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| View down the fairway from the first tee. |
Official Website: fallenoak.com
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| #3: The first of the par 3s |
Course Architect
Tom Fazio
First Teed Off
November 2006 (Improved Summer 2014)
Rating | Slope | Yardage | Par |
76.5
| 142 | 7847 yards | 72 |
Rates of Passage
$200-$300
Includes greens fees, range, and cart. Caddies additional.
You must stay at the Beau Rivage to play. Check for golf packages with the resort for your best deal. We were both able to play and stay for a little over $400 total. An incredible value.
You must stay at the Beau Rivage to play. Check for golf packages with the resort for your best deal. We were both able to play and stay for a little over $400 total. An incredible value.
View from the 19th Hole
Through our Lens: click to view
Our Round
Tucked in the backwoods of South Mississippi, you'll find Shadow Creek's sister course, Fallen Oak. A break in the leggy pines of the DeSoto National Forest give way to a commanding gated entry. You'll be buzzed in for your round, and from that point you are in the caring hands of Fallen Oak staff. Two gentlemen greet us at the clubhouse: one to take our car and the other to guide us into the clubhouse. With my Denny's coffee in hand, I immediately felt I was living a dichotomy. Someone took our shoes to the locker room attendant, while we were greeted in the pro shop to check in. Never have I been so nicely referred to as Mrs. Anderson, as I was within 15 minutes of my arrival at Fallen Oak. Notably, we were the first to arrive at the course this morning, so all hands were on deck for us.
Our shoes were cleaned and powdered before our arrival to the locker room. The men's locker room adorned the names of some familiar faces: Michael Jordan, Tom Lehman, Larry the Cable Guy, Jason Dufner, Emmit Smith, Kyle Orton, Clyde Drexler, Paul Azinger, Willie Mays, Eli Manning, and George Gervin. Coffee and tea are waiting in the grill, and you might even want to grab a signature spicy Bloody Mary. You'll quickly learn all staff at Fallen Oak have a pairing sheet, so they know better than you where you should be at any given time.
Like our previous round at TPC Louisiana, this course is playing host to a major event in the near future. Fallen Oak is host to the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in about a week. As such, the course conditions are prime, and stands are poised throughout the course.
The range, chipping, and putting areas are sizable and well-maintained. The putting green is freshly rolled and has the spring of a basketball court. Putts are rolling as if it were glass, and there's a fair amount more undulation than meets the eye. The care and hospitality at Fallen Oak is akin to that of Sea Island.
The quintessential photo opportunity of Fallen Oak sits at the first tee. A stream squiggles to the left of the tees and fairway as it doglegs left into a larger pond. This pond, per the sign along the green, is home to Hogan the crocodile. It was still a bit chilly at the start of our round (I piled on four layers up top), so my guess is Hogan was staying warm out of our view.
We quickly found there is rarely a flat lie in the fairways of this course, and if there's water present, it's likely the fairway will slope you toward it. The bounce in the fairways and greens demand accuracy in your approach. However, a missed approach to a green won't often land you off the green. You can anticipate your ball to roll quite a bit from where you intended it, but the skirting around each green is enough to keep you hanging on.
I won't be the first to note playing at Fallen Oak makes you feel as though you have the whole place to yourself. I know there were a fair number of people teeing off after us, but the course is spread out nicely so that you'll rarely see another group during your round. The tone at Fallen Oak is extremely peaceful. If it's a windy day, as it was for us, you'll see it come into play more in the front nine than the back. The back is more guarded by trees, and the elevation changes help to break the breeze.
Fallen Oak is worth the trip, and certainly a special place. While we don't intend on frequenting the Mississippi coast, we'll certainly make time to come back to Fallen Oak at some point.
Like our previous round at TPC Louisiana, this course is playing host to a major event in the near future. Fallen Oak is host to the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in about a week. As such, the course conditions are prime, and stands are poised throughout the course.
The quintessential photo opportunity of Fallen Oak sits at the first tee. A stream squiggles to the left of the tees and fairway as it doglegs left into a larger pond. This pond, per the sign along the green, is home to Hogan the crocodile. It was still a bit chilly at the start of our round (I piled on four layers up top), so my guess is Hogan was staying warm out of our view.
We quickly found there is rarely a flat lie in the fairways of this course, and if there's water present, it's likely the fairway will slope you toward it. The bounce in the fairways and greens demand accuracy in your approach. However, a missed approach to a green won't often land you off the green. You can anticipate your ball to roll quite a bit from where you intended it, but the skirting around each green is enough to keep you hanging on.
I won't be the first to note playing at Fallen Oak makes you feel as though you have the whole place to yourself. I know there were a fair number of people teeing off after us, but the course is spread out nicely so that you'll rarely see another group during your round. The tone at Fallen Oak is extremely peaceful. If it's a windy day, as it was for us, you'll see it come into play more in the front nine than the back. The back is more guarded by trees, and the elevation changes help to break the breeze.
Fallen Oak is worth the trip, and certainly a special place. While we don't intend on frequenting the Mississippi coast, we'll certainly make time to come back to Fallen Oak at some point.
Scoreboard
2015-16, Best Golf Courses in Mississippi (#1), Golf Digest
2014, Top 100 Courses You Can Play (#30), GOLF Magazine
2009-10, America's 100 Greatest Public Courses (#18), Golf Digest
Professional Play
Expert Commentary
2012 Dec 6, Fallen Oak, LINKS Magazine
2012 March 21, Champion's Tour Favorite: Fallen Oak in Biloxi, Golf Channel
2009 Dec 3, Fallen Oak Golf Club in Saucier, Mississippi focuses on extra amenties, Travel Golf
2012 March 21, Champion's Tour Favorite: Fallen Oak in Biloxi, Golf Channel
2009 Dec 3, Fallen Oak Golf Club in Saucier, Mississippi focuses on extra amenties, Travel Golf
Beyond the 19th Hole
You'll be staying at the Beau Rivage in order to play at Fallen Oak, so plan to spend some time in the casino or at one of the many restaurants in the hotel. If the weather is nice, you can walk the beach in Biloxi, or enjoy a minor league baseball game at the adjacent MGM Park.
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