Deep South Part III – Gulf Coast

After Texas we headed back east to play six courses along the gulf coast to wrap up this latest golf trip.  Our first stop took us to Lake Charles, Louisiana to play Gray Plantation (#88 Last Ranked in 2007).  Gray Plantation was built as part of a real estate development which in my mind, automatically gives it one strike against.  It would take a real standout design to make my Top 100 if many of its holes were lined with homes.  I know that those courses exist, but they are few and far between.  This Rocky Roquemore design was in very nice shape and was quite fun to play.  The layout has many interesting holes and I especially liked the bunkering.  They are well groomed white sand bunkers that are fairly shallow but they really add to the visuals on many of the holes.  Water also comes into play on many holes but not so much that you felt you were being penalized for a slightly off line shot.  The greens were smooth and very healthy but have a type of Bermuda grass that is slightly more coarse than many of the newer fine bladed grasses that are now commonly used.  This made them roll a little slower but that is just me being a little picky.  The shop attendant was very friendly and helpful.  Gray Plantation might not be Top 100 caliber right now, but was very enjoyable to play and I think the members and other area residents are very lucky to have this course to play on a regular basis.

To the north of Baton Rouge in St. Francisville is another golf course that was built as part of a real estate development,  The Bluffs at Thompson Creek (#80 Last Ranked in 2007).  This is an Arnold Palmer design that we caught at a very bad time.  To begin with, let’s mention the positives about The Bluffs.  The clubhouse is very nice, we had a great lunch before playing, and the waitress and the bag attendant were very friendly and helpful.  The golf course had a few very memorable holes and I could see that when it was new and in good condition, it was probably highly rated.  Unfortunately there were a several negatives as well.  To begin with, the young man working the pro shop was not only disinterested in helping us, he gave us no information about the course or the flood that they endured just a few weeks prior to us arriving.  It was just, “take any of the carts down the stairs and the first tee is up the path to the right.”  When we arrived at the second tee, we could see that this par five was now a par three with a temporary green.  Most of the area by the original green was destroyed by the flood and had not yet been rebuilt.  All the tees on the third hole were washed away except the forward tee so it pretty much played as a very drivable par 4.  I have no problem dealing with this type of unfortunate natural disaster, but I do have a problem with not being forewarned about the situation.  Many other greens had some turf problems as well ,but overall, they putted just fine.  Every hole was lined with homes except the dramatic par 3 17th.  The very nice homes did not infringe on the course as they were set back in the trees but this still detracts from the otherwise serene location of The Bluffs.  I was also not a fan of some of the doglegs that had very little in the way of a landing zone.  Because of the infringement of the trees, you only have one half of the fairway to work with.  The bunkers had not been worked up for some time and were full of leaves as well.  It is always a little sad to see a very nice golf course being neglected because of finances or the owners apparent lack of interest in maintaining the standard that it deserves. 

The final Louisiana course that we played is the host of the PGA Tour’s Zurich Open.  The TPC Louisiana (#99 Last Ranked in 2011) located just outside of New Orleans is a Pete Dye design that was fun to play (unless you were in one of Pete’s famous pot bunkers).  It is a playable course for the average golfer, but you can tell that it was built with the touring professional in mind.  Almost every hole has either water or a very long bunker on one side of the fairway and a series of small but very penal pot bunkers on the opposite side of the fairway.  All the staff we encountered were very friendly and helpful.  The greens were in top condition and the green complexes were designed to provide plenty of recovery options if you missed even slightly.  The course is very flat which makes it walkable with the tees located close to the greens.  The setting is quite peaceful with no homes or buildings in sight.  Dye saved his best for last as holes 16, 17 and 18 are fun to play but challenging.  If I had to come up with any negatives, it would be the lack of any elevation changes and a lack of rakes for the traps.  Many of the small bunkers had no rakes at all and the large bunkers (sometimes 50 yards long) may only have two or three rakes.  If you have over 100 bunkers on your course and none are treated as waste areas, you need to provide a few more rakes.  Although not one of my top favorites, I liked TPC Louisiana and would enjoy playing it anytime the opportunity would provide.

We were back in Mississippi after leaving Louisiana but this time we were going to play the two top courses near the coast.  Grand Bear (#95 Last Ranked in 2005) near Saucier which is just a few miles north of Gulfport and Biloxi was our first challenge.  Once we left Highway 49, it was a winding six mile road through the DeSoto National Forest to reach the clubhouse.  What awaited us there was a very nice surprise.  This Jack Nicklaus design was a joy to play and a very serene four hour experience.  Jack as usual gives you plenty of room off the tee and adds just enough bunkering to keep it interesting and challenging but not overpowering like so many of his earlier designs that we have played.  Grand Bear is now a nice addition to my previous favorite Nicklaus designs which are Old Works and Pronghorn.  The condition of the course was very good and you can tell that despite the somewhat remote location, they are doing their best to keep the course up to snuff.  There are no homes on the site and it is designed so you cannot see any of the other holes as you make your way around this lovely layout.  Grand Bear does not have what I call an outstanding “signature hole”, but there are many, many wonderful holes that are a joy to play.  Is this course capable of making the current Top 100?  Probably not, but it easily makes the next 100 and is worth the effort to play if you are in the area visiting one of the many casinos or if considering a Mississippi buddies trip.  By the way, they have a terrific clubhouse that sits perfectly in the wooded setting.  We really loved Grand Bear and would highly recommend it.

The following day we played the highest rated course on our trip, Fallen Oak (#38 on Current Rankings).  We stayed at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino which is required if you want access to this course.  The hotel and golf course are owned by MGM Resorts which also owns the highly regarded Shadow Creek course in Las Vegas.  I have not yet played Shadow Creek but they consider Fallen Oak to be its sister course and the staff tries to pamper you as such.  I love good service but I thought it was a little overdone as in the first five minutes we were greeted by four different staff members.  A young lady loaded our clubs and parked our car.  (They parked it 20 feet from where we were standing.)  Our shoes were then literally taken from us by another eager staff employee and ushered to the locker rooms.  (I assume they do not want golfers changing their shoes in the lot.)  While checking in at the pro shop, our shoes were cleaned, polished and had new spikes installed by the locker room attendant.  Special treatment for sure but maybe a little presumptuous.  (Perhaps I did not want my spikes changed.)  Anyway, everyone was very helpful and quite friendly and made us feel very welcome.  The practice area is outstanding which I expected since they host a yearly Champions Tour event at this facility  The starter was very helpful and also apologetic since he had to inform us that they just sent off five foursomes from a company outing in front of us.  Once all of this was behind us, we tried to get in the proper frame of mind to enjoy this Tom Fazio design and to take in the course without the inevitable slow play influencing our thoughts about the course itself.  It did not take long to realize that Fallen Oak is an outstanding course with hole after hole both impressing and challenging you at the same time.  From Fazio’s zoysia grass  muffin top bunkers to the large fast greens, this design is both a beauty and a beast.  The conditioning was top notch in every aspect.  The green fees are rather high at $200 but the cost of the required accommodations at the Beau Rivage were the lowest of our entire trip at $92.  I agree with Golf Digest that Fallen Oak is worthy of its Top 100 ranking and would recommend that you give it a try when in the southern Mississippi area.  Just prepare yourself to be pampered in the clubhouse and challenged on the course.  It is a day well spent.  By the way, the restaurant has terrific views of the course and has outstanding food.  Be sure to leave time for a drink and lunch and a little relaxation to soak up this wonderful golf experience.

The final course on this golf junket is located in the Florida panhandle near Panama City Beach.  Camp Creek (#74 Last Ranked in 2013) was an awesome way to wrap up 12 days of golf over the four states in which we traveled.  The entire staff was quite helpful and engaging and you get the feeling of a private club experience when you are a guest at one of the St. Joseph properties.  We stayed at the beautiful Watercolor Inn on the beach and would rate our room as the best of this trip.  This was the fourth Tom Fazio design on this golf journey and we felt that it was equal to both the highly rated Fallen Oak and Fazio Canyons.  When I asked the staff about not being rated since 2013, they felt that not enough raters come to the course and that the ownership may not be that concerned about the rankings as they have a very high membership and is only open to outside play if the golfer is staying at their properties.  Regardless of its current ranking omission, this is an outstanding golf course.  Fazio gives you plenty of room off the tee and uses just enough sand and water to add to both the strategy and the beauty of the holes.  The real challenge of scoring well at Camp Creek is on and around the greens.  Some of the greens are massive in size and all of them are extremely fast and in magnificent condition.  Despite the number of beach properties nearby, there are none in sight when on this course.  The setting is very serene and we saw many deer among the trees near the fairways.  Play this course if you appreciate the finer things about great golf course design.  I feel that Camp Creek belongs in the Top 100 and I will be adding it to my Top 50 most enjoyable courses that I have played.