Play the Courses the Pros Play!

The Gulf region is not the only part of Mississippi that attracts golfers. The mid-section of the state - including a 150-mile stretch from Columbus on the eastern border to the capital city of Jackson in the heart of the state - features three courses as good as it gets in golf.

Old Waverly in West Point and the courses at Dancing Rabbit in Choctaw, routinely ranked among the top five in Mississippi by most major golf publications, are located in the Pines region of the state. Old Waverly is the epitome of Southern charm and hospitality, starting with a clubhouse of authentic interiors protected by a white-brick facade, which permeates an older-look theme on the property. But in reality the course, which hosted the 1999 U.S. Women's Open won by Juli Inkster, has only been around since the late 1980's.

Since its opening, Old Waverly has only gotten better. Champion Bermuda greens replaced Bentgrass greens a couple of years ago giving the course tournament-speed greens to go along with a simple, yet stately layout (designed by Bob Cupp and Jerry Pate). Old Waverly is private, but guests are allowed to play with a member or when they stay at one of the property's many lodging options including villas, cottages, and even a tiny fish cabin right on the banks of Lake Waverly. The massive lake helps set the scene for visitors at the cottages and for five holes on the back nine including the par-three 17th and par-four 18th.

Dancing Rabbit Golf Club - home of the Azaleas and Oaks courses - is part of a casino resort built on the ancestral lands of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. While each course has its own personality, it would be difficult to separate one from the other. Both courses pose dramatic land features, bunkering, and heavy-wooded areas with a good variety of risk-reward holes that keep golfers coming back. The Azaleas, a Tom Fazio design, features a combination of Bermuda grass and Bentgrass greens while the Oaks, a Pate design, features a Bermuda-Zoysia combination.

With two courses, two casino hotels plus a Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, private guest rooms in the clubhouse, and a variety of dining options, it would be easy to spend several days on the Dancing Rabbit property without ever leaving. The friendly, but not overly-eager staff will even give guests who stay at the clubhouse their own golf cart to go to and from the casino as they please - day or night. And the grand, wrap-around white porch from the second floor of the clubhouse is a great place to relax.

Mississippi's mid-region also hosts a PGA Tour Event - the Viking Classic - which was held this past July as part of the FedEx Cup race at Jack Nicklaus-designed Annandale Golf Club in Madison. Along with the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in the spring and various NGA Hooters Tour events in the past (including at Dancing Rabbit), Mississippi is one of only a handful of states to host a PGA Tour, Champions Tour, and developmental tour event in the same year.