Playing the top two public-access golf courses in Indiana is easy, as the Hoosier State is among a handful where the best layouts are part of the same operation.
In Indiana, it’s French Lick Resort and its Pete Dye Course and Donald Ross Course, which rank No. 1 and 2, respectively, on the 2022 Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for public-access layouts in the US
The two layouts offer different styles even if each presents plenty of challenges incorporating elevation change. The Dye Course sits atop a mountain and had to be engineered, with plenty of earth moved to fit the holes along the slopes. The Ross Course sits more naturally on its terrain just a few miles away. Both also rank inside the top 200 in either the Golfweek’s Best lists for modern or classic courses.
Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with the list of top public-access courses in each state among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.
Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list for Indiana is likewise included below.
MORE: Best Modern | Best Classic | Top 200 Resort|
Top 200 Residential | Top 100 Best You Can Play
(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960
(c): Classic course, built before 1960
Note: If there is a number in the parenthesis with the m or c, that indicates where that course ranks among Golfweek’s Best top 200 modern or classic courses.
* New to or returning to list
Best public-access courses in Indiana in 2022
The Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort in Indiana (Courtesy of French Lick Resort)
1. French Lick Resort (Pete Dye)
French Lick (T140m)
2. French Lick Resort (Donald Ross)
French Lick (T193c)
3. The PFAU Course at Indiana University
Bloomington (m)
4. Warren GC at Notre Dame
South Bend (m)
5. Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (Kampen)
West Lafayette (m)
6. Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (Ackerman-Allen)
West Lafayette (m)
7. The Fort
Indianapolis (m)
8. Chariot Run
Laconia (m)
9. Brickyard Crossing
Indianapolis (m)
10. Harrison Hills
Attica (c)
Best private courses in Indiana in 2022
Victoria National in Indiana (Courtesy of Dormie Network)
1. Victoria National
Newburgh (T47m)
2. Crooked Stick
Carmel (T63m)
3. Culver Academies
Culver (93c)
4. Sycamore Hills
Fort Wayne
5. Chatham Hills*
Westfield (m)
How we rank courses
The hundreds of members of the Golfweek’s Best ratings panel continuously evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings.
.