From the time Lori Atsedes first competed on French Lick Resort’s golf courses 10 years ago, they felt like home.
Now, they really are home for this well-traveled, groundbreaking golf pro.
A former professional on the LPGA Tour and competitor on the Senior LPGA Tour, Atsedes just wrapped up her second full-time season as head golf pro at the award-winning Donald Ross Course at French Lick Resort. Atsedes played in five U.S. Women’s Opens on the LPGA Tour, won the 2011 LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals Championship and spent five years on the LPGA Tour before becoming a regular member of the Legends of the LPGA, the official senior tour of the LPGA.
She then spent time in golf course operations at championship courses in Arizona and Texas. Now, it’s small-town Indiana where Lori is making her mark. She’s the first female head golf pro in the resort’s history.
“I don’t think there’s another place on earth that I would be happier,” says Lori, who was recognized as the LPGA’s Midwest Section Professional of the Year in 2022. “It’s hard to explain to people. And my dad is 8 hours down the road, my sister is 3 hours down the road, and I feel like I’m home, even though it’s not home. Everyone here, they’ve just embraced me, and I’m the luckiest person to be here, to be honest.”
Although she didn’t pursue a professional golf until the age of 27, Atsedes quickly made a name for herself. She is a 7-time Symetra Tour winner, making her the winningest player on that tour and giving her a total of 26 professional wins. Atsedes was also a competitor on two seasons of the Golf Channel series The Big Break, finishing in the top 3 in both Big Break Ka’anapali and Big Break Dominican Republic. She also played professionally in Europe and has competed in 27 different countries.
Atsedes played in the Legends Championship and then the Senior LPGA Championship in French Lick every year from 2013 through 2019, and the relationships formed there became Atsedes’ inspiration for pursuing her newest professional challenge.
“Coming to French Lick for that first tournament in 2013, all I did was dive into the community of people there, and it became all about the people, which is always has been for me. And then all these years later, there’s a great opportunity for me to come to French Lick and work,” she said. “The things that golf can do for people or bring people together from all walks of life, it’s just an amazing thing to be a part of.”
Starting in 2024, Lori can even make a personal appearance to elevate your golf getaway.
French Lick’s brand-new “A Day on the Links with Lori” package includes one hour of golf instruction and nine holes on the course with Atsedes herself. (If you’ve ever had the opportunity to chat with her, you know she’s never met a stranger.)
It’s the perfect way to experience French Lick Resort’s award-winning courses, and rub elbows with one of the most magnetic personalities of women’s golf.
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