Casino Resort. Another
coastal favorite is Beau Rivage
Resort & Casino’s Fallen Oak
course in Saucier near Biloxi,
site of the annual Mississippi
Gulf Resort Classic, scheduled
for March 19-25, 2012. Tom
Fazio designed the 510-acre,
par-72 course. You must be
a guest at the resort to play
there, but staying in any
of the resorts has benefits
beyond golf. Top-name
headliners such as Clint
Black, Lee Greenwood and
Faith Hill draw crowds to the
casino stages. Some resorts
have world-class spas and
superb restaurants, including
BR Prime and Jia at Beau
Rivage, and Mignon’s Steaks
& Seafood at Palace Casino.
In Choctaw, in the Pines
Region of the state, Fazio and
Pate together designed the
36 holes at the Pearl River
Resort’s Dancing Rabbit Golf
Club. Pate also worked with
golf architect Bob Cupp on
the design of the private Old
Waverly Golf Club in West
Point. Cupp, who created
courses with Jack Nicklaus
before starting his own
design company, was also
the architect for Mallard
Pointe, the course in John
W. Kyle State Park at Sardis.
And Nicklaus, “The Golden
Bear,” designed the course
at Annandale Golf Club
in Madison. It’s a private
course, but you can follow
players on the PGA Tour
during the True South golf
classic held there each fall.
Head to Tunica in the
Mississippi Delta, and you’ll find Harrah’s Scottish links-style course, The Links at
Cottonwoods, one of three championship courses in the area. It was designed by Hale
Irwin, one of only six players to have won three U.S. Opens. Between rounds, visit
Tunica’s new visitor center and blues museum on U.S. 61. While you’re at it, slip on down
to Clarksdale and have dinner at Madidi, a gourmet restaurant owned by local attorney
Bill Luckett and actor Morgan Freeman. Then wander over and listen to live blues at
Ground Zero Blues Club, also owned by Freeman, or Red’s Lounge.
Pick a place in Mississippi, and you’ll find a public golf course, along with plenty of other
things to see and do when you’ve finished the last hole.
Play a State Golf Course
Mississippi’s state park golf courses offer
good value. Regular greens fees for 18
holes begin at less than $40, well below
the fees in most resort areas.
D The Dogwoods Golf Course at Hugh White State Park in Grenada follows a
hilly layout alongside Grenada Lake.
D LeFleur’s Bluff State Park in Jackson is the perfect place to play a quick nine
holes with the family.
D Mallard Pointe Golf Course in John W. Kyle State Park near Sardis was designed
by Bob Cupp and also offers a nine-hole
short course.
D Quail Hollow Golf Course at Percy Quin State Park near McComb has an
18-hole championship course, a nine-
hole executive course, a driving range
and a putting green. Fallen Oak Golf Club, Saucier near Biloxi 1)
The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis 2)
Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, Choctaw 3)
The Preserve Golf Club, Biloxi 4)
The Links at Cottonwoods, Harrah’s Tunica 5)
Quail Hollow Golf Course, McComb 6)
4
2
5
3
6
Mississippi Suits Golfers to a Tee
Feature