Best in State

The best golf courses in Mississippi

Mississippi is not a particularly deep state when it comes to top-level golf, but there are certain clusters of public-access courses that make a visit here worthwhile. It begins with the Gulf Coast region surrounding Biloxi, particularly the region from Saucier to Gautier where four of Mississippi's top ten courses are clustered, including the first-ranked course, Fallen Oak, a secluded Tom Fazio design avaialbe to guests staying at the Beau Rivage MGM resort in Biloxi. A visit to the Pearl River Resort, 90 minutes northeast of Jackson, is also an attractive overnighter with two more Fazio-designed, Augusta National-themed courses at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club. The state's second- and third-ranked courses, Mossy Oak and Old Waverly, which hosted the 1999 U.S. Women's Open, are located on the same property in West Point, just outside Starkville.

Below you'll find our 2023-'24 ranking of the Best Golf Courses in Mississippi.

We urge you to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography, drone footage and reviews from our course panelists. Plus, you can now leave your own ratings on the courses you’ve played … to make your case why your favorite should be ranked higher. 

1. (1) Fallen Oak
Private
1. (1) Fallen Oak
Saucier, MS
Although it didn't get built for another 15 years, Fallen Oak was first conceived in the early 1990s by Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn soon after Tom Fazio had completed Shadow Creek. Wynn wanted Fazio to design a similar course for his Beau Rivage casino hotel on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Wynn's empire got swallowed by MGM Grand, which ultimately had Fazio create Fallen Oak. Unlike Shadow Creek, it's built on rolling forest and wetlands, with no need for mammoth earth-moving.
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2. (2) Mossy Oak Golf Club
Public
2. (2) Mossy Oak Golf Club
West Point, MS

From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten: Back in mid-1980s, George Bryan, who ran Bryan Foods, now part of Sara Lee Corp., created Old Waverly Golf Club in tiny West Point, Miss., a Bob Cupp/Jerry Pate design and former U.S. Women’s Open host that to me is a bit underrated. In the early 2000s, Bryan bought an old dairy farm (Knob Hill Dairy) across the highway and hired Gil Hanse to give him an Old School public golf course. George named it Mossy Oak, after a West Point company of the same name that supplies outdoor camouflage gear. (The company has a 10-percent interest in the course.) He was going to call it Howlin' Wolf after a legendary blues singer born in West Point, but his heirs wanted too much money. Hanse got the job before he was awarded the Rio Olympics design in 2012, and it was the first project he tackled after completing his work in Brazil. The site footprint is smaller than Old Waverly across the road, but except for some cottages along No. 10, there's no residential on Mossy Oak, so the course feels more expansive.

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3. (3) Old Waverly Golf Club
Private
3. (3) Old Waverly Golf Club
West Point, MS
4.1
110 Panelists

From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten: I've always admired Jerry Pate's work in golf architecture. He was one of the few PGA Tour pros who really got down and dirty in golf design, and I especially liked the few courses he did with architect Bob Cupp. Their second collaboration was Old Waverly in tiny West Point, Miss., a dream project of West Point native George Bryan, who at the time was chairman of the meat division of the Sara Lee Corporation based in the tri-city area (West Point, Starkville and Columbus) known as Mississippi's Golden Triangle.

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4. (4) Annandale Golf Club
Private
4. (4) Annandale Golf Club
Madison, MS
4.3
43 Panelists
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5. (5) Dancing Rabbit Golf Club: Azaleas
3.3
33 Panelists

From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten: Back in the late 1990s, Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate collaborated on the design of two golf courses for the Mississippi Band of Choctow Indian's casino operation. It was one of the first of a slew of casino golf courses created by native American tribes around the country and was named Dancing Rabbit after a nearby creek where a treaty was signed between the Choctaws and the Federal Government that returned land back to the Indian nation. I followed the construction of both courses, the Azaleas Course, which opened in 1997, and the Oaks Course, which opened two years later. Both remind me of courses found in Birmingham, Ala., with fairways running over red clay hills slashed by creeks and lined in pines and scattered hardwoods.

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6. (8) Dancing Rabbit Golf Club: The Oaks
3
23 Panelists

From Golf Digest Architecture Editor emeritus Ron Whitten:
 

Back in the late 1990s, Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate collaborated on the design of two golf courses for the Mississippi Band of Choctow Indian's casino operation. It was one of the first of a slew of casino golf courses created by native American tribes around the country and was named Dancing Rabbit after a nearby creek where a treaty was signed between the Choctaws and the Federal Government that returned land back to the Indian nation.

I followed the construction of both courses, the Azaleas Course, which opened in 1997, and the Oaks Course, which opened two years later. Both remind me of courses found in Birmingham, Ala., with fairways running over red clay hills slashed by creeks and lined in pines and scattered hardwoods. As its name suggests, the Oaks Course has grand old oak trees decorating some holes.

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7. (6) Grand Bear Golf Club
Public
7. (6) Grand Bear Golf Club
Saucier, MS
3.9
30 Panelists
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8. (9) The Preserve Golf Club
Public
8. (9) The Preserve Golf Club
Vancleave, MS
4.1
35 Panelists
This Jerry Pate design, recognized by Audubon International, makes compelling use of the natural terrain, with native fescues, bunkers and marshlands framing many holes. Currently ranked on our Best in Mississippi list, The Preserve has many forced carries over wetlands and bogs, requiring quality ball-striking off the tee. The Preserve’s natural aesthetic makes it a must-play on a trip to the Mississippi Coast.
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9. (10) Shell Landing Golf Club
Public
9. (10) Shell Landing Golf Club
Gautier, MS
3.1
30 Panelists

Shell Landing is a Davis Love III design just outside Biloxi. The course fits nicely into the natural terrain, playing among rolling marshlands. The fairways are generous, guarded periodically by large fairway bunkers. The greens are vast and undulating, allowing for a variety of possible pin locations.

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