Southern Indiana Business Report
The golf courses at the French Lick Resort continue to bring recognition and notoriety to the Orange County resort.
Historic Hotels of America announced its 2024 Top 25 Historic Hotels of America Most Historic Golf Courses list, and placed the French Lick Resort on its list.
Many of the golf courses on the list were designed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often described as the Golden Age of golf course architecture.
The Resort’s Donald Ross Course was designed by Ross, who has long been considered one of the greatest and most influential golf course architects of the game. In addition to the 1917 Ross course, the Resort’s two other courses were designed by legendary designer Pete Dye and Tom Bendelow.
Outside of historic course design, the list also selected courses with a history of hosting championships and whose greens have been graced by famous people.
The Resort first hosted the PGA Championship in 1924, won by Walter Hagen, and more recently hosted the LPGA and Senior PGA events.
Celebrities who have played at the Resort include singer Bing Crosby, comedian Bob Hope, business magnate Howard Hughes, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Indianapolis Colts great Peyton Manning.
The release also noted French Lick native and NBA great Larry Bird worked and played on the French Lick golf course in his youth.
The French Lick Resort encompasses two historic hotels, French Lick Springs Hotel (1845) and West Baden Springs Hotel (1902). French Lick Springs Hotel was inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 2000, and West Baden Springs Hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in 1987.