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About the only thing more common than moss dripping from the trees on Mississippi’s golf courses is their strength on various Golfweek’s Best rankings lists. That kind of sure bet is especially valid when it comes to casino courses, as seven of the top 10 public-access courses in the state are also on Golfweek’s Best Top 50 Casino list for 2020.
Golfweek ranks courses by compiling the average ratings – on a points basis of 1 to 10 – of its more than 750 raters to create several industry-leading lists of courses. That includes the popular Best Courses You Can Play list for courses that allow non-member tee times. These generally are defined as courses accessible to resort guests or regular daily-fee players.
Fallen Oak by architect Tom Fazio in Saucier is No. 1 in the Magnolia State on the 2020 Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list, and it is No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best Casino list for all the United States. Fallen Oak is also No. 68 on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses in the U.S. built in or after 1960.
The Nos. 2 and 3 courses on the Mississippi public-access list are not casino courses but are part of one West Point resort: Mossy Oak by Gil Hanse and Old Waverly by Bob Cupp and Jerry Pate. Both courses also appear on Golfweek’s Best Modern Courses list, with Mossy Oak at No. 110 and Old Waverly at No. 187.
From there, almost all the rest of Mississippi’s Best Courses You Can Play are operated in conjunction with casinos.
The Preserve in Vancleave is No. 4 in the state for public-access, followed by No. 5 Dancing Rabbit’s Oaks course, No. 7 Shell Landing, No. 8 Dancing Rabbit’s Azaleas course, No. 9 The Bridges at Hollywood Casino and No. 10 Windance. Each of those is in the top 50 on the Casino list.
The only other top-10 public-access course in the state is No. 6 Grand Bear in Saucier, which is not affiliated with a casino.
Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play in Mississippi
1. Fallen Oak
Saucier (No. 68 m)
2. Mossy Oak
West Point (No. 110 m)
3. Old Waverly
West Point (No. 187 m)
4. The Preserve
Vancleave (m)
5. Dancing Rabbit (Oaks)
Philadelphia (m)
6. Grand Bear
Saucier (m)
7. Shell Landing
Gautier (m)
8. Dancing Rabbit (Azaleas)
Philadelphia (m)
9. The Bridges at Hollywood Casino
Bay St. Louis (m)
10. Windance
Gulfport (m)
Golfweek’s Best Private Courses 2020 in Mississippi
1. Annandale
Madison (m)
2. CC of Jackson
Jackson (m)
3. Reunion
Madison (m)
4. *Laurel CC
Laurel (c)
5. Hattiesburg CC
Hattiesburg (c)
(m): modern; (c): classic
Golfweek’s Best 2020: Top 50 Casino Courses
The rankings below reflect where these courses fall among the top 50 Casino Courses in the United States.
2. Fallen Oak, 7.24
Saucier, Miss.; Tom Fazio; 2006
10. The Preserve, 6.41
Vancleave, Miss.; Jerry Pate; 2005
32. Dancing Rabbit (Oaks), 5.75
Philadelphia, Miss.; Tom Fazio, Jerry Pate; 1999
37. Dancing Rabbit (Azaleas), 5.71
Philadelphia, Miss.; Tom Fazio, Jerry Pate; 1997
42. Shell Landing, 5.52
Gautier, Miss.; Davis Love III; 2002
T-50. Windance, 5.11
Gulfport, Miss.; Mark McCumber; 1986
T-50.* The Bridges GC at Hollywood Casino, 5.11
Bay St. Louis, Miss.; Arnold Palmer, Ed Seay; 2006
*New to or rejoins the list
Golfweek’s Best 2020
- Top 100 Best Courses You Can Play
- Best Courses You Can Play, state by state
- Top 200 Modern Courses
- Top 200 Classic Courses
- Best Private Courses, state by state
- Top 30 Campus Courses
- Top 50 Casino Courses
How we rate them
The members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on our 10 criteria. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings on each course are averaged together to produce a final rating for each course. Then each course is ranked against other courses in its state, or nationally, to produce the final rankings.