I've played Golden Bear in Saucier, Old Waverly, The Oaks and Azalea in Pearl River. All are excellent course but I would give the edge to Grand Bear. I'm interested in what others think.
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What is the Best Golf Course in Mississippi
- Thread starter PirateDawg
- Start date
In my eyes you have named the top two,
But it's been awhile,
#1 Golden Bear....(Grand Bear?)
#2 Old Waverly
But it's been awhile,
#1 Golden Bear....(Grand Bear?)
#2 Old Waverly
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I never played there because I wasn't that important or that good but I spent some time there and it was a classic. The only course at that level that I ever played was Dancing Rabbit. It was beautiful and kicked my ***... loved it.
I had more fun on lesser courses playing with my friends for beers or best ball rounds with 2-4 redneck buddies on a team. The best time I had was on a private course in southern Alabama where our best player and leader took a 9 hole course and redid the tees to make a 18 hole course. It would never make a PGA course but us hillbillies had a great time because most of us sucked which made best ball groups less pressure and the most fun. You also got a mulligan for every two beers you drank.
God that was a fun weekend.
You have a point, on the beer drinking
have had plenty of FUN doing that on the course, & you can do that anywhere, and I've done that plenty,
But , he is asking about high level courses.
Unless I'm wrong.
have had plenty of FUN doing that on the course, & you can do that anywhere, and I've done that plenty,
But , he is asking about high level courses.
Unless I'm wrong.
1. Annandale
2. Reunion
3. Golden Bear
Then --- Louisville Country Club. The LCC is mainly supported by members from ****Noxapater**** and the best tournament on the MS dirt circuit is this weekend there in Louisville - "The Big Event" which is full with 84 teams.
2. Reunion
3. Golden Bear
Then --- Louisville Country Club. The LCC is mainly supported by members from ****Noxapater**** and the best tournament on the MS dirt circuit is this weekend there in Louisville - "The Big Event" which is full with 84 teams.
Played here last week. Nice course but the greens were in awful shape. Don't know if they got some kind of disease but they were heavily sanded and a couple of hole were temporary greens because they were tearing out and replacing them.
Yeah I figured that I was just separating myself from that world. I could and still can really appreciate those kinds of courses and think they are amazing. I frigging love the majors and top PGA events and heard about the great courses in MS because my boss was a big golfer.
I just took the opportunity to distance myself in my abilities and share what wasn't important for me when it came to golf. I wish I had been better than my softball swing. I was unusually good with irons but never figure out the woods or putter. Most folks do have the same woods and putter issues but not as bad as I did.
Asking a message board and getting local muni dirt tracks... These are your golf courses in the state. I have played several and they all have their appeals and none would disappoint if you are used to dirt tracks.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g28945-Activities-c61-t60-Mississippi.html
I have played my fair share of courses from central Mississippi down to the coast. IF I had to rank my courses this is how they would fall.
1. Old Waverly
2. Grand Bear
3. Annandale
4. Shell Landing
5. Diamond Head
6. Dancing Rabbit
7. The Refuge in Jackson
I haven't played The Oaks or whichever is associated with the Beau.
For my money, Shell Landing or Grand Bear would be the only two I would look to play though.
1. Old Waverly
2. Grand Bear
3. Annandale
4. Shell Landing
5. Diamond Head
6. Dancing Rabbit
7. The Refuge in Jackson
I haven't played The Oaks or whichever is associated with the Beau.
For my money, Shell Landing or Grand Bear would be the only two I would look to play though.
This is a pretty good list. I would reorder it some:
1.) Old Waverly - It just has a classic golf course feel to me. Not sure how much better you can get without having water or elevation to work with.
2.) Grand Bear - I will acknowledge this is probably too high, but it has just always suited my eye. Played it before Katrina and they kept it immaculate then. Never played it when it was in bad shape but I think one reason people rank Fallen Oak higher is because it is still kept up like a premier course. I don't think Grand Bear is associated with a casino any more, so they can't do things that don't make money.
3.) The Preserve
4) Fallen Oak - almost everyone else would rank this higher. It's fantastic, I just prefer the prior three more.
5) Mossy Oak? I'm not sure how to rank this one. It's really cool that they were able to do something so different, so I may be over ranking it.
6) Shell Landing - another I may be over rating because it's different.
7) Dancing Rabbit azalea course
After that there is a drop off to me. I haven't played annandale, Tupelo, or Reunion so can't weigh in on them. Only time I played Tunica national it was 120 degrees and I played like ****, so can't judge it fairly. Kind of same with the Oaks course at Dancing Rabbit. Remember liking it but it was hot as hell and I played it immediately after playing azalea and just sort of fell apart so don't have a good feel for where it belongs. Hattiesburg is a great layout and probably belongs somewhere in the top ten or fifteen, but pine trees to me just make it feel not as nice. That's probably a personal quirk of mine. A course I really like that probably is a little too gimmicky to be on the list is the Bridges. Really cool course but sort of an irons course. Tons of holes feel like nothing but fairway and marsh. Dogwoods golf course in Grenada is a course that I think has a lot of potential as far as layout goes. Really liked it when I played it but course maintenance is obviously not up to par with some of the private or casino courses. Another sleeper is Laurel Country Club. Really solid layout but not maintained like a top course. I would not put Jackson Country Club on the list. Only time I've played it the course maintenance was great but the layout was boring. I view it as sort on the same level as the oaks. Really nice neighborhood course. I'd probably prefer the oaks layout but the Jackson CC is maintained better.
Thanks For The Big Event Shout Out
It is gonna be a large time this weekend at "The Masters of the Dirt Circuit". It's been many years since we have filled it up.
It is gonna be a large time this weekend at "The Masters of the Dirt Circuit". It's been many years since we have filled it up.
Golfweek just released their list of top 100 public courses in the U.S. and Mossy Oak was #40 on the list.
https://golfweek.usatoday.com/lists...022-top-100-u-s-public-access-courses-ranked/
You have it listed as #5 in the state and barely anyone on this thread mentioned it. I was really excited to play it on my next trip to Starkville - whenever that may be.
Is it overrated?
Opposite conditions for me- I played here when it was 50deg with 30mph winds.
Best I can describe it is that it's the type of place I would expect to play if I wanted to golf in a post-apocalyptic world.
Maybe it's developed since I played, but it was just this flat piece of land with crazy wind and nothing around it. The routing was typical of a new links style build and not memorable, the conditioning was fine and not memorable, and the indoor tennis court was the most impressive thing on that whole property.
Pretty good list - I think I'd switch Mossy Oak and HCC though. Haven't played 10-12. I like Shell Landing more than the Oaks too.
Side note - Preserve is a hell of a deal if you have a friend that's a member. I play 2-3 times a month out there with friends for $50.
Side note - Preserve is a hell of a deal if you have a friend that's a member. I play 2-3 times a month out there with friends for $50.
You'd have to ask somebody that knows more golf than me and has played more links style courses. It was just really different than what I am used to. The "links" style courses I've played tend to be coastal with a lot of water/marsh. They don't look like links courses you see on TV. Mossy oak looks a lot more similar to those but maybe with a southwest/desert type feel if you can believe it. Very few trees. Lots of waste areas. It's really cool looking and kept up like you'd expect. But I think I'd need to play it a few more times to know how to rank it. Only playing it once and it being so different for me and the area, it's just hard for me to know how much of my impression was driven by the fact that it was so different to me. But I think Golfweek ranking it that highly is probably a pretty good indication that it really is that good. I'm sure their rankings can be swayed by advertising dollars, but I've never heard of them just putting courses on their lists that don't belong.
ETA: Also, being in the top 5 courses in Mississippi is pretty damn good. We aren't really known for it, but we have excellent golf. Jerry Pate did Old Waverly, the Dancing Rabbit courses, and the Preserve (and also Kiva Dunes, another course I love). Tom Fazio did Fallen Oak and his golf courses regularly appear on top 100 US golf course lists. The Grand Bear doesn't get recognized as one of Nicklaus's best courses, but he's done some pretty incredible courses with pretty incredible budgets, so that's not really damning. Gil Hanse who did Mossy Oak also did a course of the olympics in Brazil. We may not go as deep as most other states as far as having more than a dozen good golf courses, but our top golf courses are pretty good.
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I think it's very cool and definitely suggest giving it a go. Having said that, here are some reason why one might not like it:
1) There are a TON of bunkers. If you aren't good at hitting out of bunkers, you could be in for a frustrating experience.
2) There are so many places you can convince yourself you know about where your ball is but can't find it. If you tend to hit fairways, this won't be much of a problem. I can find it frustrating, though, if my driver isn't cooperating.
3) There is absolutely no shade to be found on a hot day.
So all of that really leads to the same thing. It can be a grind.
The photos make it look amazing. I love links golf. I'll definitely check it out the next time I'm in the area.
Not a more menacing hole in Mississippi than #15 off the bluff at Clear Creek aka the Bovina Country Club.
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