originally named the "Hill Course") brings a rich history to the French Lick Resort as it was site of the 1924 PGA Championship won by the legendary Walter Hagen.

Further adding to this resort's legend, Hall of Fame architect Pete Dye, a native of Indiana, was brought in to design a new course. The new Pete Dye course, which opened this spring, is located on a dramatic site that Dye claims is arguably the best inland site he has ever worked on. The course was carefully carved on a dramatic hilltop offering a variety of elevation changes, rugged and dramatic terrain, narrow fairways and challenging bunkers. There are spectacular views from every hole, some that stretch for over 40 miles.

This new course is already gaining recognition among professional players. In 2010, the PGA of America will play its PGA Professional National Championship on the new Pete Dye course. This is expected to be the first of several high profile professional events to be hosted at the historic resort destination.

French Lick Resort is now the only resort in the world that combines the classic history of Donald Ross and the modern day design of the legendary Pete Dye. This combination of two Hall of Fame golf course architects, along with two world-class hotels and amenities, is a spectacular opportunity for golfers to experience one of the truly elite golf resort destinations in the country.

For more information or to book a stay, please visit or call our reservation specialists at (888) 936-9360.

Article Tags: French Lick Resort Golf

Revised: 12/03/2010 - Article Viewed 35,914 Times

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.