Page 63 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2025

The Preserve.
Fallen Oak.
As impressive as that award might be, the golf courses prove to be even more remarkable. Nicklaus, Fazio, and
Palmer are among the many world-renown architects to work their magic on the “longest man-made beach in the world.” Grand Bear, Fallen Oak and The Bridges respectively are the artistry that only this triumvirate of designers could have imagined.
Jerry Pate and Davis Love might be major champions, but their foremost accomplishments on the Gulf Coast are
The Preserve and Shell Landing, two highly regarded and perfectly manicured courses that welcome golfers of all skill
levels. Mark McCumber’s Windance Country Club hosted the Hogan Tour shortly after completion, giving Tom Lehman and Jeff Maggert a jump-start to their professional careers.
The Golf Coast has showcased golf’s greatest players for
30 years. The Ben Hogan Tour became the Nike Tour and moved to Hickory Hills Country Club in Gautier. The Nike Tour became the Buy.com Tour and teed off at The Oaks in Pass Christian. Enter PGA Tour Champions at Fallen Oak and Grand Bear.
Home-grown golf is alive and well on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Pascagoula Country Club, Jackson County’s Whispering Pines Golf Course, Gulf Hills in Ocean Springs, Bayou Vista
in Gulfport, and Pass Christian Isles welcome local golfers and visitors looking for a “down home” tee time. Located
at Keesler Air Force Base, Bay Breeze embraces “civilian play with advanced reservations and proper
identification only.”
Biloxi’s own golf professional Frank Stiedel designed
Sunkist Country Club in 1953, and the semi-private club has become a favorite of visitors and residents.
Local golf architect Earl Stone designed both the Pine Course and Cardinal Course at The Club at
Diamondhead, the only 36-hole facility on the Gulf Coast. In the '80s, March on the Gulf Coast welcomed golfers from sunup to sundown. After Easter each year, snowbirds would exit
the doglegs of Mississippi and head home. No more! Golfers visit year-round. Golf package pioneer Mark Mumley remembers
the days when golf wasn’t organized. “Motel owners would send golfers to the course with a business card with “Good for One
Round of Golf” stamped on the back,” recalls Mumley. Play Coastal Mississippi boasts that it has “the perfect
course” for every golfer and for every budget. “Legendary designers” and local golf architects have
created a world class golf destination on the Gulf of Mexico that challenges golf pros and welcomes
recreational golfers of all skill levels.
Whether golfers visit while on a buddy trip, a couple’s
getaway or a group outing, linksters can book a tee time at any of the public or semi-private courses. Premier golf
lives on an adjacent fairway with inexpensive golf. With more flights at Biloxi/Gulfport International Airport and famous restaurants where golfers relive their great shots,
the Mississippi “Golf Coast” is no longer a secret.
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Grand Bear Golf Club.
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