French Lick Resort (Pete Dye)

Overview: The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort is an 18-hole mountain layout on the high ground of Mount Airie above the southern Indiana resort. Its par-72 routing stretches to 8,102 yards from the tips, with steep elevation changes, long views and fairways that ask for more precision than the scorecard distance alone suggests. Dye used the rugged site as a design instrument: slopes influence club selection, the horizon changes from hole to hole, and the green complexes reward a player who plans the approach before choosing a line from the tee. The result is a modern course whose character comes from both its architecture and its unusual topography.

History: During the restoration of the French Lick and West Baden hotels, the resort needed a second championship course. Dye first visited the Mount Airie property in late 2005, then returned after reconsidering the steep, undeveloped ground. Construction moved more than 2.5 million cubic yards of earth, and the course opened on April 24, 2009. The layout quickly received new-course recognition and later became a venue for professional events, including the Legends Championship and the 2017 Senior LPGA Championship.

Did You Know? The original concept was sketched on a paper napkin during a lunch in French Lick. The resort also records almost a 400-foot rise from West Baden Springs to the summit area, which helps explain why the course has such unusually broad views for an inland Indiana layout.