Three Mississippi golf courses made a Golfweek list of the Top 100 public courses in the US. See where to play a top green near you. What to know
Three Mississippi golf courses have made a Golfweek list of the Top 100 best public access courses in the U.S.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast was named among the "10 best destinations in the US for a golf getaway" in the USA TODAY 10BEST Readers' Choice Awards.
The area is home to some of the oldest golf courses in the state. Whether you love a public fairway or a more exclusive experience, your trip will be in full swing as soon as you step on the green. Some are tied to local casinos and resorts that offer golf packages that include lodging, food and more. Several use natural surroundings to make your time putting around feel as private as possible.
Which Mississippi golf courses are some of the best in the US?
Every course on the Golfweek list has public access, though how you gain that access varies. Some have daily green fees while others require you to stay at an affiliated resort or hotel.
Golfweek has hundreds of people who work to rate courses across the U.S. Each criteria gets a score of 1-10 and a single overall rating. The overall ratings are averaged to create the rankings.
Fallen Oak: Tied for 35th place
Fallen Oak Golf Course in Saucier is regularly ranked the top course in the state by GolfDigest. (The site also ranks it No. 48 in America's best public courses.)
Architect Tom Fazio built the 18-hole course around streams, lakes, marshes and century oaks, along with pecan and magnolia trees. It's exclusively for guests at Beau Rivage, which offers golf and hotel packages.
- 2024 ranking: Tied for 33rd
- Average rating: 7.10
- Architect: Tom Fazio.
- Era: Tied for 97th best Modern.
Mossy Oak in West Point: Tied for 47th place.
GolfDigest ranks Mossy Oak in West Point the No. 2 course in the state and No. 82 for best public greens in the nation.
Late businessman George Bryan headed up the project, turning a dairy farm he played on as a child into the popular golf destination.
The course opened in 2016 and was designed to look like it had been there for decades. Architect Gil Hanse did his work on the course just after finishing the Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro. They removed one tree and used dirt from the bottom of a course bond to build up some holes. Sand for the traps came from the Tombigbee River.
- 2024 ranking: 46
- Average rating: 6.93
- Architects: Gil Hanse, Jim Wagner
- Era: Tied for 132nd best Modern
Old Waverly: Tied for 87th place.
GolfDigest ranks Old Waverly in West Point No. 3 in Mississippi.
Old Waverly is a sister course to Mossy Oak and another project of Bryan's. It opened in 1988 and has hosted the U.S. Women's Open.
The design was the second collaboration between course architects Bob Cupp and Jerry Pate.
You must stay on the property to play, and rates vary by season.
- 2024 ranking: Tied for 81st
- Average rating: 6.62
- Architects: Bob Cupp, Jerry Pate
- Era: Modern
What are the Top 10 public golf courses in the country?
According to Golfweek, these are the Top 10 public access golf courses in America.
- Pebble Beach Golf Links at Pebble Beach Resorts in Pebble Beach, CA
- Pacific Dunes at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, OR
- Pinehurst No. 2 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, NC
- Straits at Kohler Whistling Straits in Mosel, WI
- Bandon Trails at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, OR
- Old Macdonald at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, OR
- Bandon Dunes at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, OR
- Black at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, NY
- Shadow Creek by MGM Resorts in North Las Vegas, NV
- Ocean at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, SC
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: 3 Mississippi golf courses make Golfweek Top 100 best public courses in US
Category: General Sports
