[John Mayhugh]

Last weekend, I was headed to Mississippi and made a visit Mike Young's Beau Pre in Natchez.  In past conversations, Mike seemed really proud of the course so considering how much I enjoyed Long Shadow, Beau Pre became a must visit for me.

The course is on the outskirts of Natchez.  The official name is Beau Pre Country Club, but it is open to the public as well.  The course opened in 2009 and makes its way through a residential development.  Homes don't affect play at all and playing corridors are large.  There is a bit of a hike to get to the first and tenth tees, but otherwise the course is very walkable.  The course is 7018 from the tips.  I played at the next set of tees, with a total yardage of 6442.

Hole 1 - par 4.  440/415
A wide fairway for the opening tee shot, with the 10th fairway visible to the left.  The bunker on the right makes the fairway look a bit narrower.


The fairway has an upper tier on the left side.  Second photo is looking back toward the tee.




I hate posting the photo of this green as it certainly was not indicative of the overall condition of the greens.  It's worth looking at, though, as it shows the value of position off the tee.  The left side is close to a hazard and there is a pretty significant spine along the left center of the green.  With a left hand flag, you would almost have to approach from the right.  I really liked the option of running the ball up to the green.


Hole 2 - par 4.  415/377
A straightaway hole made to play at a bit of an angle by the tee placement.  The further back the tee, the greater the angle to the fairway.  Note the thick rough just past the tee.  Mike did a nice job using this to define the course better and provide a bit more of a rugged look without really making the course play tougher. There is a fairway bunker on the left side.


From the left side of the fairway.  Note the raised face of the bunker on the right side.  Approaching from the left really feels easier.




Here's the green from the left side.  Significant slope from back to front and right to left.



Hole 3 - par 4.  434/384
An intimidating tee shot, with a hazard all up the left hand side. There is plenty of room if you go over the rugged looking area that juts into the fairway, but you cannot see that from the tee.


Looking back towards the tee.


From the fairway.  A small ditch crosses well short of the green.  Lots of movement in the fairway as you get nearer the green.




Lots of room right of the green.  After three holes, you can see that Mike doesn't believe in boring greens!




Hole 4 - par 3.  178/165
From the back tee, a much greater carry over the pond.  The forward tees aren't impacted at all.  Great way to add difficulty for better players.


From behind the green.  Wonderful contours.


Hole 5 - par 5.  582/541
A rather straight hole.


But bunkering adds interest to the second shot.  Just enough fairway shaping to affect lies for a wood second shot.




The green is wide, shallow, and bunkerless.


From the left side of the green.


Hole 6 - par 4.  415/374
The tee shot on the sixth also carries a short section of the native area.  In the photo, it looks like there is almost some heather mixed in there.  Much of the course would be right at home in the heathland.


The green is sited into a hillside just over a creek.  




From behind the green.


And the left side.  Some really interesting approach shots possible.

[Bill_McBride]

I would go out of my way to play any Mike Young course.   Last week we spent three days with a couple from Santa Barbara who belong to one of that city's well manicured private clubs.  I took the four of us to play Longshadow one day and Great Waters, the Nicklaus manicured course at Reynolds Plantation, the next.  Although LS was not in pristine condition (shaggy in general but greens and FWs fine), I was delighted that our friends liked LS much better.  It was just a whole lot more fun.  Half the holes at GW looked like each other, no two alike at LS and all of great merit and interest.  Bravo Mike!

[John Mayhugh]

Hole 7 – par 3.  192/179
A nice looking tee shot over another rugged area.  Much easier from the forward tees.





Hole 8 – par 5.  558/532
The tee shot is pretty comfortable.  My inclination was to go up the right side




The second shot looks pretty imposing.  There is very little room left of the hazard, so the second shot most likely needs to carry it.  This is not too difficult with a decent tee shot, but a poor drive may mean playing short of the water with the second.  I didn’t write down the yardage, but I believe from the members’ tee it’s about 390 to get past the water.


The bunkering makes a run-up shot to the green possible, but it must be well-played.  The green is also diagonal to the center of the fairway, so the ideal approach is from the right side, bringing the fairway bunkers into play a bit more.


A view of the green from the left side.  



Hole 9 – par 4.  431/410
From the back tee, it plays as a slight dogleg left.  As with several other holes, the next set of tees up provide an easier looking shot and are mostly straightaway.  No real doglegs on the course, but still plenty of visual interest to each tee shot.




The green is pretty well protected in the front, but as with most of the other holes there is a gap to permit a well-played approach on the ground.




Hole 10 – par 5.  540/528
An imposing tee shot.  There is a hazard that cuts somewhat diagonally across the fairway about 280 yards from the tee.  The first fairway is to the right, but mostly not visible.


The carry for the second shot isn’t too difficult.  The fairway drops off to the right, so better to play up the left side, bringing the bunker into play.


After a couple of intimidating shots, the green looks really receptive from this angle.


A very deep green, with dominant slope from front to back.



Hole 11 – par 4.  387/361
Wide fairway, with a bunker in the middle of the fairway.  From the back tee, it’s about 250 to completely carry the bunker.  It’s the perfect distance for tempting most players.


There is a bit more room on the left side of the bunker, but the easier approach is to the right.


From behind the green.




Hole 12 – par 4.  318/290
A short par 4, with a hazard running up the right side.   



The green is elevated above the fairway.  A waste area separates the green from a hazard on the right side.


Behind the green.  The waste area blends in nicely.

[David Kelly]

I really like the low-profile greens and how they hug the ground on most holes.  It does look like there is a fair amount of internal contouring on the greens.  Wre they as interesting as they look to putt?

[John Mayhugh]

I really like the low-profile greens and how they hug the ground on most holes.  It does look like there is a fair amount of internal contouring on the greens.  Wre they as interesting as they look to putt?

Very much so.  Placement on the green relative to the hole location matters a lot, but not so bold as to result in four putts (unless you REALLY goof up).

[Scott Warren]

How good is the restraint on bunkering at the greens?! As David said, looks like some great contours and surrounds that are allowed to speak for themselves without too much (or in some cases any) sand around.

Generally, the bunkers look quite shallow. Is that the case? Coupled with what you say about the progressive difficult angles of the tees as you move back it seems a good theme of keeping it manageable for the average golfer but still challenging the better players?

[John Mayhugh]

Most of the bunkers are fairly shallow.  I think this is mostly to do with aesthetics and how the course sits on the land.  The limited number of bunkers - I would say less than 50 on the course - may help the weaker player even more than the shallowness of the bunkers. 

[Anthony Gray]

    Can you say Dixie Cup?

  Anthony

[John Mayhugh]

Hole 13 – par 3.  179/170
A really nice looking hole.  The right side is bordered by a hazard, but plenty of room left.  Left to right slope of the fairway left of the green suggests a miss that way might feed into the green, but I didn’t try the shot.






From behind the green.  Lots of chipping area.





Hole 14 – par 4.  453/385
No trouble carrying the gnarly area, even from the back tee.  The three trees provide a good aiming point, but are not in play off the tee.  They could complicate an approach from a pulled tee shot.




Another hole that crosses a hazard.  Note the steep dropoff right of the green.  The fairway also does the same.


The green from the left side.  It’s a relatively small green, but the chipping area to the left helps out.  Note how close the hazard is to the green back and right.


From the back right of the green looking back at the fairway. 




Hole 15 – par 4.  350/319
Here the course takes on a different look.  Up until this point, the course looked like Mike had been channeling the ODGs (ok, maybe not the 8th).  The 15th is a good hole, but the aesthetic change was a bit jarring – especially the memorial fountain.  The bunker in the center of the fairway is about 270 from the back tee, forcing a decision on club selection and playing line.




The green seems to jut out into the water.  The bunkering hides much of the green.




Behind the green gives you some sense of the contour.


A really tough hole location front right.

[Peter Pallotta]

Thanks much, John - for the good photos and the interesting/perseptive commentary. I especially liked when you wrote:   "Much of the course would be right at home in the heathland." I was thinking exactly that as I was looking at the photos, and for many reasons - one of which is that Mike makes it looks so easy - relaxed, low-key, flowing naturally and without fanfare...the wonderful english heathland courses. Congrats, Mike - looks great. And, if John hadn't mentioned it, I would never imagine there was any housing on that course at all.

Peter 

[Mike_Young]

John,
Thanks for the update.  I have not been out there in over five years but I contacted the person who was the Club President and board chair when I did the course and asked what was happening with the two greens.  He said they had sent it off for testing and that it seemed to be winterkill....and there has been a lot of that this year on the ultradwarfs...but still better than bent for many of these places...
And I found they had decided to put liners in the bunkers and get rid of the wild look...so now they have liners everywhere....
Oh well....thanks for the photos...
Mike

[John Mayhugh]

Peter,
Thanks for the comments.  Glad to see you got a similar impression to mine.

Mike,
Pardon my ignorance, but what has been the impact of the liners?  I'm sure that keeps the bunkers more uniform and the sand whiter, but is there something else?

Anthony,
I think Dixie Cuppers would appreciate this course a lot.  I wonder what else might be around to supplement it? 

[John Mayhugh]

Hole 16 – par 3.  205/144
From the back tee, pretty much all carry of the water to the green.  As with other holes, moving forward provides an easier angle along with the shorter shot.



Hole 17 – par 4.  410/376
An imposing tee shot.  A hazard to the right with tall grass left.  Much more landing area than visible from the tee.




A tall red clay bluff provides a great backdrop for the green.  Nearer the green, a waste area separates the right side of the fairway from the hazard. 


Fantastic green complex, with waste area to the right and long.  With no bunkers in the front and the bluff in the background, a really inviting target.  The shaping short of the green blends in to make things look 70 years old.


From back left.  Note the slope.



Hole 18 – par 5.  531/492
The driving range is to the left, separated by some taller grass and subtle shaping.  Another hazard up the right side, but again plenty of room for the tee shot.


A softly rumpled fairway.  There are no bunkers until you get very near the green, but it’s useful to consider the hole location before swinging away.  The fairway slopes left to right just beyond the left bunker, making a ground approach an easy way to get to the right side of the green.




The right side of the green is guarded by the most imposing bunker on the course.  The green falls away quite a bit on the right.




One last look at the 18th from behind the green.  Here again you see substantial chipping areas.



Thoughts on the course.
I went to Beau Pre as a Mike Young fan, and left as an even bigger one.  With this course, he does so many things right.  The routing uses natural native areas and multiple creeks to provide plenty of variety and challenge. Yet the course would not be terribly difficult for weaker players so long as they know their limitations.  As much as is possible with bermuda, the ground game is a real option on a large number of holes.  Bunkering is economically used – enough to make the player think on most every hole, yet not overused in a way that increases maintenance costs.  Finally, the greens are outstanding.  Tiers and internal contouring are used to reward smart accurate play.  There are few dull shots around the greens.

Overall, the course (save a couple of holes) looks like it could be something from the golden age that has been largely forgotten about.  Anyone at all near Natchez should make a trip to see this course. 

[jonathan_becker]

John,

Thanks for the excellent photos.

I like how the last 3 holes play out.  You've got the intimidating 16th (I'll take a 3 and run!)....then what looks like an intimidating tee shot on #17 to a wider than expected fairway, but the approach shot runs away from you (a little deception for the first time player)....and finally, if you've screwed up 16 or 17 you've got a chance to get one back on the last with the reachable par 5. 

This seems like a fun finish for a course.  I would assume that you're kept on your toes a little bit, but the opportunities to finish strong are present.

[John Mayhugh]

In addition to seeing Beau Pre, I was also interested in a visit to Natchez.  I didn’t have time to tour either of them, but Greek Revival homes such as Dunleith and Stanton Hall surely would be worth a look.  A really good spot for lunch at Stanton Hall.







One interesting attraction is the Natchez City Cemetary. Most prominent there is the Turning Angel monument.  This, along with identical headstones, honor five young girls (the youngest was 12) who were killed in an explosion of a five story brick building.

The inscription on the back:  Erected by the Natchez Drug Company to the memory of the unfortunate employees who lost their lives in the great disaster that destroyed its building on March 14, 1908.

This monument is referred to as ‘The Turning Angel’ because at night when cars drive by on Cemetery Road their headlights shine upon the monument and to some it appears to turn as their car passes by.  For those who read trashy fiction, it’s prominently featured in the Greg Iles book of the same name. 







The city itself sits on a bluff above the Mississippi. 


I wonder where the next stop on the Mike Young trail will take me.

[Sam Morrow]

Fun tour but I hope the highlight of the weekend was drinking with me.

[John Mayhugh]

Fun tour but I hope the highlight of the weekend was drinking with me.

The golf was pretty good too.

[Sam Morrow]

Fun tour but I hope the highlight of the weekend was drinking with me.

The golf was pretty good too.

True. Did your Fallen Oak pictures come out okay?

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()