Two of the most decorated architects in golf built courses eighty-five miles from Louisville, in a southern Indiana valley most golfers have never driven through. For a group of twelve to twenty-four, French Lick may be the best value in American resort golf — if you handle the logistics correctly.
French Lick's problem is that it doesn't sound like a golf destination. It sounds like a place you pass on the way to somewhere else. That reputation gap is exactly why it works: you get a Pete Dye course ranked at the top of the state, a Donald Ross layout that hosted a major, and a full-service resort footprint — at a per-person number that lands well under Pinehurst, Bandon, or Streamsong for a comparable trip.
What follows is the planner's version of this destination. Not the brochure.
The courses
Four courses are realistically in play for a group trip. Two sit on resort property. Two require a drive — one of which is worth it, and one of which is an optional add-on for groups that want a fourth distinct experience.
The Pete Dye Course
Built on the highest point in the region, with roughly forty miles of visibility in every direction from the clubhouse. This is late-career Dye without restraint — volcano bunkers, severe fairway contouring, forced carries, and greens that reject anything approached from the wrong angle. It hosted the 2015 Senior PGA Championship and it is the reason your group is coming.
From the tips it stretches past 8,000 yards, which is a number worth ignoring. Nobody in your group should play those tees. From the middle sets it becomes a genuinely great and genuinely fair golf course. The single best decision you will make on this trip is putting forecaddies on every group here.
The Donald Ross Course
Walter Hagen won the 1924 PGA Championship here. The course was restored to Ross's original routing and remains the correct counterweight to the Dye — rolling parkland terrain, crowned greens, subtle rather than punishing, and a walk in the park by comparison. Nobody leaves this course beaten up.
For a group, this is the round where the scores tighten and the money games actually stay interesting. Schedule it the day after the Dye Course.
Sultan's Run Golf Club
Thirty minutes southwest in Jasper, and the local favorite for good reason. Rolling terrain, dramatic bunkering, elevation changes that photograph better than they play hard, and a waterfall behind the eighteenth green that gives the round a real finish. It is meaningfully cheaper than the resort courses and it holds its own.
The catch is transport. Thirty minutes each way with twenty golfers means chartered vans or a caravan — a line item that groups routinely forget until the week of the trip.
The Pfau Course at Indiana University
Rebuilt and reopened in 2020, the Pfau Course is the home of Indiana University golf and a legitimately strong modern layout — tree-lined, well-conditioned, and completely different in character from anything at the resort. For groups that want a fourth course and a change of scenery, it is the best option within an hour.
Treat it as an add-on rather than a core round. It is not part of the resort package and has to be arranged separately, and the forty-five minute drive each way eats most of a morning. Best used on a five-night trip, or as the arrival-day or departure-day round for groups driving up from Indianapolis.
There is also the Valley Links, a short course on the property. Nobody flies in for it, but it is an excellent late-afternoon skins game once the group has finished a real round and doesn't want the day to end.
Where your group stays
The resort has two hotels, connected by a continuous shuttle, and the choice matters more than most groups expect.
West Baden Springs Hotel is the one people photograph. Its domed atrium was the largest free-span dome in the world when it was built, and walking into it is the moment your group realizes this trip was a good call. Rooms are historic, which means characterful rather than enormous.
French Lick Springs Hotel is a mile away, larger, more conventional, and generally the better operational choice for a group — more rooms in a single block, the casino attached, and simpler logistics for keeping twenty people together.
Whichever hotel you choose, add a suite. This is the single most underrated move in group golf lodging. A suite gives the group a private room to convene in every night, and it lets you bring in your own beverages rather than running a four-night tab at resort bar pricing. On a group of twenty, that difference has run into the thousands. Groups cutting costs almost always cut the suite first, and it is almost always the wrong cut.
What it actually costs
Below are realistic all-in per-person ranges for a typical group trip. These are ranges, not quotes — actual pricing moves with your dates, group size, room type, and how many rounds you want.
| Trip length | Rounds | Per person, all-in |
|---|---|---|
| 3 nights | 3 | $1,150 – $1,500 |
| 4 nights | 4 | $1,600 – $2,100 |
| 5 nights | 5 | $2,000 – $2,600 |
Low end reflects double occupancy, groups of 16 or more, and shoulder-season dates. High end reflects single occupancy, peak spring or fall weekends, a group suite, and forecaddies on the Pete Dye Course. Ranges include lodging, green fees, carts, taxes and resort fees, and trip planning. They exclude travel to the resort, caddie gratuities, off-property van transport, and food and beverage beyond what's packaged.
For context: a comparable four-night, four-round trip at a Tier 1 national destination typically lands 40 to 70 percent higher per person. That gap is the entire argument for French Lick.
Group logistics
Tee time blocks. On-property rounds are straightforward — the resort is experienced with groups and handles consecutive tee times without complaint. The variable is lead time, not group size: nine to twelve months is the right target for peak spring and fall dates.
Transport. The resort shuttle covers both hotels and both on-property courses, so a group playing only Dye and Ross needs no vehicles at all. The moment Sultan's Run or the Pfau Course enters the schedule, you need chartered vans. Price this before you quote the trip.
Getting there. Louisville is the closest major airport at roughly ninety minutes. Indianapolis is about two hours. A meaningful share of groups here drive, which is part of why the all-in number stays reasonable — for most of the Midwest and Mid-South, this is a road trip, not a flight.
Dinners. Book them. Twenty golfers walking into a resort restaurant unannounced at 7pm on a Friday is how a good day ends badly.
Best time to go
Mid-May through June, and early September through mid-October. Southern Indiana summers are humid, and the Pete Dye Course sits fully exposed on a ridge with essentially no shade — a July afternoon there is a physical event. Late September into early October is the best window on the calendar: firm conditions, comfortable temperatures, and fall color across the valley.
Early spring and late fall bring lower rates but real weather risk, and course conditioning is less consistent at the shoulders.
Who French Lick is wrong for
Be honest about this before you book. French Lick is the wrong call if your group wants walking links golf and caddie culture — that's Bandon or Streamsong, and no amount of enthusiasm makes this destination that. It's wrong if your group's evenings are the point and you want a real bar scene beyond the casino and the hotels. And it's wrong if you want every course inside a five-minute shuttle ride, because two of the four require a real drive.
It is exactly right if your group wants two architecturally significant courses, a resort that handles twenty people without strain, and a per-person number that lets everyone say yes.
Frequently asked questions
How many golfers can French Lick handle at once?
Any size. A foursome, a dozen golfers, or a company outing of forty — the resort has the course capacity and room inventory to handle it. Larger groups just need more lead time to lock consecutive tee times and a room block that keeps everyone together.
Can we play all four courses in one trip?
Yes, on a four or five night trip. Dye and Ross are on property, Sultan's Run is bookable through the resort, and the Pfau Course must be arranged separately. Both off-property rounds require van transport.
Is the Pete Dye Course too hard for a mixed-skill group?
Not from the correct tees, and not with forecaddies. From the back tees it will beat up anyone. From the middle sets it's fair, memorable, and the highlight of the trip.
Do we need to rent vans?
Only for off-property rounds. Dye and Ross are covered by the resort shuttle. Sultan's Run and the Pfau Course need chartered vans — a line item groups routinely forget.
How far in advance should we book?
Nine to twelve months for peak spring and fall dates with 16 or more golfers. Room blocks and consecutive Pete Dye tee times are the constraint.
The bottom line
French Lick delivers a Pete Dye original, a restored Donald Ross, and a resort that can absorb a group of twenty without anyone having to solve a problem — at a number that stays inside most groups' budget. The courses are the easy part. The trip works or fails on the logistics: correct tees on the Dye, forecaddies booked, vans arranged for Jasper, a suite held for the evenings, and dinners reserved in advance.
That list is precisely what we handle.