I left Florida early in the morning on my drive back to Texas. There is a bit more daylight now compared to the last time I drove through (Thanksgiving) and I gained an hour once I got into the Central Time Zone. That allowed me to play an afternoon round at The Preserve Golf Club on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, one of my favorite areas to golf!

I didn’t want to wait around for the 2pm twilight time so I paid the $145 rack rate (ouch) and teed off a bit after 1pm. Ultimately, I don’t think the round here during the winter is worth that much. What I ended up getting were winter conditions with the steep spring price tag.

Price aside, I enjoyed many thing about The Preserve – including its setting, design and look. What you’ll find is a course that plays through pines, oaks and marshland, so it lives up to its name! There were signs of spring with blooming azaleas, so it was easy to get wrapped up in nature while playing here.

I played the blue tees which are 70.5/135/6435 (par-71) and enjoyed this Jerry Pate design. Pate has also designed other courses in the region that I’ve enjoyed, including Old Waverly and Timberline. The Preserve tests you on the greens (lots of contour) and the approaches but it has plenty of space to find balls.

The front nine plays through the pines and is highlighted by the 2nd and 3rd holes. The 2nd is a beautiful par-3 where the green is placed between a row of pines and a large, sculptured bunker. The white sand in the bunker added some nice contrast.

The 3rd is a medium-length par-4 that slides to the right. The approach needs to carry water that guards the green and if you miss long then the downhill chip will be almost impossible to get close. I hit a chip with my 64* degree wedge and still ended up 15 feet away for par.

The back nine has more of a wetlands feel to it and the par-5 14th (the only par-5 on the back nine) is one of the most interesting holes there. Water is in play on the tee shot and then the fairway ends and the marsh begins near the layup. The green complex is only accessible via a walking bridge.

Overall, I found the conditions at The Preserve to be lackluster for the premium green fee. The best part were the greens, which were pure and super quick. The fairways had a light overseed and weren’t very lush while the tees looked to be dormant bermuda. While things weren’t awful, the turf wasn’t what I had hoped it would be.

The good outweighs the bad at The Preserve and it is one of the many solid courses in the area! I’d recommend the splurge to play here, however just doing so when the bermuda grass is green.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):