The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort

Built in 1917, The Donald Ross Course sits atop rolling hills 600 feet above sea level in southern Indiana, featuring the subtle brilliance that made Donald Ross one of golf's immortals. The course plays like a conversation across elevated terrain: broad fairways invite off-the-tee confidence, but the real story unfolds on approach. Almost every fairway presents uneven lies—sidehills, uphills, downgrades—forcing golfers to trust their touch and imagination. The 80 deep-faced bunkers serve as strategic guides, their placement rewarding thoughtful shot-making and punishing careless angles.

What separates the Ross Course from its modern counterpart (the Pete Dye Course) is architectural restraint. Rather than commanding the landscape, Ross allowed it to dictate play. Each nine crests over ridges and slides into hollows, with greens that are architectural puzzles unto themselves—severely undulating, crowned, and featuring radical contours that can seem unfair until you understand the game theory beneath them. The course staff occasionally struggles to find a flat putt to measure green speed. Get on the wrong shelf, and you're facing a two-putt from 15 feet just to escape.

After a $5 million restoration in 2005-2006, the course emerged with its original design integrity preserved yet enhanced for modern play. This is the oldest major course in Indiana's golf renaissance, and it remains the thinking golfer's antidote to modern distance golf. The rolling hills, sparse tree coverage, and expansive views create a parkland experience that feels both intimate and vast. It's a course that rewards patience, precision, and respect for history.