October 2025 – The Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort was the last course I played on our Hoosier State golf tour. The rest of the guys would play the Ross Course here too (and gave it so-so reviews) but I had to jet home. Of the courses we played though, most if not all of the guys ranked this at the top – ahead of even Victoria National. Golf Digest ranks it at 129. This and Victoria National are very close IMO but the top 100 love probably pushes VN ahead for me. Regardless, Dye French Lick is a must-play and possesses all of the ingredients I need in a top ranked club: Beautiful views unbesmirched by houses or commercial blight, great design that is challenging yet fair, top notch conditioning, awesome clubhouse and access to booze, tournament history (though not PGA in this case but they were prepping for a Korn Ferry event a few days after we played it), high praise from design aficionados (design integrity), etc.
Golf Club Atlas does a great job reviewing Dye French Lick and if you want a well-studied golf architecture nerd’s review, I suggest you go there. If you want nonsense from a Miller Lite-guzzling, bogey golfer, then I got a lot of that for you here.
What I love about our annual guys’ trip group is the diversity of golf skills, areas of the country represented, football fandom diversity and yes even diverse political views. We have both left-leaning and right-leaning politics represented but rarely get into political talk on the golf course or après golf time. When we do, it is civil discussion and generally both sides are open to hearing the whys behind the other side’s POV – without name-calling, mockery or whatnot.
I am pretty much a fiscal conservative with a hit-or-miss view on some social issues borne mostly from my Libertarian view on small Federal government and cynical view on all virtue-signaling group-think. My left-leaning friends in the group I categorize as idealogues with a desire to genuinely help and support under-represented groups in areas that touch their individual lives and needs. All of that is great. In fact, I am not against any of their thinking per se BUT I am a realist and know that government, in particular the Democratic leadership, is not motivated to cure societal ills but want to manipulate those idealogues with phony virtue signaling to get more power and assess more taxes on people like me who don’t agree with them. Beyond that, the party has swung so hard left, it’s pushed me further and further right on a lot of social issues as well.
All of that said, let’s go off on a political tangent. One aspect of this blog site is that I like to write down my thinking on events surrounding when I golfed a course or wrote a blog review. It’s kind of an on-line diary I can refer back to and understand what was going on at the time. It is also a forum (I hate social media) to espouse on my current thoughts related to our great country and the issues impacting it and my family. Of late, I don’t post these rants on the course review but just put a link to my rant so if my left-leaning buddies are reading, they can skip the politics. Not here though, I think I set it up well and promise I won’t be mean.
The topic of the day is immigration and ICE. I 100% support what the current administration is doing. The Biden administration created such a mess letting 10 to 20-million illegals into the country unfettered that it requires a heavy hand to clean up. During Biden’s presidency (or Obama’s third term as I like to call it) while citizens like me had to endure draconian oversight with COVID shots, et al, at the same time up to 20 million illegals entered the country with who knows what diseases. Criminals. Drugs. Sex traffickers. All came in a door that was opened wide for them so Democrats could add future voters. Then they shipped them around the country and put them up in hotels and homes on the taxpayers’ dime to populate gerrymandered districts to again get and retain control. Obviously it had to be stopped and now it has to be cleaned up.
Let’s start with the criminals as ICE has started with their removal first. I had a friend (not in this group) argue that the amount of crimes committed by immigrants is small and that immigrants are LESS likely to commit crimes than citizens. I have read that too but question the sources. Even the NIH says real conclusions can’t be drawn because of a paucity of data on illegals. Of course the traditional conservative answer on this is that if you are here ILLEGALLY then you have committed a crime hence ALL illegals are criminals. My view on this is, even one victim is too many. If a family member of mine was murdered by someone who should not have been here in the first place, I don’t want to hear statistics. Unfortunately I already have to take my chances with the criminals that are here legally so let’s not add to that number at all with even one illegal.
Then, illegals are a burden on taxpayers through taxpayer-funded healthcare and other benefits. Again the argument is illegals as a percentage burden tax-payer funded healthcare less than the average US citizen. And again, I question the sources but the entire current government shutdown is based on a power play by the Democrats to fund Emergency Medicaid so hospitals get reimbursed by taxpayers for care services to illegals. Of course that provision and other pork that was cancelled by the big beautiful bill is why the Dems won’t sign a clean CR to open up the government. My argument is that they try to use illegals and ideological compassion as leverage to press their agenda. Don’t do that.
Next topic: Illegals work for less because they don’t have to pay taxes. An argument I hear against mass deportation is that many illegals here ARE already paying taxes and are the only ones who will do certain jobs. First, this is like the Southern Democrats of the 1820’s saying slavery is necessary because if we don’t have slaves, who will work the fields. It’s exploitation, plain and simple – corrupt people exploiting free or cheap labor then and now. It is a hard fact that illegals DO reduce citizen wages that even the hardest left-leaning think tanks don’t deny. What happened to supporting the working American? So if illegals are paying taxes (which I don’t believe they are and have yet to see any compelling evidence to the contrary) then them taking jobs at a labor discount from legal citizens is an issue for me anyway.
Most Democrats I know are somewhat okay that the border is now closed and illegal immigration has slowed to a trickle, but they hate deporting the illegals already here. Guess what? You can’t have both. Allowing illegals to stay here will encourage border crossings. Knowing that they will be deported keeps new illegals from even trying to cross as much as the increased border enforcement does. Again this is an undisputed fact.
How about the immigrants that went through the process the right way? How is allowing illegals here fair to them? We are so happy, my son-in-law just became an official US citizen. It was tough, time-consuming and there was a cost. BUT he now has an appreciation for the country unlike many of the illegals. This country is built on LEGAL immigrants like my grandfather and son-in-law- how unfair to him and others who did it the right way to watch illegals get in and get a free pass.
Finally, I am disgusted by the vocal Democrats and MSM who encourage violence against our ICE officers. As with so many liberal arguments, when they lose on facts they default to calling the opponent racist, homophobic and worst of all, Nazis. Today, ICE officers are referred to as Nazis, the SS, storm troopers and worse. I hate that the Dems have diminished the meaning of Nazi by calling everyone who disagrees with them “a Nazi.” You know what a Nazi is? Someone who hunted down and supported the killing of six million Jews, Poles, gays, etc. because they were who they were. By labelling everyone you disagree with as such, you’ve watered down the true meaning. Then, have you ever met an ICE agent? Did you know over half are minorities? Do you know they and their families are now being doxxed by left lunatics and have had their cars and houses vandalized and have been verbally (even physically) assaulted? ICE agents are (as the Democrats are wont to say) people who look and act like us yet because of the mess left behind by Biden and the necessary job to fix it, they are being attacked. Of course they have to wear masks. Sad. But I digress. To the course.
The Pete Dye course can be stretched out to over 8,100 yards for tournament play. Pete has guaranteed that the course will not be made obsolete in our lifetimes and beyond. We played the whites which measure about 6,200 yards and the course is tough but playable for the bogey golfer from that distance (130 slope). Also if you read the Golf Club Atlas piece above, you see what Pete did to ensure a walkable course but one that took full advantage of the elevation changes and the beautiful views. This is really a great course that I have no nitpicks on except the cost. We did the stay-and-play option (which you need to do to gain access to the course) but at the end of the day, this was a $500 +/- golf round. That is pricey. You did get a nice tee gift (engraved bag tag, locally distilled whiskey and cigar).
A great course starts with a great clubhouse and what a great clubhouse. The pro shop is in an unseen building to the right of Thomas Taggert’s mansion shown here which serves as the main clubhouse and bar/restaurant. There is a private dining experience you can book here with enough notice,. We didn’t enjoy such advanced notice and hence didn’t dine here. However the clubhouse and pro shop are a ways away from the first tee and where 18 ends. There are some other facilities there but not sure if they were set up for the Korn Ferry or are permanent structures and we didn’t go in so not sure what function they serve. The bar area isn’t big but the staff was great and they had all the drinks – including Miller Lites – that we like.
Since I went on and on above I won’t go into great detail on the holes. Also don’t have my scores so only know I ended up with a 96 which is pretty bad. I know I blew up on a few holes. Anyway hole one is a par four and 360 yards from the whites.
Two is 328 yards, par four. Note the volcano bunkers to the right.
Three is 501 yards and the left is rough that was up to a doglegging left hole. I know this was one of my blow-ups. The number one handicap. Note the clubhouse high up on the hill.
Three from one of the other guy’s good drives.
Four is a long par three – 165 yards from the whites.
Five is a straight away 340-yard par four.
Six is such a beautiful golf hole. 387 yards. Par four.
Seven is an up hill par five measuring 474 yards. You have to choose a lower fairway that’s easier to reach on your approach but gives you a blind shot to the green or the high road which is harder to get on but affords a much easier shot to the green. I chose lower.
Sun came back out and here is eight – 155 yards, par three.
Number nine. bunkers up the right. Back toward the clubhouse with the drive. 360 yards.
Load up with drinks and ten is straight away with water along the right. One of only a few holes with water coming into play. Only 314 yards. I know I parred the tenth.
Eleven is a neat downhill par four, 378 yards.
Third par four on the back in a row, the 361-yard 12th.
Par three 13th with the death bunker left. 155 yards.
You see you don’t have much fairway to work with on the 14th. 480 yards and par five.
Fifteen. Another water left hole. Only 330 yards, par four.
From the penal fairway bunker on 15.
Sixteen and great par three – 170 yards and was into the wind.
Seventeen is 359 yards and pretty straight forward hole.
Here’s 18 and church pew bunkers right and the valley of death left that the big hitters on the Korn Ferry were cutting off to try and get home in two but most failed. Like me trying to get there in three!
Pete Dye statue and the pro shop in the background.
Looking down on the third from the pro shop.
From the front drive looking out onto the horizon and Hoosier National Forest in the distance. That’s nine coming up.
A close up of the guys on one. All in all, I rank Pete Dye just outside my top 100 at 104. Awesome course and experience. Steakhouse 1875 at the French Lick Resort is great. Rooms were fine and the Ross course is cheap unlike here. A good spot for a different kind of golf weekend.
Golf Scrapbook 