Gulf States

Omni Barton Creek Beams Anew

It was a glorious return to Texas Hill Country golf. I worked in the golf business in Austin in the early ’80s, and played most of the courses in and around Texas’ capital city, though the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa had not opened back then.

So when the time came, in early 2019, for my first rounds at the two courses surrounding the resort — the Fazio Foothills and the Coore Crenshaw — I savored a memorable return to the region.

“What you find at Barton Creek is true Hill Country beauty everywhere you look,” Director of Golf Phillip Marburger said. “It’s why people come here.”

“Most think of Texas as kind of flat … they picture West Texas, cows and tumbleweeds. But they get here and they see all the change in terrain, the hills and the canyons, and they find it just beautiful.”

While the Coore Crenshaw and Foothills courses lie adjacent to each other around the resort, they are distinctly different.

“Each designer has a different look and feel,” Marburger said. “The Coore Crenshaw is more of a links style with the rolling hills, the large greens and running shots into the greens … while the Fazio course is more target-oriented and has smaller greens.”

“They both provide holes which players feel show the tremendous variety of Hill Country golf.”

The two courses have been retooled as part of a $150 million renovation project at the resort, to be complete with May with reservations available now for dates beginning May 5. Course renovations included the removal of hundreds of trees and the addition, removal and renovation of bunkers.

I played both on successive days in January, the Crenshaw course first.

While the first day was, shall we say, blustery, the old adage, “if you don’t like the weather in Texas, wait five minutes and it will change,” came to fruition on the second day, when we played in near 70-degree weather.

Not bad for golf at the height of the winter.

Lake Charles Golf A Spicy Surprise

So much of America’s greatness lies in its very vastness and variety: of geography and climate, of language and culture, of backgrounds and beliefs so broad and deeply held that they find their way through every corner of day-to-day-life, from what we do for fun to what we eat for even more fun.

America is, indeed, the world’s greatest melting pot, and perhaps nowhere does that pot boil over in the best way possible than in oil-rich and hospitality-steeped Southwest Louisiana and its friendly hub of Lake Charles. Just two hours from the Houston megalopolis and about three and a half hours from New Orleans, the region cooks its Cajun, East Texas and Deep South influences into a tasty stew of down-home welcome and uptown hospitality, served with that lovely sing-song accent and spiced with potent and pleasing vacation amenities — from casino action that rivals anything in Vegas to a golf course lineup that brings the warm and watery landscape into sharp, spectacular and affordable focus.

Oh, the water. It’s everywhere; from, say, a suite on the 5^th floor of the thousand-room L’auberge Resort Casino, you can’t look any direction without seeing a river, pond, slough or, of course, lake. Fishing is like breathing in these parts, and any visitor can get in on the spotted trout, bass, flounder and redfish-catching action by booking a few early morning hours on shallow but mighty Calcasieu Lake (the locals just call it “Big Lake” since it covers some 77 square if shallow miles) in adjacent Cameron Parish, with an outfit like Hackberry Rod & Gun — they’ll set you up with rod and reel and even bait your hook with live shrimp if you’d rather not touch the little guys. And the guides know their hot spots, which means you’ll invariably pull out a few keepers, which are quickly filleted and packaged to be fried or grilled to perfection at a local eatery such as Seafood Palace, a true Lake Charles institution. Don’t forget to order a boiled crab or two and a big plate of the region’s signature dish, the meat-or-seafood-and-rice concoction known as Boudin — “boo-dan” — as well.

After all, you need to keep the protein and carbs coming, because there’s lots of golf to be played, with four courses in particular leading the Calcasieu Parish pack.

Start at the club with the stately name, The National Golf Club of Louisiana in Westlake ($37-$47 for 18 hole with cart). Designed by Southern architect David Bennett and opened in 2009 as the centerpiece of a high-end residential community, its rolling, piney routing has hints of the North Carolina sand hills, Central Florida and even a whiff of Georgia’s Augusta region. You can sometimes feel that there are homes along the circuit, but they never interfere with what plays out as a wide-open, driver-friendly experience though there’s water lining or crossing virtually every hole. Tee shots are often framed by stacks of bunkers that aren’t too deep to allow forward escape, though the “church pew”-like trio guarding the green on the par 3 5^th are daunting. Greens are on the larger side and gently sloped, but like all good designers Bennett gives you a preferred entry route depending on pin position. This is the perfect choice to get a Lake Charles golf jag going.

Gray Plantation Golf Club, Lake Charles, La. Photo by Brian Weis

Even more Augusta-like is Gray Plantation Golf Course ($45-$75), where Rocky Roquemore laces 12 holes among 670 acres of lakes just a couple hundred yards from the banks of the Calcasieu River, and pocks all 18 with 94 bright white bunkers, several of which beckon with silent challenge as you spy holes 10 and 18 from the raised plantation-style clubhouse. Two of the four par 3s have island greens (No. 13 is a true beauty nestled against a border of dense bayou flora), and one par 5 in particular, No. 7, is a wildly curvaceous beast that’s rife with risk-reward options from shot to shot — reachable in two over a reedy marsh if you bust it far enough off the box, but more likely a three-shotter of carefully thought-out right-angle approaches. Scores in one recent foursome ranged from birdie to snowman on this hole, with teaching pro Tyler Kuhn acting as local-knowledge referee. The back nine clings like a bracelet to a wrist of water and wetlands, culminating with a fine three-hole set — short par 4 over finger of pond, short par 3 over water and long, straightaway par 4 home. There’s a reason Gray Plantation was named a Top 100 track for several years running; even after Hurricane Rita laid it low in 2005, taking out several hundred trees, it came back stronger than ever.

The first hole at The Country Club at The Golden Nugget, Lake Charles, La.

Part of Lake Charles’ newest casino-hotel complex right next door to L’Auberge, The Country Club at Golden Nugget is the latest chapter written for the region’s growing golf canon. And what a bright, beautifully constructed and edited chapter it is, thanks to West Coast-based architect Todd Eckinrode’s Origins Golf Design group, who also authored Barona Creek near San Diego, one of the nation’s top casino resort-related layouts for most of this century. The Country Club has had two years to mature into perhaps the best-conditioned course in the state, with ultra-smooth Miniverde greens and Celebration tees, fairways and primary rough, which nudge up against some 15 acres of beautiful waste bunkers — with plenty of bayou beyond — that help frame and add contrast to every hole. The first hole is a wide-open par 5 that offers the first of several views of the I-10 bridge over the river; from there the course just gets more inviting and fun, with enough open looks at greens and friendly landing areas to render the best score of the week, though there’s plenty of trouble to negotiate, from copses of slender pines to sneaky fingers of reedy water. The par 3s are all gettable if you can pull your gaze from the lushness in every direction. Actually, that goes for every hole. Embrace the craftsmanship and enjoy the ride.

VIDEO BONUS!

Secret Golf’s Steve Elkington and Diane Knox visit The Golden Nugget in Lake Charles, Louisiana where they play golf gambling games, and even get in a little spa time.

It’s the same sensual deal at Contraband Bayou, L’Auberge’s older (though only by about a decade) and more well-known course right next door. Pinnacle Entertainment, the hotel’s parent company, brought in no less than Tom Fazio to make an immediate statement to the traveling golfer community: We’re a player in the casino course genre. A big player. All the trademark Fazio flairs are there from the very first tee shot — flashed, trick-the-eye bunkering; landing areas that appear slim at first glance but get more generous the closer you get; healthy approaches to big, moderately sloped greens with curvaceous collection areas; and, overall, cool shot angles over native vegetation, around the courses eight lakes and through corridors of pine and oak. It’s one of those courses that creeps up on you as you negotiate it, then look back and tell yourself, “Damn, that was good.” And we’d stack up Contraband’s muscular final stretch against that of any course in the South — just as we’d stack up the chip-flipping action in the casino next door against any Nevada mega-casino you can think of.

That’s one of the remarkable things about L’Auberge, the Golden Nugget and Lake Charles’ barge-bound gaming product: It’s the real deal. These places are packed with funseekers year-round, and they aren’t shorted on the accommodation or dining fronts, either — L’Auberge’s rooms are beautifully appointed and its eateries — an Asian showcase, down-home Southern kitchen, buffet, high-end Embers Grille and the absolutely outstanding Jack Daniel’s Bar & Grille — cover all the hunger bases and then some.

Tia Juanita's — Tia Juanita’s in downtown Lake Charles, La.

Then again, great food is found at every turn in Lake Charles. The compact and quaint downtown area, about a 15-minute drive from the casinos, offers family-style Cajun-Mexican fusion (Tia Juanita’s Fish Camp), steak and seafood spiced with more Cajun twists and surrounded by the art of George Rodrigue (Blue Dog Café), and many other types of cuisine. If you’re jonesing for a great sandwich on the go, give Darrell’s Po Boys a shot — their hot ham and turkey on fresh bread is most and messy miracle. Lake Charles has also joined the craft beer revolution with the recent opening of Crying Eagle Brewing Co., which is already shipping three types of well-made brew — Ready to Mingle Belgian Ale, Calcasieu Common Ale and the bestselling Chuck Golden Ale — and offers meeting space and live entertainment.

So … Lake Charles serves up great golf, gaming, fishing, food, beer and hospitality, all tendered in warm mid-South weather (OK, steamy in the summer), for far less outlay than many comparable destinations, and within easy reach of major cities from coast to coast via Dallas or Houston via American or United Airlines. It’s the perfect place to let the good times roll, on and off the fairway.

www.visitlakecharles.org

Fairmont Turnberry Isle

What do professional golfers who play for a living have that you don’t? Besides ungodly amounts of natural talent and multiple six- or seven-figure endorsement deals, most of them have teams of highly trained specialists fine-tuning every detail of their games. From a player’s swing mechanics to his or her physical and mental well-being, no stone is left unturned in order to maximize performance on the golf course. But what about the rest of us mere mortals? Is there a way and a place where, even if for just a while, we can experience what it’s like to be pampered like a pro? You betcha. And we found it at one of the most luxurious golf resorts in North America.

Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Miami has partnered with legendary performance-training coach Pete Bommarito, founder of Bommarito Performance Systems, Dr. Matthew Cooper, president of USA Sports Therapy, and PGA Teacher of the Year Bill Forrest to create the ultimate luxury game-improvement experience for golfers of all ages and abilities.

Bommarito is renowned for his work with numerous professional athletes, including Jason Pierre-Paul and Matt Forte. Under Dr. Cooper’s direction, USA Sports is recognized as one of the world’s leading organizations for rehabilitation, prehabilitation, physical therapy, neuromuscular therapy, chiropractic care and overall health and fitness. Forrest is widely considered one of the top golf coaches in the world and counts among his students Masters Champion Seve Ballesteros, Grace Park, Jimmy Connors and Mia Hamm.

“This is an unprecedented partnership that is transforming Fairmont Turnberry Isle’s already acclaimed reputation as a premier golf resort into the ultimate performance training center for golfers and other athletes at all levels,” said David Feder, managing director for Fairmont Turnberry Isle. “There really is nothing else like this available at any other resort of our caliber.”

Through this collaboration, guests can access the very same experts who ensure professional golfers, athletes and celebrities are at their very best, including: physical therapists, golf instructors, biomechanical specialists, fitness trainers, nutritionists, rehabilitation therapists and muscle activation specialists. These individuals work as a team to develop completely customized short- and long-term programs for each client, based upon his or her abilities, limitations and goals.

The process starts with an in-depth biomechanical assessment. Afterwards, depending upon what the client wants, the team can make recommendations for programs, ranging from fitness training and physical therapy to rehabilitation and nutrition, in addition to comprehensive golf lesson plans. Even though clients typically only work directly with the team for a few days at a time, Bommarito said their broad network of contacts enable them to provide referrals across the country to help clients continue their programs after leaving Fairmont Turnberry Isle.

In addition, clients receive valuable take-home materials, including detailed training, nutrition and rehabilitation plans, DVDs, photographs and the like to help them follow the prescribed programs on their own or with their own trainers and golf coaches. Clients also have access to continued counseling via phone or e-mail if they desire.

Though guests of Fairmont Turnberry Isle are welcome to book these services a la cart, perhaps the best and easiest way to experience this type of elite-level game improvement is through Fairmont Turnberry Isle’s new Golf Performance Package. The package, which is available year-round, includes: luxurious oversized accommodations overlooking the resort’s magnificent grounds, a one-hour assessment and golf-swing analysis, daily one-hour golf clinics, daily breakfast buffet at Fairmont Turnberry Isle’s Cascata Grille, unlimited golf on either of the resort’s two acclaimed 18-hole golf courses and admission to the award-winning Willow Stream Spa.

Of course, guests can also access all of Fairmont Turnberry Isle’s other considerable charms. Just minutes from Fort Lauderdale and Miami International Airport, the stunning Mediterranean-style resort is spread across 300 lush tropical acres with nearly 400 beautifully designed guest rooms and suites. It offers excellent tennis facilities; multiple dining options, including Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak; a lagoon-style pool with waterslide and lazy river; a state-of-the-art conference center; a supervised children’s program; a private Ocean Club and complimentary shuttle to the nearby Aventura Mall.

Pricing for this package is seasonal and can be acquired by calling (800) 441-1414 or by visiting www.fairmont.com/turnberryisle. And by the way, we recommend you get in touch with the folks at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle soon. It truly is one of our favorite golf experiences in the United States.

FOCUS ON

The Fairmont Turnberry Isle’s world-class golf and learning centers are just a taste of the considerable attractions in the Miami area. The beaches are the obvious daytime destinations. But when the sun goes down, the town truly comes to life. You won’t want to miss it. The best people-watching and the epicenter of famed South Beach is about 25 minutes south of the resort along historic Lincoln Road, between Lenox and Washington Avenues._ÊHere you can dine alfresco at favorite spots like Sushi Samba, Books & Books, Van Dyke’s and Quattro. There also are tons of boutiques for shopping and plenty of lively nightspots for you to discover.

Golf in the Gulf

golf-gulf-2nd-Craft-Farms-Cotton-Creek-course-crop

I’m willing to bet everything in my meager Roth IRA that about as many people know that Alabama has a scenic shoreline on the Gulf Coast of Mexico as know how to spell “Kyrgyzstan” (which has to be one awesome play in Scrabble).

Not only does Alabama have a coastline a few miles due east from the start of the Florida Panhandle, it happens to be 32 miles of as glorious a waterfront you’ll find this side of mesmerizing St. Thomas in the Caribbean. We’re talking wide expanses of dazzling sugar-white sand so soft and powdery, you’ll want to lie on your back and create sand angels. Surprising is the word that comes to mind.

The golf is surprising as well with the superb Kiva Dunes—a real honest-to-goodness links course played through sand drifts and hollows with roughs of sea grass as penal as Muirfield (the real one).

Designed by Bama’s own Jerry Pate, Kiva Dunes gives ample proof that Mr. Pate has a fondness for Scottish-style golf, as he’s built a layout where consideration must be paid to the wind gusts off the nearby Gulf before attempting your shot. Most of the dune-flanked green fronts are able to accept an old school “keep it out of the breeze” run up. One can imagine Old Tom Morris offering Pate a wee dram and a hearty “Well done, laddie!”

Two Kiva Dunes holes are of the highest order. The par-3 13th, at 175 yards to an exposed flag perched menacingly on a giant dune rising up out of the earth like a burial plot for a wooly mammoth, tests your mettle from tee to green. Your mettle better have one heck of a short game if you don’t have a putter in your hands for your second, as the green has more twists and turns than a 22-year-old Elvis after a triple espresso. Lurking silently left is a canal which bisects the course and is very much in play for any pitch hit too strong or played off the wrong swale. Good luck._Ê

The par-5 15th is flat-out worth the airfare from wherever you are to the Pensacola Airport, which is about 40 minutes away as the seagull flies. With the teeing ground slightly raised behind a grove of brush, you’re just able to spy the flagstick fluttering on a dramatic hillock 540 yards straight ahead with cavernous steep bunkers surrounding the plateau in a sinister semi-circle. All the lurking trouble is in plain sight; all that’s required is three perfect shots and the finesse of a cat burglar. The hole could be airlifted and dropped right onto Ballybunion or Dornoch and nobody would be the wiser. Mr. Pate, a U.S. Open winner at the Atlanta Athletic Club, obviously has more in his quiver than just a first-rate golf game.

Here’s my idea for you and your golfing pals. Forget your annual Myrtle Beach golf trip for one year, and give Gulf Shores a try, as there’s more than the superb Kiva Dunes to scratch your golfing itch. There’s a ton of golf within minutes of the beaches.

Craft Farms boasts 54 holes of first-rate golf built on 870 acres of old coastal wilderness. The land was formerly a gladiola nursery and then a sod farm—perfect ingredients to brew excellent golf. The Arnold Palmer-designed Cotton Creek championship 18 takes you through soft rolling hills, quiet lakes, with groves of pine, oak and cypress trees framing the pristine fairways. The tranquil surroundings are a magician’s sleight of hand, as your score creeps higher and higher as Mr. Palmer’s diabolical design continually teases you to cross water hazards that seem well within your capacities but aren’t. This is death by a thousand cuts—you don’t even know how bad you’re bleeding until you’re back sipping something cool in the roomy comfortable clubhouse. Throw away the scorecard, and enjoy the sweet Alabama air.

Craft Farm’s Cypress Bend, another Palmer layout, is a more forgiving 18 with fairways wider than a Disney World parking lot. That’s not to say there isn’t water and trouble on this Bay Hill clone, but Mr. Palmer has given you plenty of room for your hook or slice to do the voodoo that they do and still land in the short grass. The greens are slick and well-guarded, but you’ll get within hollering distance of your handicap.

Lost Key Golf Club, just across the nearby Florida border, is as tight as Cypress Bend is wide. Lost Key was the first golf course in the world to be certified as an Audubon International Silver Signature Sanctuary. Most every hole is flanked by swampy bogs full of critters with no shoulders and giant waterfowl with beaks longer than most one-irons. My advice is to take plenty of golf balls and play Lost Key as your starter round. You’ll get a taste of what a petri dish this section of the world is, and every other course in the area will seem as broad as the Grand Canyon.

With nine courses in the immediate area, including the not-to-be-missed Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club, you can golf to your heart’s content, but save plenty of time for the mesmerizing sunsets over the stunning beaches. If you can’t lower your blood pressure on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, no amount of Lipitor is going to help.

To make your Alabama golf journey even more stress free, contact the Gulf Shores Golf Association for their myriad of stay-and-play packages at www.golfgulfshores.com or (888) 815-1902. Beachfront accommodations run the gamut from hotel rooms to comfy beach houses big enough to hold a Walton Family Reunion. Myrtle Beach will still be there next year. I’m not sure about Kyrgyzstan.
_Ê

Gulf States

The Gulf Coast region of Alabama, Louisiana and the state we learned to spell phonetically–M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I–may not be the first place you’d think of for a golfing trip, but the more you learn about what it has to offer, the more you realize what a viable choice it is. The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama, the Audubon Golf Trail in Louisiana and the Golf Coast Golf Trail in Mississippi are wonderful golfing venues that feature courses designed by some of the greatest architects and players in the game. They include Jones, Donald Ross, Pete Dye, Arnold Palmer, David Toms, Hal Sutton and Davis Love III. Add to that great culture, great food, great music and Southern hospitality, and you have one unforgettable golf vacation.

Take the aspects that enhance the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. A Scottish-style course with more than 150 pot bunkers. Another course where water comes into play on 12 holes. A monstrous 701-yard par-5. Holes with 200-foot elevation drops. Courses with names like The Heartbreaker, The Backbreaker and The Mindbreaker. Rolling fairways. Huge pine trees. In all, there are 378 holes at eight locations throughout the state. A ninth site, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at The Shoals, in Florence, Ala. as well as Ross Bridge, a 10th site located in Hoover, Ala., have recently been added. Green fees start at $35 and rarely rise above $57, plus tax.

“The green fees are one of the great values in golf,” says Barbara Thomas, vice president of advertising and marketing for the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. “The courses are very challenging and memorable.”

The Audubon Golf Trail in Louisiana–named after John James Audubon, the famous naturalist and artist who painted 80 birds of America during his time in Louisiana–also has plenty to offer. There’s the native terrain of bayous and wetlands. Cypress trees that are 400 to 500 years old. Golf courses cut out of sugar plantations. The new TPC of Louisiana at Fairfield. The nine locations have 171 holes full of challenges. Plus, there’s nearby New Orleans. As they say, it’s a true sportsman’s paradise.

In Mississippi, the Golf Coast Golf Trail has 26 miles of diversity that run near or along the Gulf of Mexico. There are old courses like Great Southern Golf Club, which Ross designed in 1908, and modern courses like The Bridges Golf Club at Casino Magic, which Palmer opened in 1997. Kevin Drum, executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Golf Association, says the variety of old and new courses makes this area different.
_Ê _Ê_Ê_Ê _Ê _Ê_Ê_Ê _Ê
“We have courses that are perfect for various budgets and various skill sets,” says Drum. “We have short courses, inexpensive courses and championship courses.”

The Trail also has great seafood because of its proximity to the Gulf, as well as a magnificent ratio of 12 casinos to 15 golf courses. “We’re a destination golf trail,” says Drum. “You can find good places to eat, good casinos and good golf courses.”

Truly, the Gulf golf trails are a premier stay-and-play destination. Says Eric Kaspar, administrator for the Audubon Golf Trail, “Golf down here has an old-world feel to it. It stems from the rich culture, our history and the beautiful, natural environs. More important, visitors will enjoy the very warm, very welcoming nature of the people. Southern hospitality flows through in everyone and everything.”

Also, don’t forget the Southern shores, stretching from Gulf Shores, Alabama, all the way to New Orleans. Golf travel aficionados have already dubbed this stretch the next Myrtle Beach, as it seems golf courses continually sprout up each and every year.

So there you have it. The Gulf States are fast becoming a golf destination right along side the nation’s other popular golf hotbeds. Come see for yourself. We know “ya’ll gonna have a great time.”

Getting There

Mississippi
Unlike the other two Gulf trails, the Mississippi Golf Coast collection is tightly packed along the coast between Bay St. Louis and Gautier (a stretch of 60 miles, or one course per every four miles). The city of Biloxi is located in the middle of the trail, making it the best bet for flight departures and arrivals. Biloxi is but 90 miles from New Orleans, a major airline hub.

Alabama
To access the Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama, arriving in Birmingham is your best bet, as it’s the most centrally located city along the Trail, which spreads from Huntsville in the north to Mobile in the south and covering all points east and west. To reach Gulf Shores, Alabama, Pensacola Airport is a short 40 minute ride away.

Louisiana
The Louisiana Audubon Trail is equally spread out, covering all corners of the sportsman’s paradise. Audubon treks should begin in New Orleans or in the Trail’s northernmost outpost, Shreveport.

More Information
Mississippi Golf Coast
www.golfcoast.com

Louisiana Audubon Trail
www.audubontrail.com

Alabama Robert Trent Jones Trail
www.rtjgolf.com

Gulf Shores Golf Association
www.golfgulfshores.com

What To Bring & When To Go
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What To Bring
Playing golf in the Gulf States of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi doesn’t require an overabundance of packing. Shorts will make things comfortable, especially in the summer. Sunscreen is another plus, particularly when the sun gets strong. Insect repellent is a good option. Cooler weather creates the need for a rainsuit and/or long-sleeve wind shirt.

Don’t forget lofted specialty clubs like a 5-wood, 7-wood or even a 9-wood to combat the thick Bermuda rough that’s so prevalent in the area. With a 5-wood or 7-wood, it’s easier to get the ball up and out of the rough because the clubhead is hitting down into it. On normal lies, the ball will fly higher with a utility wood, which is good when you’re hitting into the greens, most of which are bunkered or surrounded by rough.

Finally, don’t forget to bring extra money, particularly if you’re playing in Mississippi, where there are 12 casinos (and 16 golf courses) along the 26-mile Golf Coast Golf Trail, including the king of all Mississippi gaming centers, Tunica (www.tunicamiss.com).

When To Go
Mild year-round temps translate into 12 solid months of tee times. Of course, expect cooler temps in the winter months, and humid heat, as well as the greatest amount of precipitation, in the summer months.

Average Temps	_Ê	_Ê
New Orleans, La. (High/Low, _¡F) January _Ê_Ê_Ê 63_¡/45_¡ February _Ê_Ê_Ê 66_¡/48_¡ March _Ê_Ê_Ê 73_¡/55_¡ April _Ê_Ê_Ê 79_¡/60_¡ May _Ê_Ê_Ê 85_¡/68_¡ June _Ê_Ê_Ê 90_¡/73_¡ July _Ê_Ê_Ê 92_¡/75_¡ August _Ê_Ê_Ê 92_¡/75_¡ September _Ê_Ê_Ê 88_¡/72_¡ October _Ê_Ê_Ê 81_¡/62_¡ November _Ê_Ê_Ê 72_¡/54_¡ December _Ê_Ê_Ê 65_¡/48_¡	Birmingham, Ala (High/Low, _¡F) January _Ê_Ê_Ê 52_¡/36_¡ February _Ê_Ê_Ê 56_¡/37_¡ March _Ê_Ê_Ê 66_¡/42_¡ April _Ê_Ê_Ê 74_¡/44_¡ May _Ê_Ê_Ê 81_¡/57_¡ June _Ê_Ê_Ê 65_¡/87_¡ July _Ê_Ê_Ê 89_¡/69_¡ August _Ê_Ê_Ê 99_¡/68_¡ September _Ê_Ê_Ê 83_¡/62_¡ October _Ê_Ê_Ê 74_¡/50_¡ November _Ê_Ê_Ê 67_¡/42_¡ December _Ê_Ê_Ê 57_¡/38_¡	Gulfport, Miss. (High/Low, _¡F) January _Ê_Ê_Ê 61_¡/42_¡ February _Ê_Ê_Ê 64_¡/45_¡ March _Ê_Ê_Ê 69_¡/51_¡ April _Ê_Ê_Ê 76_¡/58_¡ May _Ê_Ê_Ê 83_¡/66_¡ June _Ê_Ê_Ê 87_¡/71_¡ July _Ê_Ê_Ê 89_¡/73_¡ August _Ê_Ê_Ê 90_¡/74_¡ September _Ê_Ê_Ê 87_¡/69_¡ October _Ê_Ê_Ê 79_¡/58_¡ November _Ê_Ê_Ê 71_¡/51_¡ December _Ê_Ê_Ê 63_¡/45_¡ _Ê

Where To Play

_ÊLouisiana	_Ê
Carter Plantation (Springfield) David Toms shows love for his home state with the subtle, yet challenging design. Par 72, 7050 yards (74.4/140) (David Toms) (225) 294-9855 www.carterplantation.com	Olde Oaks (Haughton) Hal Sutton’s tribute to the natural Louisiana environment. Meadow 9 Par 36, 3681 yards Cypress 9 Par 36, 3681 yards The Oak 9 Par 36 3622 yards (Hal Sutton) (318) 742-0333 www.oldeoaksgolf.com

Graywood Golf Club (Lake Charles) Home to some of the strongest par-3s in the state. Par 72, 7233 yards (337) 562-1663 www.graywoodllc.com	Tamahka Trails (Marksville) Routinely hosts local US Open qualifying tournaments. Par 72, 7019 yards (74.4/133) (Steve Smyers) (318) 240-6300 www.paragoncasinoresort.com

TPC of Louisiana at Fairfield (Avondale) Home of the PGA Tour’s HP Classic of New Orleans. Par 72, 7600 yards (Pete Dye) (504) 436-8721 www.tpclouisiana.com	_Ê

_ÊMississippi

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Diamondhead Country Club
(Diamondhead)

Challenging yet playable for all skill levels.
Par 72, 6831 yards (72.7/132)
(Earl Stone)

(800) 346-8741
www.diamondheadms.org

Gulf Hills Golf Club
(Ocean Springs)

One of Mississippi’s oldest courses is still one of its best.
Par 71, 6266 yards
(Jack Daray)

(228) 872-9663
www.gulfhillsgolf.com

Great Southern Golf Club
(Gulfport)

Opened in 1908 and designed by Donald Ross, this is pure golf.
Par 71, 6238 yards (70.4/124)
(Donald Ross)

(228) 896-3536
www.gsgc1908.com

Mississippi National
(Gautier)

Strategy and shot placements are key on this beautiful course.
Par 72, 6983 yards (73.1/128)
(Earl Stone)

(228) 497-2372
www.mississippinational.com

Shell Landing Golf Club
(Gautier)

A Davis Love III, neo-classic design.
Par 72, 7024 yards (73.2/128)
(Davis Love III)

(866) 851-0541
www.shelllanding.com

The Bridges Golf Club at Casino Magic
(Bay St. Louis)

Arnold Palmer’s only course design in Mississippi.
Par 72, 6841 yards (73.5.138)
(Arnold Palmer)

(800) 562-4425
www.casinomagic-baystlouis.com

Capitol Hill
(Prattville)

54 spectacular holes designed to make you play every shot in the bag.
The Judge
Par 72, 7794 yards (77.8/144)
(Robert Trent Jones)

The Senator
Par 72, 7697 yards (76.6/131)
(Robert Trent Jones)

The Legislator
Par 72, 7323 yards (74.1/126)
(Robert Trent Jones)

(334) 285-1114
www.rtjgolf.com

The Oaks Golf Club
(Pass Christian)

Known as the ultimate tournament venue in Miss.
Par 72, 6885 yards (72.5/131)
(Landmark Company)

(228) 452-0909
www.theoaksgolfclub.com _Ê

Alabama

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Cambrian Ridge
(Greenville)

27 holes of lushness and tranquility.
Loblolly
Par 35 3551 yards

Canyon
Par 36, 3746 yards

Sherling
Par 36, ,681 yards
(Robert Trent Jones)

(334) 382-9787
www.rtjgolf.com

Grand National
(Opelika)

Beauty with bite.
Links Course
Par 72, 7311 yards (75.1/135)

Lake Course
Par 72, 7149 yards (74.3/136)
(Robert Trent Jones)

(334) 749-9042
www.rtjgolf.com

Cypress Bend at Craft Farms
(Gulf Shores)

Popular for numerous doglegs and slick greens.
Par 72, 6848 yards (72.4/127)
(Arnold Palmer)

(251) 968-7500
www.craftfarms.com

Kiva Dunes Golf Club
(Gulf Shores)

One of the best coastal courses in the South.
Par 72, 7092 yards (73.9/132)
(Jerry Pate)

(888) TEE-KIVA
www.kivadunes.com

Oxmoor Valley
(Birmingham)

Three courses with very distinct and enjoyable personalities.
Valley
Par 72, 7292 yards (73.9/135)

Ridge
Par 72, 7055 yards (73.5/140)

Short (Par-3 Course)
Par 54, 3360 yards
(Robert Trent Jones)

(205) 942-1177
www.rtjgolf.com

The Woodlands at Craft Farms

Creativity pays off on every hole here.
Par 72, 6484 yards (70.8/123)
(Larry Nelson)

(800) 327-2657
www.craftfarms.com

Gulf States Area Accommodations
Whether you’re heading to Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana or all three, there is an abundance of great resorts where you can hang your head after full days of golf. Some of our are favorites are listed below:

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Where To Stay	_Ê	_Ê
Kiva Dunes 815 Plantation Road Gulf Shores, Ala. (866) 540-7100 www.kivadunes.com	Marriott at Capitol Hill 2500 Legends Circle Pratville, Ala (866) 330-5343 www.pchresorts.com	Marriot’s Grand Hotel One Grand Blvd Point Clear, Ala. (251) 928-9201 www.pchresorts.com

Paragon Casino and Hotel 711 Paragon Place Marksville, La. (800) 946-1946 www.paragoncasinoresort.com	Cypress Bend Golf and Resort Center 2000 Cypress Bend Parkway Many, La. (877) 519-1500 www.cypressbend.com _Ê	The Villas at Carter Plantation 23475 Carter Trace Springfield, La. (225) 294-7555 www.carterplantation.com

Casino Magic Bay St. Louis 711 Casino Magic Drive Bay St. Louis, Miss. (800) WIN-BIG2 www.casinomagic-baystlouis.com	_Ê	_Ê

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Where To Learn	_Ê	_Ê
Chuck Winstead Golf Academy University Club Baton Rouge, La. (225) 819-0800 www.universityclubbr.com	The Academy of Golf Oxmoor Valley Golf Club Birmingham, Ala. (205) 769-1349 www.rtjgolf.com	Mississippi Golf Schools The Club at North Creek South Haven, Miss. (800) 365-6640 www.afgs.com

Local Knowledge
When fall begins and cooler weather starts rolling in, things really heat up in the Gulf States. Yes, it’s time for Southeastern Conference football, and for pigskin fanatics; it doesn’t get any better, unless you supplement your football weekend with a round or two of golf. Now, that’s living!

For some, golf will always take a backseat to the gridiron exploits of LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State and Old Miss. Savvy golfers, however, know there’s nothing better than combining pigskin and putts on fall weekends.

Challenging courses can be found near the various campuses within the distance of a screen pass or a last-second, game-winning Hail Mary bomb. When the weekend is over, you won’t just be yelling “Go, Tigers!” (or whomever you’re rooting for). You’ll just be going back for more.

Alabama
In the campus’ hometown of Tuscaloosa, Ol’ Colony (www.tcpara.org) is a hidden gem that was one of the first courses designed by native Alabama son Jerry Pate. Large lakes come into play on five holes of the 7,066-yard, par-72 layout. Tall pines and oaks provide the feel of the Old South. The 435-yard, par-4 18th hole is entirely guarded by water on the right and woods on the left. If that’s not enough, the front left of the green is elevated and the back is tiered.

Auburn
Stay local and go to Grand National (www.rtjgolf.com) in Opelika, Ala., where the scenic Lake Course, featuring 12 holes that run along the shore of Lake Saugahatchee, may do the impossible and take your mind off the gridiron. Here’s the skinny on the 7,149-yard, par-72 layout, which is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: Bring extra golf balls because the 230-yard, par-3 15th hole–complete with island green–is likely to diminish your supply.

Louisiana State
Ready for a 7,151-yard, par-72 course with a slope of 150 and a rating of 75.3? Then travel 45 minutes from Baton Rouge to The Bluffs on Thompson Creek (www.thebluffs.com), in St. Francisville. This Arnold Palmer design is both a beauty and a beast. “It combines beauty and a challenge,” says Patrick Meehan, men’s golf sports information director for LSU. “There’s no easy hole.” The ’04 NCAA Women’s Championship and the ’00 NCAA Men’s Championship were held on the Lakes Course.

Mississippi State
It may seem like a “hare” long to travel more than an hour from Starkville to Dancing Rabbit Golf Club (www.dancingrabbitgolf.com) in Philadelphia, Miss., but architects Jerry Pate and Tom Fazio have teamed up to create two 18-hole courses full of par-72 diversity. The Azaleas Course is 7,128 yards from the tips, while the Oaks is a mere 7,076 yards. The mega-resort, located on the land of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, also features casino gambling.

Ole Miss
Kirkwood National Golf Club (www.kirkwoodgolf.com) in Holly Springs, Miss., about 30 minutes from the Ole Miss campus in Oxford, is a true outdoor adventure from start to finish. Kirkwood’s key holes are the back-to-back 188-yard 4th hole, where the green is completely bunkered in front, with water in the back, and the 614-yard 5th hole, which doglegs toward a green elevated 30 feet above the fairway.