Nobody Can Quite Figure Out How To Rank French Lick’s Two Courses

Golf course rankings are always fraught with disagreement, but ​French Lick Resort​ might be ground zero. Its two headlining courses, one designed by architecture giant Pete Dye and the other by Golden Age master Donald Ross, each feature some of ​the largest publication-to-publication disparities​ on our composite top 100 U.S. publics rankings.

What’s pretty much free of debate is this: there are two very good golf courses—and therefore a very worthwhile golf trip—awaiting in French Lick, Indiana.

Let’s start with the Pete Dye course, a dramatic mountaintop layout that plays 8,100 yards from the tips. It’s built on a former ski slope and provides all the sweeping views and elevation change you’d imagine.

But is it a masterpiece, or a relatively ho-hum entry from an architectural force? It’s the former, if you believe Golf Digest, which ​ranks​ the 2009-built ​Dye course​ as the 18th-best public course in America. It’s something closer to the latter, if you’re more in tune with GOLF magazine and Golfweek, which rank it 84th and 67th, respectively.

So then, the Ross. The century-old design is nothing special, if you ask Golf Digest and Golfweek, neither of which rank it at all. But GOLF magazine ​believes​ it to be the property’s best, planting it at 42nd on its public top 100. It is one of Ross’ “more unique layouts,” writes the mag. “But the greens are the real star here. Mostly untouched since the Scottish master designed them, these are some of the most aggressively contoured surfaces in golf.”

Off the course, you’ve got your pick between three historic hotels, a bit of old-school hospitality. Add in a short course, plus restaurants, a casino, spas, and resort shuttles, and you won’t find much reason to venture off property.

Of course, if you do want to tack on another stop or add a day trip, you’re only about an hour from Indiana University and its heralded ​Pfau Course​, itself a back-of-list top 100 at Golf Digest and GOLF.

All in all, a fairly easy trip to pull off. And one that’ll make for some quality post-trip fodder as you try to assess how the courses stack up.