Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
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Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom/Courtesy of Crooked Stick
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Dave Sansom
Crooked Stick Golf Club
Crooked Stick Golf Club
1964 Burning Tree Ln
Carmel, IN 46032-7907
United States
Overview
Crooked Stick is the course where Pete Dye became Pete Dye. Conceived following an extended tour of British courses, Pete founded Crooked Stick, located the land, raised the funds and designed the course, rejecting conventional golf holes in favor of radical ones, using bulkheads of vertical telephone poles to create abrupt change and long expanses of sand to emulate dunes. What’s more, he built it himself, pressing even his wife, Alice, and young sons, Perry and P.B., into construction work. They opened the back nine first, in 1965, with MacKenzie-style boomerang greens; the front nine came two years later, with lines and angles appropriated from Donald Ross. Crooked Stick was the first Dye course to host a major championship, the 1991 PGA Championship, just a month before the Ryder Cup visited his brand-new Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. Tom Doak finished renovation work in late 2024, but the goal was to enhance and sharpen the Dye features rather than change them, so the changes may not be noticeable.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
100 Greatest: Ranked from 1971-2006, 2009-'20 and 2025-'26.
Highest ranking: 54th, 2003-'04.
Previous ranking: 101st.
2025-'26 ranking: 99th.
Second 100 Greatest: Ranked from 2021-'24.
Best in State: Ranked first, 1985-'89, 1995-'97. Ranked second 2013-'26. Ranked fourth, 2011-'12. Ranked inside the top 5 since 1977.
2025-'26 ranking (and previous): 2nd.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“A Pete Dye gem, with a unique balance of original design and classically-inspired features such as Raynor and MacKenzie greens or church pew bunkers. A difficult test from any tee box that requires every shot in the bag. Recent "refresh" elevates the entire Crooked Stick experience."
Read More2025
Review
“If you can get on, you have to play here. A lot of history here, along with a great classic Pete Dye course. Worth the effort to try to get on and play."
Read More2025
Review
“I played Crooked Stick about three years ago, so I was eager to see the results of the recent Tom Doak refresh. And "refresh" is exactly the right word—it’s not a full redesign, but rather a thoughtful, subtle enhancement that elevates the overall experience. The routing and general layout remain true to Pete Dye’s original vision, but the greens have all been rebuilt and recontoured. These updates have significantly improved shot variety and challenge, particularly on approach. The expanded green surfaces now allow for a wider range of pin positions, demanding greater precision with your mid- and short-irons. Off the tee, Crooked Stick still plays as a wide-open driving course, but the strategy really comes on the approaches. The fairways were in excellent condition—fast and firm—while the greens were receptive, yet challenging. The course aesthetics were also top-notch, adding to the enjoyment of the round. Design-wise, the mix of holes keeps things interesting. There are a few straightforward, no-frills long par 4s, but also some beautiful and strategic par 3s. My personal favorite is the 6th—an all-carry shot over water, framed by an old bridge behind the green and those signature Pete Dye telephone pole barriers that add a unique touch. The short par-3 16th is another standout: a forced water carry to a semi-hidden green that can be deceptively difficult. The par 4s also test your decision-making, like the 8th hole—offering a wide landing area right of the water but punishing passive play with a tougher angle into the green. The 11th hole, a reachable par 5, looks a bit different, as Doak expanded the pop up grass mound features in the bunkering down the right side, adding their own "church pew" feature. It is quite stunning. Then there’s the dramatic finishing stretch. The 18th is a bold risk-reward par 4 that tempts longer hitters to carry more of the water hazard in exchange for a better approach into a well-protected green. Holes 16 through 18 form a challenging stretch that can make or break your round. The demanding green complexes ensure that even a slightly off-line shot can bring bogey—or worse—into play. Overall, Doak’s refresh respects the original character of Crooked Stick while subtly sharpening its strategic edges. It’s a fantastic evolution of a classic course."
Read More2025
Review
“This is an early Pete Dye design that may be some of his best work."
Read More2025
Review
“Recent(2024-2025) renovation by Doak with wall to wall re-grass and slight tweaks to bunkering, green contours, and a tree removal. This was one of Dye's original courses and he lived off of the 18th fairway during the summer months. Conditioning is typically the best in the state with firm and fast conditions throughout aided by miles of drainage trenches that were progressively added over the years. The signature hole could arguably be the 6th, 8th, or 18th. The 6th offers a downhill par 3 guarded by pond to the short right with a difficult up and down to the left if one bails....a covered bridge frames the hole to the right of the pond. The 8th is a picturesque downhill par 4 with a green complex that is guarded by water to the left that has rail road ties transitioning between water and green. Difficult finish with the long par 3 17th guarded by a pond on the left and the long dogleg par 4 18th that is guarded by water the entire length of the hole as well as a difficult green complexes that offers many challenging pin positions."
Read More2025
Review
“"For the longest time, I felt like Crooked Stick was a ""big fish, small pond"" in that Indianapolis isn't a hotbed for great golf; but after playing their renovation/refresh and several replays before that, if it's not THE best example of Dye's work it's one of the best. There are so many incredible concepts and strategic elements, there are hero shots, difficult shots, and just such a wide variety of holes and greens. Describing it as such it even sounds like it could be difficult to fit all that together, but it's just a design that works from start to finish. It can be an absolute monster and also an enjoyable daily play course. It's extremely versatile - truly a work that all architecture nerds should study - I still dislike 1, but think they've improved it by opening it up a bit - 3 is one of the best par 3s on the planet and is so because of the incredible green. A difficult shot to the front pin and impossible to the back pin, but also tempting to hit it where you shouldn't - 6 is a classic Dye hole, the railroad ties, the lake, the bridge, it's just really good - 7 might be my favorite on the course and a consummate Dye template of a left to right tee ball works best, right to left shot into the green. The slopes around the green make it, but the slightly blind tee shot is one of the best on the course - 8 is such a hard hole and great example of Dye's ""hit the hard shot now, or hit the hard shot later"" the closer to the water you can play, the easier the second shot becomes - the creek running thru 9 is awesome and the green is so difficult, any shot that isn't great results in a tough up and down or 2 putt - 12 is another incredible Dye concept, and the green makes the hole and anything right, while looking benign is actually really difficult - 13 one of the best par 3s in Dye's portfolio - I don't love hole 14 but it's an extremely interesting tee shot and the green is wild. It's a demanding hole without let up - 15 is one of the best greens on the planet, it's perfect on the end of short 5 - 16, 17 and 18 are great finishers for a great round""
Read More2025
Review
“For the longest time, I felt like Crooked Stick was a ""big fish, small pond"" in that Indianapolis isn't a hotbed for great golf; but after playing their renovation/refresh and several replays before that, if it's not THE best example of Dye's work it's one of the best. There are so many incredible concepts and strategic elements, there are hero shots, difficult shots, and just such a wide variety of holes and greens. Describing it as such it even sounds like it could be difficult to fit all that together, but it's just a design that works from start to finish. It can be an absolute monster and also an enjoyable daily play course. It's extremely versatile - truly a work that all architecture nerds should study - I still dislike 1, but think they've improved it by opening it up a bit - 3 is one of the best par 3s on the planet and is so because of the incredible green. A difficult shot to the front pin and impossible to the back pin, but also tempting to hit it where you shouldn't - 6 is a classic Dye hole, the railroad ties, the lake, the bridge, it's just really good - 7 might be my favorite on the course and a consummate Dye template of a left to right tee ball works best, right to left shot into the green. The slopes around the green make it, but the slightly blind tee shot is one of the best on the course - 8 is such a hard hole and great example of Dye's ""hit the hard shot now, or hit the hard shot later"" the closer to the water you can play, the easier the second shot becomes - the creek running thru 9 is awesome and the green is so difficult, any shot that isn't great results in a tough up and down or 2 putt - 12 is another incredible Dye concept, and the green makes the hole and anything right, while looking benign is actually really difficult - 13 one of the best par 3s in Dye's portfolio - I don't love hole 14 but it's an extremely interesting tee shot and the green is wild. It's a demanding hole without let up - 15 is one of the best greens on the planet, it's perfect on the end of short 5 - 16, 17 and 18 are great finishers for a great round"
Read More2025
Review
“Very hard golf course. Water on 9 of last 13 holes. You WILL lose a ball. Very strategic. Angles matter. Terrific condition. Great example of Pete Dye's early work."
Read More2024
Review
“One of the premier courses in the state of Indiana."
Read More2023
Review
“Pete Dye at his best. He continued to tinker with it until his recent death. Lots of history on this good course. Private, need a sponsor to play it."
Read More2023
