Gulf Hills Golf Club (Ocean Springs, MS)

Ocean Springs is one of the few places in Mississippi that is near the Gulf of Mexico. We won a four night stay at the resort, and decided to take a vacation there. 

(Postcard of the par three 17th) 

Jack Daray designed Gulf Hills in 1927. There were three things I took away from his design. First, he wasn't afraid to use the native landscape, specifically the huge live oak trees. Holes four, five, and nine all featured big trees to be driven over or around. 

(Not necessarily tall, but very wide, these giant trees have a big impact at Gulf Hills.)

Second, one and eighteen are both sub 300 yard par fours, yet birdie opportunities are not so easily gained simply because Daray built narrow putting surfaces where the wedge shot is best played from short of the green.
Spray the ball and the angle becomes very shallow with little room to work with. It's an excellent strategy and one that I don't see too often. 

(The beautiful eighteenth. Notice the contour in the green. Maybe laying up is best way to play.)

Third, a couple of the greens were placed closed to the OB stakes, sloping away from the "bailout" side. This forces the good golfer to take on the approach shot, otherwise a delicate chip is needed to save par. 

(Plenty of room to hit down the right, but the OB stakes are just left of the green. The sixth is one tough hole.) 

(The second hole doglegs left. A tight draw will leave an unhindered view of the flag yet a ball hit down the right will need to carry the bunker just short of the green.) 

(I'm not sure why the seventeenth is so well known. The green is uphill with a severe back to front slope. A very scenic hole especially when the sun is setting.) 

I had a good time at Gulf Hills. It's an above average course. I give it a four. 

The resort is nice and if you like Atlantic City then Biloxi is the place for you. Jack Daray also designed Medinah CC in Chicago so this is an opportunity to experience his philosophical opinions on golf.