At French Lick Resort, golf has never been bigger with a new short course in the works

Existing golf rounds alone would be keeping French Lick Resort abuzz with activity. It’s another record-breaking year of golfers from Maine, South Carolina, California and all points in between trekking here to tackle French Lick’s Pete Dye and Donald Ross Courses.

But then there’s the brand-new, 9-hole short course that French Lick Resort plans to unveil this fall. There’s the collaboration with Good Good Golf, which brought a whole new audience of golfers pouring through (even sprinting into) Pete Dye’s hilltop gates earlier this summer. And there’s the biggest event on the Korn Ferry Tour calendar on its way to — you guessed it, French Lick. 

While the Dye and Ross just celebrated a 14th consecutive year of being Indiana’s #1 and #2 ranked public courses in Golfweek’s “Best You Can Play” ratings, no one around here is content resting on the status quo. 

(French Lick Resort’s Donald Ross Course)

“We’ve made it a priority to look for new ways to enhance the golf experience here. You can see by the growth trend we’ve had that we’ve done things along the way to help move that along,” said Dave Harner, French Lick Resort’s Director of Golf. “We’ve changed, we’ve evolved and added things, streamlined in places and advanced in others, and the goal is to keep doing that. You never stop innovating.” 

The next big step? A true short course. 

The Sand Creek Course at French Lick Resort is being etched into the resort landscape —down the hill about a mile or two from Dye and Ross, and adjacent to French Lick’s 9-hole regulation course, Valley Links. Sand Creek isn’t a par-3, it’s not Topgolf or mini golf, but rather the sweet spot in between all three.  

For golfers who just had their nerves and drivers tested up at Pete Dye, Sand Creek should be a refreshing wind-down round and an opportunity to chase a hole-in-one with holes playing as short as 35 yards and no higher than 90.  

Harner’s been fielding plenty of questions about what to expect at Sand Creek, and his feedback usually includes a promise. 

“It’s some of the most fun you’ll ever have on a golf course,” he says.  

“A simple, easy place to play,” Harner adds. “It adds to our experience in that it gives you an alternative to the championship course – a place where beginners, families, corporate groups, whether they all play golf or not, they’ll be able to play this course. When people get out there and play, they’ll…