One of the true Holy Grails of golf travel is to find a destination that offers a little of everything – varied courses, great options for dining and nearby places to stay, all at a reasonable price.
The Golf Club of Mississippi fits that bill in spades, thanks to its two renowned and highly ranked golf courses, six choices for lodging all within a stone’s throw of the golf and eight different on-site dining options. The property is located in West Point, Mississippi, in the north-central part of the state about a two-hour drive west of Birmingham, Alabama and an hour more southeast from Memphis.
The last two portions of the above description of The Golf Club of Mississippi might not be as enticing if the first was not out of this world. The facility here is highlighted by a pair of courses that are opposite sides of the coin – Old Waverly Golf Club, which since its opening in 1988 has been a constant among America’s Top 100 Courses You Can Play, and Mossy Oak, which may be even better.
The dual, world-class golf courses are located just across the street from one another, but in a tranquil Mississippi Black Prairie setting that feels worlds apart from the norm.
Both courses were developed and are owned by the George Bryan Family and have a nearly 30-year gap between their respective debuts. Bryan opened Mossy Oak in 2016, making a great place to play golf a real destination.
Old Waverly, designed by Bob Cupp and Jerry Pate, is a classic layout that’s routed around four lakes, features a number of homes throughout the property and is surrounded by tall pines and hardwood trees.
Mossy Oak, fashioned by Gil Hanse, is more natural, hence its nickname “Nature’s Golf.” It’s wide open and big-shouldered, with deep, rough-edged bunkers befitting a minimalist, unforced look.
The fairways and greens at Mossy Oak play firm and fast in a link-golf style while Old Waverly’s playing conditions are more manicured and soft and spongy.
Old Waverly members say Mossy Oak is “night and day” and “100 percent different” than its older sister. The consensus is that Mossy Oak is decidedly tougher.
Old Waverly set the standard in Mississippi
Old Waverly brought national attention to the Magnolia State in 1999 when it hosted the Women’s U.S. Open (won by Juli Inkster) and followed that up 20 years later as the host site for the Women’s U.S. Amateur (Gabriela Ruffels, the first Australian to capture the trophy).
Built on 360 acres of pasture and prairie, Old Waverly starts behind the regal plantation-style Waverly Mansion with its stately columns and a signature southern cupola on the roof that doubles as the course logo.
The designers resisted the temptation to overwork or modify the land, and instead allowed the grounds to speak for themselves. The other distinguishing factor are the lightning fast smooth bent grass putting surfaces that really make scoring a challenge.
Old Waverly plays through some of the most scenic acreage in the region, around beautiful Lake Waverly, with the course featuring white sand bunkers and tree-lined fairways bordered by some huge beautiful Southern mansions. Each hole is unique and home to its own set of challenges that put a premium on accuracy and shotmaking.
The front nine meanders through the gated community with a long forested stretch from holes four to seven before Lake Waverly sets the tone for the more difficult back nine. Each of the holes have a unique personality and the course is a joy to play, in excellent condition, meticulously maintained, well landscaped, and scenic.
Cupp’s low-lying bunkering is somewhat nondescript, but the layout is fundamentally solid in every respect, and at up to 7,088 yards there is sufficient length to test even the best players. Keep it in the fairway or you will encounter Old Waverly’s challenging, thick Bermuda rough.
The greens, which range from 27 to 50 yards deep, have their share of ridges and spines and plenty of slope. All of the putting surfaces are guarded by sand as Old Waverly as a whole is home to more than 100 bunkers strategically placed in the fairways and at the edge of the greens and vary in size from small pot bunkers to some tractor trailer-sized monsters. Most of the faces are steep, so don’t expect to roll out.
Old Waverly has ranked among America’s 100 Greatest in 1995 to 1998 and again in 2005 to 2006. In Golf Digest‘s latest list of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, Old Waverly ranks 75th.
Mossy Oak is wide open and loads of fun
Mossy Oak is the first course in the United States that Hanse designed after completing the Olympic Course in Rio de Janeiro that hosted the 2016 competition. The course is a collaborative effort of the Bryan family and Toxey Haas, founder of the locally based camouflage and outdoor lifestyle company Mossy Oak apparel, together with 80 founding members.
Mossy Oak is a minimalist design with less than 20 trees and more than 100 bunkers and is unquestionably a product of its Mississippi environs, in this case a property that once was home to the Knob Hill Dairy Farm. The herds of cattle are gone, but the rolling land remains, a spacious expanse that’s framed by native grasses and dotted by regal, full water oaks and sweet gum trees more than 130 years old. It’s a wonderful walking course, with Bermuda grass greens that flow seamlessly to the neighboring tee boxes, and 360 degree views of the property from many of the holes.
Hardly any dirt was moved in the creation of Mossy Oak. But the green for the par-4 sixth hole sits atop the knob at the highest point on the property, a spot from which one can count all 18 flags.
The goal was to preserve the natural habitat, leverage the prairie, oaks and native grasses and gently rolling terrain to heighten the golfer’s awareness of the outdoors and accentuate the area’s natural resources.
Hanse took special care to minimize the impact on the environment by routing 18 holes into very few acres; as a result, many holes are side by side, but you don’t seem to notice it.
Golfers will encounter a few elevation changes, challenging raised large greens, water on three holes, plenty of risk-reward opportunities and some forced carries. and very enjoyable round.
The par-5 17th features “George’s Bunker,” a massive, 30,000-square-foot expanse of sand that cuts into the hill before the green.
It’s a very strategic golf course, and golfers really have to think about where they are driving the ball, where they are laying up, and what side of the hole to hit the ball on. It’s all about strategy – if you don’t think your way around, you can get in trouble pretty quickly.
That dictum is fine but its execution is a different story altogether. Picking the proper line can often be a test at Mossy Oak, as holes can seem to blend into one another or the trouble is hidden from the tee.
Every hole at Mossy Oak is different from the previous hole and unique in some way and joy to play.
Staying here is a big part of the appeal
When you come to Old Waverly and Mossy Oak you do so with the intention of staying the night and absorbing the whole experience. The stay-and-play rate here is the same, or cheaper, than showing up to play as a daily guest.
Guests stay in spacious cottages and villas directly on the golf course with convenient parking right outside the front door. There are no hallways, no elevators, and no hotel rooms here.
Three and four bedroom cottages open to a spacious common area, each with ample seating, giant flat screen TV, tables for take-out dining and all the amenities you’d expect, producing the perfect setup for a buddies trip or overnight tournament.
Editor’s note: This feature in a different form originally appeared on the Travel Caddie website, for which the author is a regular contributor.
