This Deep South Golf Trip was not as long as the Northwest trip 2 1/2 months prior, but it was plenty long enough considering the short break between the two. We were able to break it into two parts with a nice respite from the travel by taking two relaxing days over Thanksgiving in Dallas with our son Jason’s family. And then, after the final leg, we enjoyed some more down time at our condo in Pawley’s Island, SC. I know, we have it pretty rough, but after many years of work and at age 70, we carry no guilt. It is our hope that many of our friends and family are also able to get out and participate in the activities that they enjoy.
We saw another part of America up close and it was fun experiencing the courses of Mississippi, Louisiana and central Texas. We played 11 more courses from the Top Hundred Public Course Rankings and one, Mossy Oak, that we feel should make its way onto the next list in 2019. Public golf runs the gamut from municipal owned courses, privately owned courses, casino owned courses and resort owned courses. They can all be fantastic layouts in pristine condition or they may have fallen on hard times and are just trying to keep the course open. We experienced a little of each on this trip but fortunately, most were wonderful designs and in very good condition.
A few numbers that sum up of the trip are as follows:
Miles Driven 4,248
Average Cost of Golf $114
Average Cost of Hotels $195
The most expensive hotel was the Watercolor Inn near Panama City Beach, Florida at $364 but is was a fantastic room with a great view. We unfortunately had to pay $324 for a Hampton Inn in Baton Rouge as it was located five minutes from the LSU campus and they had a home football game that weekend. The least we paid was at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino at just $92 per night. Casino hotels usually do not charge much for their rooms as they assume you will lose your money in the casino, but we stayed clear of the casino mainly because of the smoke filled atmosphere which they allow many places in the south. The most interesting place we stayed was the Clubhouse at Dancing Rabbit. There are 8 large rooms upstairs in the clubhouse that also has a restaurant, offices and the pro shop downstairs. When they closed that evening, we had the place to ourselves as we were the only guests on this particular night. That was a little eerie as it was like staying in a large plantation home by ourselves. This is a very nice facility that they reserve for couples only.
Fazio Canyons at Barton Creek near Austin was the most expensive round of golf at $250. It was a terrific golf course but not so sure it worth that price. The least we paid for golf was $45 at Gray Plantation in Lake Charles, Louisiana and it was a very nice course, especially for that price. The golf course with what I consider the best value or having the most “bang for your buck” was Mossy Oak near West Point, MS at $75. There are not many Gil Hanse courses you can play for $75. Grand Bear at Saucier, MS at $70 was also a very good value as it is an outstanding Nicklaus design that we really enjoyed playing.
Once again it was a delightful journey together. I wonder what will be next? Just 33 to go!
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