"Golf" is definitely a four-letter word but for those who love the sport, it is divine rather than obscene. Golf aficionados or just weekend players are fortunate to have some of the best golf courses in the nation right here in central Indiana.

Plum Creek Country Club in Carmel has been chosen to host the State Open this year. Also in Carmel, the Prairie View Golf Club won praise from Great Lakes Golf magazine, and Golf Magazine said, "Prairie View could exist comfortably in golf meccas such as Pinehurst and Hilton Head."

Cicero’s Bear Slide Golf Club has been rated by Golf Digest as "one of America’s top 75 affordable golf courses" and calls it the seventh best in the state. Golf Magazine lists it on the "top tier" must play list.

GolfWeek named The Fort Golf Resort in Indianapolis as the No. 1 public course in the state and Golf Digest gave Westfield’s Hanging Tree a three-and-a-half star rating.

Other highly rated courses in east central Indiana are Purgatory Golf Club in Noblesville, Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis, and Ironwood Golf Club in Fishers.

Noblesville boasts a good selection, including Forest Park and Fox Prairie, Harbour Trees, Pebble Brook, Sagamore Club, and Stony Creek. Clubs in Fishers are Gray Eagle, Hawthorns, and River Glen.

Madison County has the following courses: Anderson Country Club, Anderson; Brockway Golf Club, Lapel; Edgewood Country Club, Anderson; Grandview Golf Club, Anderson; Killbuck Golf Club, Anderson; Meadowbrook Golf Club, Anderson; and Yule Golf Club, Alexandria. Nearby in Henry County are Tri-County Golf Club and Valley View Golf Club in Middletown. Also near are Muncie’s Crestview Golf Club, Delaware Country Club and Maplewood Golf Club. Yorktown has The Players Club, and Greenfield has Arrowhead Golf Club and Greenfield Country Club.

For a complete resort vacation, along with a supreme golf game, French Lick Springs is the place to go. It is located at the junction of 145 and 56, 95 miles south of Indianapolis.

Other courses of interest include the Royal Hylands Golf Club in Knightstown, which was named "Best Course for the Price in Central Indiana" in 2001; Walnut Creek Golf Course between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, which offers viewing of wildlife including deer, fox, mink, bluebirds, and blue herons; Autumn Ridge golf Club in Fort Wayne, which features 17 lakes; and Cherry Hill Golf Course in Fort Wayne, which is surrounded by some of the city’s most beautiful home sites. For those who believe in Christmas year-round, there is the Christmas Lake Golf Club in Santa Claus.

Golf enthusiasts will find a long list of places to enjoy the sport in Marion County. Courses include Buffer Park, Coffin, Crooked Creek, Eagle Creek, Grassy Creek, Highland, Hillcrest, Maple Creek, Meridian Hills, Morningstar, Northeast, Pleasant Run, Riverside, Saddlebrook, Sarah Shank, Sahm, Smock, South Grove, Southern Dunes, Winding Ridge, and Winding River.

For a more complete list of Indiana’s golf courses and their locations, log on to golfus.com.