Old Waverly Golf Club

Old Waverly has been on my “to-do list” for a while now.

Upon arrival, it is easy to see why this Golf Digest Top 100 American Public access golf course has garnered its reputation: stately gated entrance, unique lavish clubhouse, and a quality practice area. If true, rumors that the club is enduring some hard times is not evident at first blush.

I was eager to see how OW stacked up to some of the courses I’ve heard it compared to, notably Shoal Creek.

The opening hole is a good way to ease into the round, with a shortish par 4. But for me, the round really didn’t begin until the sixth hole, which easily became my favorite hole on the property. Here’s why: there are an abundance of long, straight, narrow holes at OW and I found the sixth to be anything but that. A variety of club choices off the tee still leaves a short iron in a player’s hand. The approach shot is made memorable by a carry over a small pond, dotted with bright flora to a narrow green buttressed by a stone wall. I would never tire of playing this hole. The seventh follows, and in my opinion is the best par 3 on the course. Eight is a brute of a par 4, especially into the wind. The outward nine concludes with a rather straightforward, bunker-laden par 5.

The par-5 10th was my second favorite hole. You tee off up a hill with the green nowhere in sight some 90 degrees left of the landing area. The second shot offers a chance to get home in two with equal parts nerve and skill. I thought it was a well-designed hole. The eleventh follows, using sort of a reverse-cape design along the lake. The 14th hole stood out as well, as it made you think of how to fit whatever club you pulled into a landing area framed by creeks in front of and behind a small patch of fairway, a thicket of trees on the left and a fairway bunker guarding the right.

This was a recurring theme on the course: strategy and accuracy off the tee to find the proper landing area and angles into the rather large greens that rely more on slope than contour.

I liked that the course played into and out of hardwoods, then emerged into wide open spaces with the holes that play around the lake.

But is it rightly ranked among Golf Digest’s best 100 public access courses? These rankings are highly subjective from one player to another. I would be hesitant to firmly place it there, but will reserve that notion until playing it again when the fairways aren’t water-logged from torrential rains the area has endured over the last few months and in calmer conditions than the 25 mph winds that made holes 17 and 18 real challenges playing dead into it.

Also keeping me on the fence is my sense that to be among the best 100 public-access courses in the U.S., every hole must be strong and holes shouldn’t be too similar. In this regard, the collection of par 3s were a little mundane in my opinion. I liked seven and 17 is a nice hole. The third and 12th holes, however, were very vanilla. The par-5 second was pretty bland as well. The bunkers were a bit below par, but I cannot say if that was again, due to all the rain, or neglect. But a top 100 course gets the little things right.

I would describe OW as a good tournament golf course - demanding, yet fair - and can see why the USGA has chosen it for several of its women’s championships.

Old Waverly is a very special country club. It’s steeped in Southern charm, after all, a Southern gentleman like founder George Bryan has a particular knack for making guests happy. Bryan is also the co-founder of the new Mossy Oak Golf Club, located across the street from Old Waverly in West Point, MS.

Since 1988, Old Waverly has been serving up a daily dose of Southern hospitality every day to members and guests of the Old Waverly Golf Club. Old Waverly was developed on the site of the historic Waverly Mansion and is regarded by many as one of the truly unique private clubs in all of the US. The club was the vision of the George and Marcia Bryan Family, who wanted to create a world-class golf and hospitality destination in the heart of the Mississippi Black Prairie. 

Old Waverly is known for many things: its gracious service, five-star comfort food, home-smoked barbecue and sweet mint tea. But to golfers and members, it’s best known for its championship golf course. Over the years, many top golf publications have agreed and enshrined Old Waverly on their "Best of" lists: 

Golfweek - #1 Residential Golf Course in MS
Golf Digest - #1 Golf Course in MS
Golf Digest's Top-100
Golfweek's Top-100

Additionally, Old Waverly hosted the 1999 U.S. Women's Open Championship and was selected to host the 2019 US Women's Amateur. 

The golf course was designed by Jerry Pate and the late Bob Cupp and is set against the backdrop of hardwood trees, stately homes and four lakes. Old Waverly plays over 7,000 yards and delivers a golf experience like no other. The course is highlighted by holes that place a premium on accuracy and shot making as well as a host of risk/reward shots, all while navigating through some of the most scenic views the Mississippi Black Prairie has to offer. You’ll find many deep and well defined pot bunkers in the landing areas off the tee as well as greenside. Rightfully Old Waverly has emerged as the premier golf destination in the South. 

Most Memorable Hole: Number 6, Par 4, 331 Yards. A sneaky little dogleg right par 4 that requires a short carry over a waste area off the tee to a defined landing area. From there, you’ll have a short pitch shot over a small pond to a wide, shallow green with a nasty little pot bunker in front of the green.

Favorite Par 3: Number 17, 170 Yards. Although the distance of this hole may not intimidate you, the water left certainly will. The pot bunker in front of the middle of the green forces you to carry the ball onto the green off the tee and a ridge through the middle of the green can make for some interesting birdie putts.

Favorite Par 4: Number 18, 385 yards. A dogleg left with water all down the left side. Your best bet off the tee is to aim at one of the fairway bunkers on the right side. Find the fairway successfully and you’ll have the best angle into an angled green protected by 8 bunkers.

Favorite Par 5: Number 9, 485 Yards. Bunkers dot the landing area of this front nine finishing hole, both in the landing area and in the rough. And not only on your tee shot, but on the layup shot as well. In all, there are no less than 13 bunkers on this hole. Selecting clubs that keep the bunkers out of play may be your best bet to leave yourself a manageable chip onto the green. The way the bunkers are set up, you’ll most likely have to carry the ball onto the putting surface which slopes back to front. Par is a good score here.

Old Waverly offers several choices of luxurious accommodations including villas, condos and single-family homes. Nine four-bedroom cottages sit on Lake Waverly provide the bulk of overnight stays. Each cottage has four separately keyed bedrooms and baths surrounding a spacious shared common living area equipped with a wet bar area, coffee station and big screen HDTV. Guests have complete access to the club and its amenities. Need something bigger? For families and large groups Old Waverly offers spacious, 2, 3- and 4-bedroom villas and condominiums that are located within close proximity of the clubhouse. Most of Old Waverly’s villas and all of the condominiums offer lovely views of the course’s pristine fairways as well as Lake Waverly.

When it comes to dining, Old Waverly has a number of options to choose from. Murphy's is located on the lower level of the Clubhouse and is a great place to eat a casual lunch, watch the big game, play darts or just relax with friends. They also offer a limited breakfast buffet from 7:00am until 10:00am most days. Cameron's is the perfect place to relax and celebrate the end of the day or the beginning of the evening, depending on how you look at it. Cameron’s is reminiscent of a Scottish landowner's library with its rich warmth complemented by a wide selection of fine cigars and wines as well as your favorite libations.

In the event your tastes are a little more discerning and you desire something a little more elegant, The Magnolia Room welcomes diners with a panoramic vista of Lake Waverly and the golf course. Jackets are required for all gentlemen, as are reservations.

The English Garden at Old Waverly provides the perfect setting for afternoon tea, an outdoor cocktail party or a hearty barbecue feast. The highlight of the garden is the original smokehouse, where superb meats are prepared for even the most discriminating of tastes.

One look at Old Waverly Mansion and you’ll quickly realize that finding a more ideal venue to host the wedding of your dreams would be an arduous task. Whether you’re planning a low-key Mississippi-style event or a classic affair with more refined elegance, the team at Old Waverly has the experience to make your dreams a reality. The property features a number of ceremony locations with unsurpassed views and can accommodate either a few special friends or hundreds of guests.

The members at Old Waverly Golf Club are a diverse group and hail from towns throughout Mississippi, neighboring southern states and from various cities across the country. Some even reside full time in West Point, MS. To meet the needs of such a diverse group of members, Old Waverly has developed a comprehensive choice of membership categories designed for individuals and families of all ages and locations including: 

Resident Memberships

Junior Memberships

Non-Resident Memberships

Social Memberships

Corporate Memberships

Military Memberships

Ask anyone who’s been to Old Waverly what they feel makes this a special place and you’ll hear a variety of responses. Some will tell you it’s the golf course, others will say the food and drink. Or it could be the accommodations and the clubhouse. Many will tell you it’s a combination of the above. But ask George Bryan and he has a different perspective; he’ll tell you it’s the people. Most are local Mississippians who need little instruction of how to take good care of members and the guests. Old Waverly also hires a number of students from Mississippi State University's PGA Golf Management program. Can you think of a better place to learn the golf industry?

There are two ways to play golf at Old Waverly: become a member or play it as part of a Nature’s Golf package. When packaged together with Mossy Oak across the street, you’ve got a one-two combination that can’t be beat.

Old Waverly is a course that never grows old when playing over and over again. Paired with the contrasting Mossy Oak Golf Club across the street, West Point is lucky to have one of the top 36-hole destinations in the Southeast. With the contrast the two courses offer, a traditional Southern tree-lined course with Waverly and the wide open links-style of Mossy Oak, this is undoubtedly one of the most unique golf getaways in the country.

You can't beat days like the one I spent playing Old Waverly.

The morning was a highlight in itself - watching from a luxury box as Mississippi State University beat Texas A&M, a top five team. After the half-hour ride back to from Starkville, I teed off with long-time Director of Golf Chris Jeter for a round that ended with a par on no. 18 in utter darkness. What a marathon adventure.

This classic course designed by Jerry Pate and the late Bob Cupp remains one of the great semiprivate clubs in the South. It hosted a memorable 1999 U.S. Women's Open won by Julie Inkster and could someday host another premier event.

Golfers must stay on property to gain access. There are villas, condos and homes for rent within walking distance of the clubhouse, where fantastic weekend buffet breakfasts and lunch/dinner meals are served.

The course winds through the neighborhood, although there are secluded stretches on both nines. The back nine flirts with Lake Waverly for its most testing holes. There's nothing fluky or awkward about the layout. It's just purely enjoyable golf from start to finish.

Whether staying for the weekend or just the day, Old Waverly is a fantastic golf experience. With the addition of its second course in 2016 (Mossy Oak Golf Club), Old Waverly will rank toward the top of golf trips in the south and in the country. I've played this course for years and will never grow tired of it.

A buddy of mine and I tacked on a day at Old Waverly before heading over to a Florida-Alabama football game. I'm glad we found a way to make it happen.

We played 18 holes, had a late lunch, then went out for another nine holes before dark. This was a fantastic experience and the course was in fabulous shape.

The main takeaway is that this is a place that you could easily play everyday and never get tired of it. It's fairly generous off the tee - you can spray it a little - and is playable around the greens. If you miss one you have several options how to play the shot toward the hole.

I can't say enough great things about the staff and the members. Everyone was so friendly and accommodating and were genuinely thrilled to have us play there. It was Southern hospitality at its finest.