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GOLFING GROWTH: Courses May Be Catalyst for Recovery

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 February 2006, 12:01 CST

By Tom Wilemon, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Feb. 28--GULFPORT -- Despite a dismal snowbird season, Coast golf courses continue an expansion that was under way before Hurricane Katrina.

Two new courses affiliated with casinos are set to open within the next year. A third is being planned in conjunction with Bacaran Bay Casino. Two other casino golf courses will undergo major renovations. Nearly all of the existing courses that are members of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Golf Association should be open by late spring.

"This $100 million industry may be the leader in the tourism industry's recovery," according to the Governor's Commission on Renewal Report, which calls on the state to market a "golf trail" to visitors. But to sell golf packages, you've got to have hotel rooms.

"Obviously, the first big step was to get the courses open," said Kevin Drum, executive director of the Coast Golf Association. "We've got nearly 90 percent open. I have a big no vacancy sign on the second subject. Obviously, our big issue is rooms."

The booking for golf packages this year is about 15 to 20 percent of what it should be, he said. Locals have taken up a lot of the slack in the business from snowbirds.

St. Andrews, Windance, Gulf Hills, Dogwood and Shell Landing were among the first golf courses to reopen. They were followed by the Bridges, Pass Christian, Grand Bear, Diamondhead, Pine Bayou, Sunkist and Mississippi National.

One of those courses, the Bridges Golf Club at Casino Magic Bay St. Louis, will close Monday for a six-month face lift. Seaside Golf Development of Pensacola will do the multimillion-dollar renovation, while the Arnold Palmer Course Design Company will oversee the work to ensure the integrity of the course remains intact.

"The Bridges was always recognized as one of the more challenging, premier golf courses on the Mississippi Gulf Coast," said Chris Altese, director of golf for the Bridges. "These renovations will maintain these standards and enhance the playability of the course."

The Preserve, a new golf course on Mississippi 57 north of Interstate 10, could open by early summer. Robert Low, the owner of the Palace Casino, is the managing partner, but play will not be limited to people who gamble at the Palace.

Beau Rivage's $30 million Fallen Oak, designed by golf architect Tom Fazio, is slated to open in November.

Arnold Palmer is designing his second course for the Coast. It is connected to the Bacaran Bay Casino under development by Torguson Gaming Group Inc.

Broadwater Development LLP, which bought the President Casino Broadwater property last year, will keep and upgrade an existing golf course as it moves forward its plans.

The Oaks, a golf course on Menge Avenue north of Pass Christian, was recently sold in a foreclosure auction to Pacific Life Insurance Co. It could reopen by summer, Drum said. The Great Southern Club, a beachfront course in Gulfport, should open this spring, he said.

"I feel very good about the future," Drum said. "My concern is this month and next month. Everything is positive about the future."

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

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Source: The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

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