Mississippi: Feeling the Blues

Mississippi might not be the first place many of the nation's golfers think of when they get a hankering for great golf and gaming. But savvy golfers have long known more golfers should put the Magnolia State on their radar.

In fact, not only does Mississippi combine some of the nation's top public-access golf courses and gaming destinations (the state's collection of casino resorts makes it America's third-largest gaming destination after Las Vegas and Atlantic City), it throws in an endless supply of the Blues-and great BBQ-for good measure.

Mississippi bills itself as "The Birthplace of America's Music." Indeed, from blues legends Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B.B. King, to the king of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley, to the father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers, Mississippi is the only place you'll find the history, heritage, legends and folklore that surround the sounds of America's music.

Visitors can now follow the paths of the world's greatest blues musicians on Highway 61, America's Blues Highway, thanks to the Mississippi Blues Trail, which honors blues musicians with 100-plus historical markers placed at key Mississippi sites. From these legends' birthplaces, to performance sites, to gravesites, you'll see how the blues began and changed American music.

Nowhere can you learn more about and experience more blues history than in Clarksdale-located at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 ("the crossroads")-which, along with the surrounding Delta region, is known as "the land where the blues began."

Many of historic downtown Clarksdale's businesses have been shuttered, but a recent renaissance, of sorts, has seen the fascinating, must-visit Delta Blues Museum (housed in the historic Clarksdale freight depot), and a host of restaurants and clubs open. Located at adjacent Blues Alley is the famous Ground Zero Blues Club-partly owned by Academy Award-winning actor and Mississippi Delta resident Morgan Freeman-which celebrates the area's rich blues heritage and showcases today's premier Delta Blues musicians, while serving great "down home" food and drink. Our group spent the night dancing up a storm to the blues riffs of a superb local group, Stan Street and the Hambone Band.

Incidentally, Stan's an artist by day. He showcases his outstanding artwork in the popular downtown Clarksdale Hambone Gallery he owns with his wife, who is the band's drummer. Prior to our night at Ground Zero we dined on delicious BBQ at the Hopson Plantation Commissary, which is filled with antique and historical items that create a nostalgic, Deep South Delta atmosphere. The Commissary is in much the same condition as in its glory days more than 50 years ago. In 1935 the Hopson Plantation began a huge changeover to become one of the world's first completely mechanized cotton operations. Nine years later, International Harvester debuted the first cotton picker on the Hopson farm, making it the world's first to grow and harvest a commercial acreage of cotton produced completely by mechanical methods.

Also on the plantation's grounds is the Shack Up Inn (shackupinn.com), 10 former sharecropper shacks converted into unique hotel rooms whose interiors and exteriors still exude their original rustic feel, but with restored porches, kitchenettes, indoor plumbing, air conditioning and funky decor.

For those preferring the sights and sounds of glittering casino hotels and superb golf courses, Clarksdale is located just 35 miles south of Tunica, which is 30 minutes south of Memphis, Tenn. Tunica boasts nine world-class casino resorts, more than 6,000 luxurious hotel rooms and suites, fine dining restaurants and buffets, headline entertainers, championship golf and tennis, award-winning museums, lavish spas and outlet/antique shopping.

And, of course, let's not forget Tunica's outstanding golf scene, led by the spectacular Tunica National Golf & Tennis Club, which is located in the heart of casino country and the Delta Region. Tunica National is built on pancake-flat land, and, not surprisingly, wind is a major factor. There is water everywhere, but fortunately the fairways are wide and the greens large, albeit lightning-quick. A 360-degree driving range features a golf academy.

Designed by Mark McCumber and Associates, this $12 million club features a tournament-level, 18-hole championship course playable for all skill levels. There also is a six-hole short practice course and a 20,000-square-foot clubhouse, which houses four indoor clay tennis courts.

River Bend Links at Casino Strip Resorts-a wonderful links-style layout-is nestled between Sam's Town, Hollywood Casino and Resorts Tunica. This 6,900-yard, par-72 Clyde Johnston-designed masterpiece traverses a former cotton field and features lakes, sand and grass bunkers, and strategically placed mounds. And with five tee-box options, the course is challenging and fun for players of all abilities.

Rounding out Tunica's golf offerings is The Links at Cottonwoods, affiliated with Harrah's Casino Tunica. The 7,200-yard, par-72 Hale Irwin-designed links-style course has gently rolling fairways and three sparkling lakes that can put a damper on one's score.

The rooms and suites in the Gold Strike Casino Resort, where our group stayed, are amazing, as are the hotel's restaurants, including The Courtyard Buffet. I also highly recommend setting aside an evening for fine dining at Harrah's Casino Tunica's '37 Steakhouse, where the food and service are absolutely incredible. And if you're a fan of Food Network star Paula Deen, her Paula Deen Buffet restaurant at Harrah's is a huge hit with visitors, who always make time to pose for a photo with a cardboard Paul cutout outside the eatery's front door and play the slots of the adjacent Paula Deen machines.

Tunica also became a more convenient destination on May 6, 2010, when AirTran Airways began making regular scheduled, non-stop jet service between the newly expanded Tunica Airport and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The best place to better see and understand the Mississippi River and its history is at the state-of-the-art Tunica RiverPark. You'll enjoy exhibits on the Mississippi Delta, its wildlife, the levee system and the region's history; a three-story outdoor observation platform; four large aquariums with native aquatic life; and 130 acres of Delta-wetlands forest with 1.9 miles of boardwalk trails. You can also relax and experience the Mighty Mississippi up close on the all-new Tunica Queen riverboat, docked at the museum. It has space for 300 passengers, two open-air decks, dining and sightseeing cruises.

Some four hours southeast of Tunica-and an hour-and-a-half's drive from Jackson, the state capital-is the spectacular Pearl River Resort, which includes the world-class, 36-hole Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, Silver Star Hotel & Casino, Golden Moon Hotel & Casino, new Hilton Garden Inn, Geyser Falls Water Theme Park and Clearwater Key. Golfers also have the option of staying in one of the eight guestrooms on the second floor of the gorgeous Southern Plantation-style Dancing Rabbit Clubhouse.

Our group stayed in the comfortable, well-appointed rooms (with 12-foot ceilings), which come with keys to private golf carts (complete with headlights) you navigate along a lighted cart path through the woods from the clubhouse to the Silver Star Hotel & Casino, where you absolutely need to set aside an evening of fine dining at Miko. Dancing Rabbit's Clubhouse accommodations couldn't be more convenient for small golf groups or golfers flying solo, especially since you'll finish your round mere steps from your room, the award-winning golf shop and the Clubhouse Grill, which serves up a hearty breakfast buffet and lunch.

Dancing Rabbit-built on the ancestral lands of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians-offers a variety of Stay & Play Golf Packages at any of the resort's hotels, its Clubhouse accommodations and a recently renovated, three-bedroom, two-bathroom house hidden off the third hole of its Azaleas Course.

Southern hospitality rules at Dancing Rabbit, whose service is superb, and the golf at its Azaleas and Oaks courses is spectacular. The design team of Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate carved Azaleas, which opened in July 1997, out of the region's dramatic valleys, ancient pines and hardwoods. The Azaleas course is reserved exclusively for resort guests. The 7,172-yard, par-72 Azaleas, during our late-April visit, conjured up images of Augusta National as the azaleas were exploding in full bloom throughout the immaculately manicured layout. The thrill ride through the enchanting forest's peaks and valleys has earned Azaleas countless well-deserved awards.

The 7,076-yard, par-72 Oaks-which also has received numerous accolades from golf publications since its 1999 opening-features many elevation changes and large, undulating greens. While Oaks was built through the same rustic landscape as its sister, it offers golfers a different look, with several holes requiring carries over water. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina flattened more than 1,000 trees on the Oaks (amazingly, the adjacent Azaleas only sustained minor damage), giving a number of holes an unplanned, more-open feel, which actually makes it a perfect complement to Azaleas' forested design.

The bottom line is Mississippi is the world's only golf/gaming destination where you will actually enjoy feeling the blues.

WHERE TO PLAY
Dancing Rabbit Golf Club (Azaleas), Choctaw: 601-663-0011, dancingrabbitgolf.com, pearlriverresort.com
Dancing Rabbit Golf Club (Oaks), Choctaw: 601-663-0011, dancingrabbitgolf.com, pearlriverresort.com
River Bend Links, Tunica: 888-539-9990, riverbendlinks.com
The Links at Cottonwoods, Tunica: 800-946-4946, harrahstunica.com
Tunica National Golf & Tennis Club: 866-TEEOFF1 (833-6331), tunicanational.com

WHERE TO STAY
Dancing Rabbit Golf Club Clubhouse, Choctaw: 866-44PEARL (447-3275), dancingrabbitgolf.com, pearlriverresort.com
Golden Moon Hotel & Casino, Choctaw, 866-44PEARL (447-3275), pearlriverresort.com
Gold Strike Casino Resort, Tunica: 888-245-7829, goldstrikemississippi.com
Silver Star Hotel & Casino, Choctaw, 866-44PEARL (447-3275), pearlriverresort.com

WHERE TO EAT
Miko (Silver Star Hotel & Casino), Choctaw: 866-44PEARL (447-3275), pearlriverresort.com
Hopson Commissary, Clarksdale: 662-624-5756, hopsonplantation.com
'37 (Harrah's Tunica), Tunica: 800-WIN4WIN (946-4946), harrahstunica.com

WHAT TO DO
Delta Blues Museum, Clarksdale: 800-626-3764, deltabluesmuseum.org
Ground Zero Blues Club, Clarksdale: 662-621-9009, groundzerobluesclub.com
Hopson Plantation, Clarksdale: 662-624-5756, hopsonplantation.com
Tunica RiverPark, 866-51RIVER (517-4837), tunicariverpark.com