The Pete Dye Course at French Lick — Local services in Paoli

This place is 10 stars!!! Only reason I'll give 3 is taking one star away for the staff at the pro shop then another star away from the bartender at the restaurant at the mansion... They think they are special for being lucky enough to work at this beautiful course, separate issues with a year between so didn't eat at the restaurant after dealing with her attitude then this year the pro shop told me when I bought a new putter they had the head cover and couldn't find it, I go back after the round and it's a big issue and try giving me a head cover that didn't come close to fitting my new putter, I did joke when I first bought the putter if they can't find it give me a Pete Dye at French Lick head cover, they didn't, just tried pushing me out the door with the wrong head cover and the one head guy actually said contact ping if you don't like it... Sub par disrespectful pon scum

NOW TO WHAT'S IMPORTANT.... Pulling in before going up the hill you have a nice gate with a beautiful little stream/waterfall with perfect landscaping and flowering.... Pull up the hill and you'll see a couple statues, horse and the great Pete Dye.... Them you'll see quite a few holes, rough and fairways cut beautifully.... Like they chopped off the top of a mountain to start and then laid out just a beautiful masterpiece of a golf course, nothing like it across this great country and I've played in almost every state and played quite a few of the best courses in the country.... Well placed bunkers, volcano bunkers/traps you'll ideally want to stay out of all day if possible as they are penalizing as they should be... Greens have grain to read and plenty of subtle undulation, I've played this course maybe 10 times and every single time the greens roll at least a 12, just absolutely perfect!!! Full driving range with plenty of targets, perfect flat tightly cut grass will get you ready for exactly what you'll find on the course, accept the flat part lol... Full putting and short game practice facility at your disposal also to get a great warm up to get ready for a proper challenge.... Every caddie I've had besides one was very knowledgeable, gave great info off the tee, good lines to take and read the greens great..... Price is fair as this is a gem and a piece of God's country...

Had golf trip with 24 guys play both courses. While the Donald Ross is great, the Pete Dye course rated top of the list of golf courses ever played for over 3/4 of the group who have played tracks like Harbour Town, TPC's, Branson, Troon North's and Grayhawk's (no slouches by any means). We played 36 at DR and then 36 at PD back to back days. The fore caddies experience was incredible after the first round, especially given the wide range of handicaps we were dealing with. It doesn't surprise me to read that some caddie experiences were less than stellar, but that was the benefit of such a large group, we got the "A" squad. We did have some feedback that the afternoon round was not on par with the am round, but heed this advice: if you ask for it, they will do it. They spend the morning teaching you the course and how to navigate and will let you play on your own accord in pm, but I still had every single putt and approach read for me. The views at this course are second to none, especially after golfing exclusively in FL and the flat midwest for the past year....

The views/topography are what you're paying for but conditions and the agronomy did not match the price. We expected more pristine fairways and more of a country club feel. Tee boxes were not level or firm, it was close to muni style with the tee boxes. To their credit, it's a lot of land to maintain so it would be a net loss for them to go heavier with maintenance.

Course layout itself was rather simple if you kept it on or near fairway. Lot of jail past that. But besides big drop offs there wasn't a whole lot of intrigue across the 18. Unique but not an extreme challenge of golf.

Adding to that you have the caddie fee and tip, the value wasn't there for us. The caddie was courteous and nice to talk to but not really needed unless you're a bad golfer and need hand held.

Food also stopped at 5pm on a weekend night which makes little sense for people wanting to eat on the terrace post round. I guess they want people to go down to the hotel/casino. Overall, if you're in the area / bachelor trip...