A Fall Swing Thru the Deep South (Part One) Northern Mississippi

It has only been two months since we returned from our epic three week golf adventure of the Northwest United States in which we played 22 rounds including 19 courses from the current or past Golf Digest Top 100 Public Course Rankings.  I normally like to take a little more time off between big trips involving multiple courses, but since we were heading to our son Jason’s home in Dallas to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his family, I thought that it would be a great opportunity to drive instead of fly and experience several more ranked courses.  A 12 hour drive was necessary to get us from northwest Ohio and to our first stop in West Point, Mississippi.  It was a long drive but playing Old Waverly (#43 on Current Rankings) on our first morning got us right back into what we enjoy; experiencing great courses, seeing new locations and enjoying the challenges that great course architects provide for golf enthusiasts.  Old Waverly is a Bob Cupp and Jerry Pate design that provides an exceptional golf experience.  It is diverse, interesting and challenging but very fair.  You know going in that it will test all parts of your game when you see that the blue tees of 6,496 yards carry a slope rating of 139.  I chose to wisely tackle this outstanding design from the white tees at 6,096 yards which carries a slope of 126.  The layout is cut through a rolling tree lined location and has many strategically placed bunkers and just enough water to keep your attention.  There are two holes on the back nine, 14 and 15, that make you think seriously about your driving strategy before striking your tee ball.  Holes seventeen and eighteen provide a stout finish to this outstanding design.  Old Waverly has a nice mix of distances on the par 3’s, 4’s and 5’s.  With all this being said, the real challenge of this course are the greens.  They are large, smooth and very fast.  This not only makes putting a challenge, but it is difficult to manage both the speed and break when you are pitching and chipping. I know that I lost too many strokes around the greens on my first time around this track.  Old Waverly has hosted many top competitions including the 1999 U. S. Women’s Open which tells you all you need to know about the quality of this great course. I would agree with Golf Digest that this course deserves its Top 100 rating.

I would recommend that on your first visit to the Old Waverly Resort, you arrive in the daylight as it is somewhat challenging finding your way around after dark if you are not familiar with the grounds.  We stayed in one of their fairway cottages and they are set up nicely for a foursome of golfers.  There is a common area to relax with a TV, microwave, refrigerator, sink and icemaker.  Off the common area, there are four king bedrooms and each has its own bath. The cottages are within walking distance of the clubhouse which houses the restaurants and bar areas and it sits next to the pro shop, practice area and the first tee.  Since we were there in the beginning of their offseason, we had the entire cottage to ourselves.

Just down the road from Old Waverly, is its newer sister course, Mossy Oak (New – Not Yet Rated).  Mossy Oak just opened for play on Labor Day of 2016 and has already received many rave reviews.  This wonderful design has not been around long enough to capture a Golf Digest ranking but I have no doubt that it will crack their next Top 100 Public rankings in 2019.  Gil Hanse did a magnificent job creating this gem of a golf course.  Some have called it a links style course but other than very few trees on the layout it is really not similar to a true links course.  Neither is it a parkland course, so how should it be classified?  I would just classify it as outstanding, interesting, challenging and a great deal of fun. For a course that has only been in play for a little over a year, the condition was extremely good, especially the greens.  Hanse gives you wonderful variety with respect to the hole distances and I especially loved the risk reward options on the short par 4’s, holes 3 and 10.  There are many bunkers but also plenty of room to drive the ball.  Hanse built some very interesting greens with just enough humps and slopes to make it essential that you place the ball in the correct position to have a legitimate shot of one putting.  If you find yourself out of position, you will need to  putt very defensively.  There is still work to be done on the infrastructure such as some cart paths and the permanent clubhouse, but that is immaterial when you have a course this great.  The staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful as was our forecaddie, Tyler.  You can take a walking caddie if you wish as this course is certainly walkable.  If you ride and are not accompanied by a member, you will need to take a forecaddie.  I would recommend this even if it was not required as having some knowledge about playing the hole beforehand makes for a much better experience.  The forecaddie’s help in reading the greens can be worth two to three shots per side.  The only suggestion I would have for Mossy Oak would be to add a drop area across the water and left of the green on the par three 11th.  This is a wonderful par 3 but requires a fairly good carry from the tee.  Even the ladies have a good distance to carry and a drop area would speed up play and save some golf balls for more than a few golfers.  In summary, I love Mossy Oak and will be adding it to my 50 Favorites that I have played across the United States.

After playing Mossy Oak, it was down the road about 60 miles to Pearl River Resort near Philadelphia, MS.  There are two courses at Dancing Rabbit.  They were both designed by Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate and we were there to play the Azalea Course  (#100 on Current Ranking).  Dancing Rabbit Azalea winds through a very rolling tree lined piece of land that is a real pleasure to play. There are no homes to take away from the pure golf experience and each hole stands on its own merit.  It is not overly bunkered but it is certainly strategically bunkered.  I love the fact that many greens have only one bunker protecting the putting surface but when they place the hole behind any of these bunkers, which they did quite often the day we played, it is very difficult to get your ball close.  They are typical Tom Fazio bunkers, steep faced and very deep.  Most tees and greens are elevated and the greens are very firm, so it is challenging to hit an approach shot that will stop close enough for a birdie try.  The double fairway on hole three makes for an interesting look and certainly makes you think before driving.  The par three fourth hole is a beauty and a challenge.  You can make these type of observations about almost every hole.  That is what makes Dancing Rabbit Azalea so interesting, 18 distinct holes.  I played from the white tees at 6,019 yards and the slope rating is 123.  In my opinion, the slope should be closer to 132.  This course is fair and interesting, but it is quite challenging and every hole can turn into a quick double bogey.  I did not play well on this course, but it was still a fun experience and I really liked the diversity that each hole provided.  It is worthy of its Top 100 Ranking in my opinion and I would love the opportunity to play it again.  

If you stay at the resort, you can choose either of their large casino hotels down the road, or the Dancing Rabbit Inn which is smaller and more peaceful than the larger hotels, or if you are going as a couple, consider staying at the clubhouse.  The upper level of the clubhouse has eight king rooms.  They are large, very nice rooms in a stately building and you just need to amble down the large staircase in the morning to have breakfast and check in at the pro shop.  It was a little quiet the night we stayed though as we were the only guests that particular night and when the staff left, we had the entire building to ourselves.  Just another memorable day and night to add to the many we have already experienced over the past few years.  So glad it was not haunted!