MGM Resorts International, Tom Fazio-designed course moves up one spot
from 27th slot In 2010
BILOXI, Miss. -Aug. 14, 2012 – Building on the momentum created by playing host to a highly regarded Champions Tour event and its continuing maturation as a complete golf experience, Fallen Oak earned its third mention on GOLF Magazine’s “Top 100 Courses You Can Play” list.
The MGM Resorts International masterpiece checked in at No. 26 on the biennial list of the country’s top courses accessible to all. That is a one-spot improvement from its place on the 2010 listing and the highest spot Fallen Oak has achieved in its three appearances on the prestigious list.
In addition, the publication named the Tom Fazio-designed course the No. 1 Course You Can Play in the state of Mississippi for the third consecutive time.
“Fallen Oak continues to mature as a course and continues to deliver a complete golfing experience that professionals and amateurs alike remember and take with them,” said George P. Corchis, Jr., president and chief operating officer of MGM Resorts International’s Regional Operations, which includes Beau Rivage and Fallen Oak in Biloxi. “This honor is a testament to what kind of course Fallen Oak is and the kind of effort our staff puts into creating a complete golf experience.”
What has always impressed Joe Passov, GOLF Magazine’s senior editor for courses and rankings, is the way Fazio incorporated the nearby DeSoto National Forest in his design.
“The 7,487-yard layout is laced with lakes and deep bunkers – but not with roads or homes,” Passov writes. “It’s just you, your caddie and nature.”
Passov, who oversees the list and included Fallen Oak’s Acadian-style mansion clubhouse as one of his Best 19th Holes in Golf, is one of the most recognized golf and travel writers in the country. Besides GOLF Magazine, he handles ratings for Zagat’s and has written for numerous publications, including the Robb Report.
The one-spot promotion to 26th solidifies Fallen Oak’s select status. It is one spot behind 2008 U.S. Open host Torrey Pines-South and three ahead of 2017 U.S. Open host Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
Fallen Oak is well ahead of four courses that host PGA TOUR events: Bay Hill in Orlando (No. 48), The Greenbrier in West Virginia (No. 69), Innisbrook in Florida (No. 76) and Doral in Florida (No. 100). It is the highest-ranked of the two Mississippi courses on the Top 100 list and the second-highest casino course on the list, trailing big sister Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas (17th).
The beauty, challenge and intriguing intricacies that test and enchant the average golfer do the very same to many of the game’s legends, who have visited Fallen Oak the past three springs for the Champions Tour’s Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic. There, major champions and World Golf Hall of Famers experience the same emotions, challenges and experiences as the average player.
“I love the golf course. Tom (Fazio) did a really good job designing this golf course. It’s a nice, challenging golf course and we’re lucky to have the golf tournament here,” Tom Kite said.
“I would have to say it’s got to be in the very top echelon of the courses we play,” said reigning Champions Tour Player of the Year Tom Lehman, who won the 2011 MGRC. “We play some very good ones and they’re all different. There may be a course or two better, but not many. It’s really a quite good golf course.”
Unique among Gulf Coast courses, Fallen Oak features dramatic elevation changes, which Fazio incorporated among the more than 4,000 oaks, magnolias, pines and other hardwood trees that join the ponds, streams and wetlands that frame the course.
Aside from those elevation changes, remarkably true-rolling greens and Fazio’s dynamic design tactics of using the DeSoto National Forest and all its inherent natural elements as a template, the multi-million dollar course features gently rolling terrain and pecan orchards.
The clubhouse and practice facilities alone put Fallen Oak among the top courses in the region. Built to resemble an Acadian-style Southern mansion, the 12,000-square foot clubhouse houses a 1,000-square foot pro shop and locker facilities. The 70-seat lounge and restaurant features top-level dining and a panoramic view of the 18th hole, as well as the majestic live oak that gives Fallen Oak its name. In 2008, that clubhouse was voted one of the “Best 19th Holes in Golf” by Golf Digest.
Fallen Oak is available exclusively for guests of Beau Rivage. Greens fees for this elite MGM Resorts International golf experience are $200. To make reservations, call (877) 805-4657 or visit www.beaurivage.com.
ABOUT BEAU RIVAGE:
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, named one of the top 100 hotels in the continental United States and Canada by Travel + Leisure, is located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The resort features 1,740 elegantly appointed guest rooms and suites, 10 restaurants, four nightclubs and bars, a 1,550-seat theatre, an upscale shopping promenade, a world-class spa & salon and Fallen Oak, a Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course. Beau Rivage is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM Resorts International, one of the world’s leading global hospitality companies. For more information or to make reservations, call (888) 56-ROOMS or visit www.beaurivage.com.
ABOUT FALLEN OAK
The Tom Fazio-designed Fallen Oak joins the heralded Shadow Creek as the only golf courses built by MGM Resorts International for their guests. Located 15 minutes outside of Biloxi at the edge of the DeSoto National Forest, Fallen Oak has earned more than 20 national honors for a masterful design that epitomizes strategy from tee to green from all five of its tees as it encompasses the area’s natural terrain and beauty. Since 2010, the 7,487-yard course that features elevation changes rare for a Gulf Coast design has played host to the Champions Tour’s Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic. In that short time, Fallen Oak has received numerous compliments from many of the game’s legends for its beauty, design and the quiet elegance found in many of the world’s great golf courses. For more information on Fallen Oak, please visit www.fallenoak.com.
ABOUT MGM RESORTS INTERNATIONAL
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is one of the world’s leading global hospitality companies, operating a peerless portfolio of destination resort brands, including Bellagio, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and The Mirage. The Company has significant holdings in gaming, hospitality and entertainment, owns and operates 15 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan, and has 50% investments in four other properties in Nevada, Illinois and Macau. One of those investments is CityCenter, an unprecedented urban resort destination on the Las Vegas Strip featuring its centerpiece ARIA Resort & Casino. Leveraging MGM Resorts’ unmatched amenities, the M life loyalty program delivers one-of-a-kind experiences, insider privileges and personalized rewards for guests at the Company’s renowned properties nationwide. Through its hospitality management subsidiary, the Company holds a growing number of development and management agreements for casino and non-casino resort projects around the world. MGM Resorts International supports responsible gaming and has implemented the American Gaming Association’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming at its gaming properties. The Company has been honored with numerous awards and recognitions for its industry-leading Diversity Initiative, its community philanthropy programs and the Company’s commitment to sustainable development and operations. For more information about MGM Resorts International, visit the Company’s Web site at www.mgmresorts.com.
Contact:
Mary Cracchiolo Spain, Beau Rivage, (228) 386-7134
Brian Robin, Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc., (818) 462-5610
