FRENCH LICK, Ind. -- The Donald Ross Course at the French Lick Resort Casino is set for a Sept. 9 unveiling of a $4.6 million restoration of the famed golf course where Walter Hagen won the PGA Championship in 1924.
"With the reminiscent design, a new computerized irrigation system, redesigned cart paths and a clubhouse that's a throwback to the Hagen era, the Donald Ross Course at French Lick will provide golfers the unique opportunity to walk in the footsteps of history, and make some history of their own," said Dave Harner, director of golf at French Lick Resort Casino.
The casino has worked closely throughout the renovation with the Donald Ross Society to preserve the course?s historical integrity, and the restoration aims to return the course to Donald Ross' early vision. The project includes restoring greens and bunkers to their original shapes and creating native grass areas that will emulate the Scottish links-style playing condition.
"With entirely new cart paths, a computerized total irrigation system and golf carts equipped with GPS, players will have a blend of the traditional playing experience with modern technologies," Harner said.
Greens and tees have returned to their more traditional, squared look -- a Ross design standard. Walk mowing and riding mower patterns will help the bent grass greens achieve their early 20th-century shapes, according to Harner.
More than 90 deep, unforgiving bunkers feature rough-hewn edges, also reminiscent of Ross' early style. Thirty-five bunkers have been added back to the course from Ross' original plans -- they had been removed through the years to speed play and save maintenance costs.
All tee boxes have been reconstructed. The par 70 course plays 7,030 yards from the championship tees; 6,517 from the Donald Ross tees; 5,983 from the regular tees; and 5,050 from the forward tees.
While the Donald Ross Course will challenge even the best golfers, three holes are sure to stand out in the minds of all who grace its greens.
The focal points of the eighth hole will be its severely sloping green and the treacherous fairway bunker that guards the inside of a 90-degree dogleg left, which is a Donald Ross design signature. The par-5 15th hole, the course's longest at 659 yard, is not likely to yield many two-putt birdies.
And the short par-3 16th is sure to be the course's most talked-about hole as its green is being returned to its original cloverleaf shape. The six bunkers strategically placed around the green, coupled with the green's unique shape, make it deceptively difficult.
The course renovation is an "impact project" for the resort, said Steve Ferguson, chairman of Cook Group, Inc., part owner of the $382 million resort project that includes both the French Lick Springs Hotel and the West Baden Springs Hotel. Coupled with the construction of a Pete Dye-designed course near the West Baden property and a reconstructed Tom Bendelow course adjacent to the French Lick Springs Hotel, Ferguson said, "We soon will have three must-play courses in Indiana. This truly will be a special place."
Ferguson emphasized the courses are vital components in the overall restoration and development project, adding that "French Lick will be the Midwest's premier resort, casino and golf destination."
Established in French Lick in 1917, the Donald Ross Course (formerly the Hill Course) was the site of the 1924 PGA Championship, where Hagen closed out Englishman James Barnes on the 36th and final hole of the two-round match-play championship.
Similarly, Betsy Rawls walked off the 72nd hole at the course in 1959 with an LPGA Championship, leaving Patty Berg in defeat. Mickey Wright won the tournament there a year later.
Notable celebrities who played the course include Bing Crosby, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, boxing great Joe Louis, and many other noted professional and amateur golfers through the decades.
As a nod to the past, the new clubhouse and golf shop have a historic theme, complete with antiques and old Ross-era photos, as well as a restored antique bar for the lounge.
The unveiling of the Ross Course will mark the first of the southern Indiana resort destination's many highlights to be opened to the public.
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