Are You Ready For Some Golf?
Where else but a player's paradise could a golfer find five signature courses designed by a quintet of the most renowned golfing legends in the world?
The caliber of golf playable on the Mississippi Gulf Coast today, all within a half-hour's drive of the beach, could lead one to ponder whether it's accident or sheer poetry that the words "golf" and "gulf" are identical save for a single letter of the English alphabet.
On par with the region's reputation as a gaming mecca, the Coast's claim to golfing destination fame is no idle boast. Its 14 public and private courses and its select trove of new tees and championship layouts put South Mississippi on the sporting map nationally, in the company of Pinehurst, Shadow Creek and Pebble Beach.
A player has not really experienced golf on the Gulf Coast unless he or she has done so lately. Katrina-damaged courses have undergone major renovations and two new major courses have opened in the past year.
Magnolias are calling
Beau Rivage Resort opened Fallen Oak, the latest Tom-Fazio-envisioned luxury golf oasis, for the exclusive use of its hotel guests.
The pristine splendor of Fallen Oak unfolds in a rustic setting that boasts dramatic elevation changes rare on the Gulf and more than 4,000 oaks, magnolias, pines and other hardwoods on a 510-acre tract at the edge of the DeSoto National Forest. The $214 green fee (Sunday-Saturday) includes amenities like well-appointed locker rooms and an Arcadian-style clubhouse. Special touches include getting your shoes shined both before and after a round at the five-teed course that stretches to a hearty 7,487 yards from the back nine.
As promised on the www.fallenoak.com Web site, "You will negotiate wetlands, overcome towering oaks, crisscross pecan orchards and magnolia groves and navigate elevation changes unparalleled on the Coast. Looking out at the 9th and 18th fairways, you can almost imagine the terrain silently observing those who play on it, calling out the challenge, 'I've been here for centuries; now show me what you're made of.' "
In December, Fallen Oak was selected by Golf Digest as the No. 2 Best New Public Course $75 and Over.
Seaside play
At The Bridges in Bay St. Louis, golfers play on the Arnold Palmer signature golf course located next to Hollywood Casino.
The course combines the excitement of risk-taking play with the natural beauty of a seaside setting that was the first in the world to achieve Audubon International Silver Signature status. The course has been ranked among the Top 40 casino courses in the country and in the Top 10 courses in the state by Golf Digest.