Rising Star Golf-and-Gaming Destination Honored Again by National Publications
(JACKSON, Mississippi) – Best-of awards from international, national and key regional media outlets are what high-quality resorts, golf courses and destinations desire. Garnering them provides instant credibility to discerning consumers and other media.
Hence, the state of Mississippi’s golf-and-gaming destination has never been so popular and well-ranked.
The latest accolade goes to The Preserve Golf Club, an amenity of the Palace Casino Resort in Biloxi, located just two miles north of I-10 on Highway 57 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Designed by U.S. Open Champion Jerry Pate, The Preserve was named one of Golfweek Magazine’s “2008 Best New Courses,” and listed No. 6 on the national publication’s elite list.
Golfweek’s course rankings are based on input from nearly 500 raters and based on 10 criteria, which is graded on a 10-point scale. Each course’s scores are then averaged to get the overall rating. Golfweek defines new courses as those having opened in the past two years to give the raters enough time to visit courses, thereby making the ratings statistically valid, according to the magazine.
The Preserve is an 18-hole, par-71 championship public course, surrounded by 1,800 acres of nature conservancy, protecting it forever from the encroachments of development. From the first hole to the eighteenth, the native species and surrounding flora and fauna dictate the layout of the 245-acre course. Tall, slender long leaf pines line the fairways, wooden bridges cross the wetlands and majestic live oaks reach over the course. Wild, wiry grasses disperse texture and color against the fast, ultra-smooth rolling greens.
The Preserve Golf Club is a member of the Audubon International and was recently recognized as a “Certified Silver Audubon International Signature Sanctuary.” From the initial planning to the daily watering, everything is done with the utmost regard for the natural surroundings.
This award comes on the heels of three other Mississippi Gulf Coast courses being touted among Golfweek’s “Top 100 Resort Courses”.
The three courses – in order of rank with their architects and locations – are No. 22, Fallen Oak Golf Club (Tom Fazio, Biloxi); No. 33, Grand Bear Golf Club (Jack Nicklaus, Saucier); and, No. 67, Dancing Rabbit Golf Club’s Azaleas Course (Tom Fazio/Jerry Pate design, Philadelphia).
And those came not long after Golf Digest magazine course raters voted The Preserve, Fallen Oak (Tom Fazio, Biloxi), and The Dogwoods at Hugh White State Park (Gary Roger Baird, Grenada) among the publication’s “America’s Best New Courses 2007.”
The Dogwoods, one of Mississippi’s three award-winning state park golf courses – Mallard Pointe in Sardis and Quail Hollow in McComb are the others – was also singled out as “America’s Best New Bargain” by Golf Digest.
“To have Mississippi’s outstanding new and existing courses recognized among the elite few nationally by some of the foremost golf publications is an incredible honor,” says D. Craig Ray, the MDA’s Tourism Division Director. “We hope avid golf and gaming travelers will visit Mississippi and see for themselves why they are so acclaimed.”
Fallen Oak is an amenity of the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, while Grand Bear is an amenity of the Grand Casino Biloxi, which is owned and operated by Harrah’s. Dancing Rabbit is one of the many amenities at Pearl River Resort, the central Mississippi casino resort which is owned and operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
For more information about these courses or to schedule a visit to Mississippi, call toll-free to 866-801-8551 or go to www.visitmississippi.org
About Mississippi Golf
Attractions contributing to Mississippi’s growing popularity as the preferred golf-and-travel destination include:
* Temperate year-round weather and direct flights from major carriers;
* More than 145 courses that offer all price points and design varieties in five distinct regions;
* World-famous cuisine;
* The Blues Trail;
* The mighty Mississippi River and the Tunica RiverPark;
* Luxurious casino resorts offering marquee name entertainers and shows;
* Family-themed attractions including parks, lakes, beaches and trails; and,
* History and architecture, including stunning Antebellum Era mansions turned award-winning B&B venues.
Contact:
Dan Shepherd, 703.891.3320
Buffalo Communications, dshepherd@billycaspergolf.com
