Southern Comfort, Nature Abounds in Louisiana
The Louisiana Audubon Trail mixed with the urban attractions of New Orleans
By Tom Lang
If you’re a Michigan golfer looking forward on the calendar at options to play golf in the South, and you favor purely natural settings like those which are certified by Audubon, one option could be the Louisiana Audubon Golf Trail.
I had the chance to explore four such courses on the ‘trail’ plus one urban parkland course in ‘NOLA’ in a recent trip with several media buddies. One location was steeped in opportunities to also go fishing on a huge, well-stocked lake along the remote border of eastern Texas. Other locations were set up for the gaming and entertainment nightlife – plus the TPC of Louisiana course that hosts the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic is close enough to the city of New Orleans to enjoy all the urban trappings that so many travelers enjoy adding to their itineraries for some spicy variety.
The playing order can vary, but we started with the urban course first, not far from the airport – the Bayou Oaks South Course at City Park. Near the Gulf of Mexico coastline, City Park was devastated and completely submerged below Hurricane Katrina. Now since repaired and renovated with the help of Reese Jones, Bayou Oaks is part of the smaller version of the overall property that had multiple courses. It’s a typical flat land course you’ll find near many similar large regions of water, but was fun and playable enough that golfing two foursomes ahead was former NFL New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, if that’s any barometer for you.
The TPC of Louisiana was a former swampland filled in to create the playground for the pros, yet it remains open to the public so they can experience the same tournament conditions. In 2016, Michigander Brain Stuard won the Zurich Classic there, that sent him to the 2017 Masters.
“I think it has a nice mix of holes,” Stuard told me recently. “It’s got some birdies holes obviously and then it’s got a good set of four par 3s, Holes 9 and 17 specifically. Really good holes, and depending on which way the wind’s blowing, can be tough. I’ve just always thought of it as a fun course to play.”
When I told Stuard my favorite stretch of 3 consecutive holes were numbers 7-9, he agreed.
“Yes, No. 7 is a cool par 5,” he said about the double dog-leg creation of Pete Dye’s. “If you hit a good drive, you can get it up around the green (on second shot). Number 8 has a fun little green (on the drivable par four) where you have to hit a good wedge in to have a good putt at…And obviously 9 is a tough par 3 that has no real bailout. (With water left) if you bail out to the right, it’s a tough up and down. I agree, that’s a fun little stretch.”
When staying in NOLA, travelers have all the traditional options. There’s the French Quarter, seafood, seafood and seafood, the Sazerac House Museum which touts the invention of the cocktail in the early years of what natives called ‘Coffee Houses’ – and the incredible National WWII Museum. It’s a must see and a great option if the weather one day is not conducive to golfing, or even if it is. The historic museum truly takes a half day or more to explore it all. You can absorb the history among incredible and artistic displays, which shares the war history from a unique perspective.
The museum also owns The Higgins Hotel across the street, an incredible lodging treat dripping in classic New Orleans history. Its profits go into promoting education at the museum.
Heading west on the trail, golf options include the Koasati Pins at Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder; the Tamahka Trails Golf Course at Paragon Casino in Marksvile, and Cypress Bend Golf Course on the shores of Toledo Bend Lake. The latter massive collection of fresh water is from a dammed up river, stretching 65 miles long and splitting Louisiana with Texas.
This year Koasati Pines was voted No. 1 course in the state by GolfPass.com. It regularly hosts the Notah Begay III Invitational for many of the best junior golfers in the country, and this year will receive some golf TV coverage. In general, the lowland is relatively flat like the large rice patties nearby, and sports wide fairways, all of which are secluded from each nearby hole. It has large greens and offers a 19th hole par 3 to settle any ties. It’s also the longest course in Louisiana, measuring 7,617 yards from the tips.
Nearby is a great water flow (the Ouiska Chitto River) with white sandy beaches that attract canoeists and tubing for those who want to be outdoors, but golf is not their No. 1 activity. This Allen Parish location is also filled with tons of guided hunting and fishing, historic sites, and Native American celebrations.
Tamahka Trails Golf Course is a fun resort course with some elevation changes not found at the prior three courses. I liked the mix of long and short holes, the par 3s and the one drivable par 4 (which by the way, layup). My favorite stretch of holes were No. 15-17. The first is a par three with a beautifully framed backdrop of trees, followed by a shorter par 4 hard dogleg to the right. The drive can easily be swallowed up by one of many small bunkers at the fairway’s bend, then comes a second shot to an elevated green on the opposite side of a creek. The 17th is the drivable par four but with a green set slightly to the left of center, making it tougher to reach.
The entire property, with casino structures, will get an ongoing $30 million upgrade.
As of publication of this May edition, Cypress Bend is starting a major strip-down renovation. The large rolling hills along the freshwater lake shore are truly Up North Michigan-esque – a totally made-up word simply to inspire a picture in your mind. All new grasses are coming, with a handful of holes being re-routed to make even better use of the water views and golf strategies. Give it a couple years to be re-worked and grown in, but if your buddies love to fish and play golf in a deadly-quiet remote location, this could become one of your best trips-you-never-expected-nor-thought-about-before.
