DANCING RABBIT COURSES SACRED TO GOLFERS
by MARC ATCHISON
The sun broke through a cluster of tall pines as we made our way up a winding road in the direction of a Mississippi golf resort nestled in the rolling hills area of the state’s idyllic east central region. As we approached the rustic-looking white clubhouse with the porch wrapped around it, a small rabbit jumped in front of our car, looked us over for a moment and danced back into the thick brush. “This must be Dancing Rabbit,” exclaimed a member of our traveling foursome as we pulled into the parking lot of a resort offering what Golfweek magazine describes as “America’s Best Resort Courses.”
As we made our way to the pro shop, we noticed a group of people huddled around a heavy-set man with thick blonde hair
puffing on a cigarette. “Isn’t that…could it be… that’s not him, is it?”
We couldn’t believe our eyes – there
was
John Daly, the heavyweight
champion of golf, signing
autographs before launching a few
more practice balls into the clear blue
Mississippi sky.
Dancing Rabbit is
Daly’s “home course”, a place he
likes to come to enjoy the gaming
facilities at the ultra-modern Pearl
River Resort adjacent to Dancing
Rabbit and play two of the most
spectacular courses in America,
designed by the Monet and Van
Gogh’s of American golf course
architects,
Tom Fazio and
Jerry Pate.
If you’re lucky, and Daly is there, he
might even tag along with you for a
few holes, which he did with us, just “to show you guys how to play one of the best tests of golf anywhere.”
The courses, known as the
Azaleas
and Oaks, are
7,000-yard
masterpieces carved
out of the
dramatic valleys and ancient pines
and hardwoods that define this
ecological wonderland.
Here small
streams and spring-fed creeks
weave
through courses featuring
Bermuda
and Zoysia fairways and
Bentgrass
greens.
This is Heaven on Earth. And if
you
don’t believe me, listen to
what
former Chicago Bears’ coach
and
NFL analysts
Mike Ditka had
to say
about the resort’s courses:
“Dancing
Rabbit is a rare
jewel–
two
of the
finest
golf courses
and
the most
efficient and cordial staff
I have ever
met. If you
don’t like
Dancing Rabbit,
you probably won’t
enjoy
heaven either.”
That’s some pretty high praise,
for
heaven’s sake. But Ditka is
not
alone in his admiration of the
Dancing Rabbit complex, which
rates
among both Golf Magazine’s
and
Golf Digest’s
top 100 courses.
The par 72, 7,128 yard Azaleas was
the first of the Dancing Rabbit duo to
open in July of 1997. The course is
considered the state’s greatest
conception since Mississippi’s
favorite son Elvis Presley was born
in
Tupelo. Golfers quickly got all
shook
up by the Azaleas’ dramatic
design,
one that takes you on a good walk
through an enchanting forest. The
peaks and valleys you reach on this
course are hard to match anywhere
else. Fazio and Pate used the
landscape to their advantage and
most average golfers have been
cursing them ever since.
Those menacing ponds and
spring-fed streams come into
play on nine
holes and the par 4,
8th is rated the club’s No. 1
handicap challenge. Keeping it
straight is essential off No. 8. The
fairway falls off to the
right and
filters errant balls into a
large
bunker that is hard to
escape.
Over hanging
trees block
approach
shots and, like
all the holes
here,
the greens are
super fast. Off
the
tee, the 8th looks
welcoming but
you
quickly discover
looks are
deceiving.
The Oaks arrived on the scene in
1999 and is the perfect compliment
to the Azaleas. The 7,076 beauty,
while cradled in the same rustic
landscape, offers golfers a
completely different look. Water
plays a much bigger role on this
course – streams and ponds are
larger and provide a greater degree
of difficulty. Ironically, the top rated
hole, 12, does not have any water.
The challenge on this par 4 wonder
is to stay left off the tee to avoid a
troublesome valley – my Death
Valley – where hanging trees block
your approach shot to a compact
green that’s tucked away on the
right. Right or long from the fairway
will result in a sure bogey or worse.
Just play it straight down the centre
like a politician looking to get
reelected.
For my money, the par 4, 7th is the
Oaks’ signature hole. The large pond
that
stretches from tee to mid fairway
is enough to make your legs shake
like Elvis. Your
line here is a fairway
bunker on the right. The approach
shot into a deep green
requires
distance control. No. 7 supplies lots
of eye candy and it’s a real treat so
stay focused. There’s no use to gamble on either one of these two great courses – save
that for the Pearl River Resort casino later. The Dancing Rabbit courses are built on ancestral lands once ruled by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, where the Big and Little Dancing Rabbit creeks flow gently through sacred land.
The Dancing Rabbit courses are part of the Pearl River Resort, for more information visit
www.dancingrabbit.com or
www.pearlriverresort.com.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Marc Atchison is the former Travel and Golf Editor of Canada’s largest daily newspaper The Toronto Star. More of Marc’s stories are also available on www.tnnworld.com.
