Donald Ross #13

Getting To Know: The Donald Ross Course at French Lick

An Insightful Interview With Andy Fortner, PGA, Head PGA Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Andy Fortner, PGA who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The Donald Ross Course is a favorite amongst people in Indiana. A challenging layout that underwent a 5 million dollar restoration in 2005 headed up by Dave Harner and the Cook Group. Ranked as the #2 Public Course in Indiana according to Golf Week Magazine. The historic course was host site of the 1924 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen and hosted the 1959 and 1960 LPGA Championships. After the renovation, the Cook Group's vision for golf at French Lick is once again great tournament golf. The Pete Dye and Donald Ross Courses were home to the 2010 PGA Professionals National Championship and they will host the 2012 through 2014 Mens (Dye) and Womens (Ross) Big Ten Golf Championships along with the Indiana State Open in July of 2012. Come be a part of great golf, great hospitality and great memories at French Lick Resort.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Most of the greens at The Donald Ross Course are elevated, most people dont take that into account when playing it the first time and feel like they are always coming up short. Club up, but dont club up too much as the greens slope back to front.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #16

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Hagen's Restaurant is home to some of the best food in town and also boasts some great great views of The Donald Ross Course at French Lick.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 70
Yardage: 7030
Slope: 74.7
Rating: 135

More Information
The Donald Ross Course at French Lick
11260 West State Road 56
French Lick, IN 47432
812-936-9300 ext 7215
www.frenchlick.com

Revised: 05/11/2012 - Article Viewed 40,451 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.