FRENCH LICK — The signs are all over town: Something huge is about to happen here.
A giant golf ball planted at the entrance to the French Lick Resort. A golf-themed window display at a downtown hair salon. Freshly poured gravel at the municipal airport — they’re all in anticipation of the Senior PGA Championship golf tournament, which comes to town next week. The event takes place May 19-24 at the French Lick Resort’s Pete Dye Course.
The PGA estimates 40,000 visitors will flood into French Lick to watch the tournament, which will feature 156 pro golfers from around the world. Potentially millions of other golf fans will watch the live telecast on the Golf Channel or NBC.
“This is the crown jewel for us. This is by far the biggest event we’ve hosted to date,” said Dave Harner, director of golf operations at the French Lick Resort. Harner is also a French Lick native and a town councilman. “It takes us from being what I call a regional destination to a worldwide destination.”
Locals are excited about the event itself, but they also see it as something that could bring a long-lasting boost to the town of 1,800.
French Lick is in rural Orange County, more than 20 miles from the nearest interstate. The nearest big city is Louisville, about 75 miles away. Evansville is even farther, about 90 miles.
These geographical realities add to the “getaway” feel of a town that’s built around tourism, from a casino that opened in 2006 to multiple golf facilities and a pair of recently restored historic hotels (one in French Lick, the other in neighboring West Baden Springs) that have 686 rooms between them. But the location is also a challenge.
“It’s a place you have to want to go to,” said Cathy Beckett, manager of The French Lick Antique Gallery, one of the town’s downtown shops.
French Lick is not easy to reach and it’s little known outside the immediate area, Beckett said.
How low-profile is French Lick?
PGA employee Bryan Karns was living in Louisville and working at a PGA tournament there when he was offered the chance to move to French Lick to direct the Senior PGA Championship.
Karns knew of French Lick as the hometown of basketball star Larry Bird, but he knew nothing else of the town and had never visited.
“I was that close ... and I wasn’t familiar with it,” Karns said.
“We (the PGA) rarely come to markets this small. There’s really not any markets smaller than this.”
Karns moved to French Lick in late 2013, just a few months after the PGA announced it as the site of the 2015 Senior PGA Championship.
He, and a small number of PGA colleagues who joined him in January 2014, have been working to lay the groundwork for the event — getting to know people, working with public officials, sponsors and vendors, and working to recruit the 1,500 volunteers who will work at the tournament.
It’s the big picture — the people like Karns who have come to town to prep for the event, plus the event itself and the worldwide television exposure — that has French Lick so excited.
“I think it’s going to be huge for the community,” said Kevin Beaty, a local businessman.
Beaty and business partner Donavan Crews are the primary owners of a new Best Western Plus hotel that just opened this month in French Lick.
Beaty said he and Crews had talked about opening a hotel for several years. When they heard the Senior PGA Championship was coming to town, it helped convince them the time was right.
“That did definitely speed up the project,” Beaty said.
The hotel’s general manager, H.D. Allen, said Wednesday that the property was 95 percent full for next week’s tournament. Most of those bookings have come in since the hotel’s May 7 grand opening.
Beyond the immediate event, Allen said the tournament should bring wider exposure for the area.
“It’s basically going to put French Lick on the worldwide stage,” Allen said.
He thinks it could also help boost tourism at nearby destinations such as Patoka Lake and Paoli Peaks ski resort, both of which are within 10 miles of French Lick.
“There’s just so many things to do, that we hope the PGA (event) shines a light on that.”
Zach Brown, manager at the French Lick Municipal Airport, said his facility sees 20 to 30 aircraft in a typical week. Some are making a brief stop to refuel, but others are coming for corporate events at French Lick — or for golf or recreation.
Brown said he expects about 20 extra aircraft next week because of the tournament. The property will also serve as satellite parking for tournament volunteers and spectators. A freshly mown field with newly poured gravel driving lanes stands ready for the vehicles.
Brown also expects to see a traffic boost for the next month or so, from post-tournament buzz that draws curious golfers. He expects the area will see a long-term tourism benefit, too.
“I definitely see that happening.”
PGA fever is running so high that even a local hair salon owner has caught the bug.
Tony Kendall is the owner of the Body Reflections hair salon in downtown French Lick. His shop, with its front picture window decorated in a golf theme, has already seen a boost from the tournament. Karns and other PGA employees have become his customers. They’re clean-cut guys who get frequent haircuts, Kendall said.
Beyond the immediate impact, Kendall said, he sees potential for a huge ripple effect.
People who come to town or watch the tournament on television, Kendall says, might get their first taste of French Lick. They might like what they see. They might come back.
“This is an opportunity for us to stretch beyond our history,” Kendall said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”