8 must-play Indiana golf courses for your next golf getaway

The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort

The Midwestern United States has had a major boom on the golf scene over the last few years as it’s almost like golfers suddenly remembered how incredible the golf is in these states that feature shorter golf seasons but incredible courses. 

When it comes to golf in this region, Indiana has long featured a slew of incredible tracks for golfers to enjoy, and we’ve taken the liberty of highlighting a few of these for you to consider if you are traveling to the Hoosier State.

The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort

We’ve always found it an impossible task to rank golf courses, but if you were to put a gun to our head and force us to do so, then The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort would certainly have a position near the top of this list.  This course is stunning as it sits on one of the highest elevation points in Indiana as Dye and his team expertly carved this exceptional golf course on the side of Mount Airie, and the result is a masterpiece of beauty and challenge that is now set to host the Korn Ferry Tour Championship starting in 2024.

The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort

The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort

Creating an unbelievable 1-2 combination at this legendary resort, The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort is equally enjoyable yet completely different than its sister course.  The Donald Ross Course is a classic, traditional design that features dramatic elevation changes, deep bunkering with flat bottoms, and lush fairways if you can find them.  Arguably priced as one of the best deals in America, we love this course and it complements The Pete Dye Course here perfectly.

The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort

The Fort Golf Course

Another exceptional deal is The Fort Golf Course in Indianapolis, IN that golfers rave about with peak season weekend rates in 2023 topping out at $94 per golfer.  Located on land that once housed Fort Benjamin Harrison, a military presence that represented the first effort to create a “national” army out of a collection of state militias, and the base was shut down in 1991 and in 1995 1700 of the 2500 acres on the site were repurposed into a state park and nature preserve.  In 1998, Pete Dye and his disciple Tim Liddy were brought in to redesign the golf course here, and the result is a fantastic design at a great price.

The Fort Golf Course

Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame

As the home golf course of the world-famous Notre Dame University, the Warren Golf Course provides a links-style design amongst 250 wooded acres creating a unique feel to the experience here.  With general public rates topping out at $90 in 2023, it’s yet another incredible deal in Indiana for you and your group to consider as there’s nothing quite like seeing the famous golden of Notre Dame from these lush fairways.

Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame

Sultan’s Run Golf Club

Located in Jasper, Indiana only about 30 minutes away from French Lick Resort is Sultan’s Run Golf Club.  The course is another steal as the peak rack rates for 2023 is $95 for the weekends although the course does use dynamic pricing so that is subject to change.  Stretched across over 300 acres of woods, water, and wildlife, this course offers a ton of value and is a great place to consider especially if you are heading to French Lick Resort.

Sultan’s Run Golf Club

Brickyard Crossing

Unique is an understatement when it comes to this Pete Dye design that features four holes inside the famous Indianapolis Motor Speeedway creating an experience unlike any other.  As one of the few golf courses that has hosted the PGA TOUR, the LPGA Tour, and the PGA TOUR Champions.  This is a truly one of a kind experience, and with 2023 rates topping out at $250 around the Indy 500 Race and qualifying weekends (normally $200 during the rest of peak season), we still consider this a great deal for such a great design.

Brickyard Crossing

Chariot Run

This spectacular golf course located in Laconia, IN about 30 minutes from Louisville, Kentucky features an equestrian theme that is so prevalent in the Louisville/Lexington corridor.  This American links-style design features bentgrass fairways and greens and is outlined by golden roughs that will give you a sense of golf across the pond in middle America.

Chariot Run

Purgatory Golf Club

The name says it all here as you are in for a test here, but the beauty of the land will take a bit of the sting out of the difficulty for you.  Located 27 miles northeast of Indianapolis, Indiana you’ll find a devilish links style course designed by Ron Kern that features fairways lined with tall grasses and features over 130 bunkers on the course.  Prepare for a mental challenge as the course requires correct decision making and places a premium on accuracy.

Purgatory Golf Club