Fallen Oak Golf Course

This immaculate Tom Fazio course in Saucier is only accessible to members and guests of the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, which is about 15 minutes away. It's really a special treat and splurge. I'd recommend your group make a day of it. Come early to enjoy the music on the range. The golf course is a brute, so be sure to dial in your game for the challenge. Afterward, dine in the nice clubhouse and celebrate with a drink that you got to play a top-notch Tom Fazio course. It's not quite Mississippi's answer to Shadow Creek, the exclusive Fazio casino course in Vegas, but it's still a five-star experience. Caddies are no longer required, FYI.

The greens were so hard it was impossible to stick a shot from 120 yards out! I am a scratch golfer and grew up playing southern Mississippi courses and Fallen Oak was an awesome opportunity to finally play it... but I walked away disappointed because the greens were hard as concrete and even for a seasoned putter greens were excessively fast. Do yourself a favor and play Diamondhead and save yourself alot of money!

Judging Fallen Oak highlights the unavoidable subjectivity of evaluating golf courses. On the one hand, Fallen Oak is not fun. It’s difficult, and it punishes bad shots with even more difficult shots (for example, its beautiful but deep bunkering). The space between green and tee (doubtlessly intended to support tournament crowds) makes the course a difficult walk. But I’m sure Tom Fazio would tell you that Fallen Oak wasn’t designed to be fun and, instead, was designed to test the world’s best (which it does annually with one of the Champions Tour’s most popular events). Regardless of whether you like penal golf, you cannot avoid the fact that Fallen Oak is a perfect representation of what its architect intended it to be: it is Fazio at the height of his powers, for better or worse (again, depending on your personal preferences). And its maintenance crew does an incredible job of keeping it in shape. When I visited, the course had gotten nearly two inches of rain less than 24 hours before. But the course was completely playable. The greens were fast, and if not for a small handful of low-lying areas where water had collected, you never would’ve guessed that the course had seen a full day of storms. Fallen Oak reminded me a lot of Bethpage Black: big and brawny, and hard (but with greens that are much more difficult than Bethpage). It lacks Bethpage’s character, but the isolated setting does lend a lot of intimacy. Whether that connects with you on an emotional level will (again) depend on your preferences. It wasn’t my cup of tea; it might be yours. But even I would never deny that it is a magnificent representation of its architect’s vision.

Fallen Oak is ranked prominently on Golf Magazine's and Golf Digest's Top 100 public course in America rankings (30th and 38th respectively) and is a stop on the Champions Tour. The catch is you must be a guest of the Beau Rivage to gain access.

The price tag is steep ($200) and is a bit high comparatively, but I attribute this to being in casino country. Admission, however, gets you a first-class experience that will make you feel like a pro.

The front gate is unmanned, but once you are buzzed through you pull up to the entrance of the clubhouse where attendants are waiting to meet you. Your clubs are unloaded onto a cart and your car is complimentary valeted. You have full access to the locker room, where another attendant will offer to clean your shoes following the round.

The practice area is among the best I've ever encountered. The spacious range includes many target greens. The full-size trees housed within the range offer nice optics when warming up with a driver. There is a short-game area that is top notch. I could've spent half a day out there.

The course itself is a good mix of brawny holes and short ones that welcome aggressive shotmaking. Five sets of tees allow for a variety of yardages to suit all skill levels. The opening par-5 isn't overly difficult, but does demand your attention. The stretch that follows, however, can crush your round before it hardly gets started.

The signature Fazio bunkering is present throughout, particularly the ones crowding landing areas in the fairway. The lips are penal and it can be hard to escape from them without simply laying up.

The greens are some of the best I've ever putted on. Just try to find a pock mark or carelessly-repaired pitch mark. This is attributable to the scant number of rounds the course gets, as well as a meticulous greenskeeping staff. There is a good bit of slope in the Championship Bermuda greens, and though they were a touch slower than normal because of excessive recent rain, it wasn't hard to imagine how fast they can get. I really liked some of the complexes, like the Punchbowl-esque sixth.

Closely-mown areas around greens offers potential havoc when chipping.

In summary, the mature hardwoods and distinctive bunkering make Fallen Oak a visually stunning course and worth the hefty greens fee, at least once. Bogeys or worse, however, are lurking throughout, particularly early in the round.

Course was nearly empty considering I played on a weekday and you have to be staying at the hotel to get on. Best feature of the round was the conditioning of the course--greens, fairways and tee boxes all in pristine condition. Ball sat up nicely in every fairway and greens rolled true.

If price were no object, simply the best course on the MS coast. Everything about the experience is top notch. Everything.

I was not able to play this course. As a guest of the Beau I inquired about a tee time. My wife was traveling with me and is not a player, but loves the golf course environment and frequently walks along for exercise. What a women! Unfortunately, The Beau informed me that in order for her to walk along she would have to pay the full green fee. Many people complain about the exclusivity of the game as a reason for it's down trend. Here's a shining example of that. Very disappointing!!

Fallen Oak was exceptional in many respects. The staff was superb, treating you like a member from the moment they valet your car to the moment they park it in front of the clubhouse for you to leave (there is no shuttle from the Beau Rivage, which is 15-20 min away and quite a cab fare if you have to take one). In the locker room I was given Boo Weekley's locker and my shoes were cleaned. The clubhouse was beautiful, as was the course.

And yet as a pure golf experience I was left wanting a little more for my $200 green fee. Perhaps I'm being picky, but as far as the golf course goes it was no more exceptional or memorable than the courses I've played on the RTJ Trail for a half or a third of the price. However, I will say Fallen Oak's greens were fast and true and the practice facility (complete with short game area) was very nice. The carts were as comfy as advertised, but the lack of GPS was disappointing. And I must say my experience was tainted by a very loud fivesome in front of me that had me fed up by the turn, when I played 10 and returned to the clubhouse for lunch (which was also nice).

Would I play Fallen Oak again? Possibly, but even if I'm staying at Beau Rivage again (which you must to play Fallen Oak) I'd be tempted to try one of the other courses on the Coast like Grand Bear or The Bridges. All in all, I would recommend Fallen Oak, at least once.

Biloxi's Fallen Oak is as good of a high-end, destination golf experience as you'll find in the southeast. Guests of the Beau Rivage, about 15 minutes away, have access to this exclusive course.

I had the privilege of playing in the Pro-Am for the PGA Tour Champions event here with Tom Bynum, a real fun guy to spend the afternoon with, but I did get to play my own ball here years ago when I first saw the course.

I'm a sucker for how Tom Fazio shapes golf holes, and he had an unlimited budget here, which allowed him to move live oaks around the property to put them in prominent places. The signature "fallen" oak can be found right of the 18th hole, and it's worth a walk around before playing a tough approach shot to this long par 4. But there are plenty of other gorgeous looks off the tee, and you may need some help reading the greens, which are large and tough, but very quick and pure.

Stick around afterwards for a drink and a meal and make use of the locker room facilities, which are well attended. A gentleman cleaned my shoes without me even asking. Great touch, especially considering we were playing after several days of rain (having said that, we were blown away with how dry the course was compared to some others we played this week; Fallen Oak was built properly).

The only way to play Fallen Oak is to stay at the Beau Rivage Hotel Casino. So, if you are on a budget, then this may not best option as green fee $200+tax is in addition to your room.
What you get is a golf experience, not a round of golf. The course is located about 20 mins from the Casino, so you will need a car/taxi/shuttle. You are treated to a first class experience from the moment you arrive. This is the 2nd place I have been where the Locker room attendant insists on cleaning your shoes prior to the round. Hudson National GC being the other. They made a name plate waiting for me on the locker, and when I got done he even cleaned my shoe bag!
Practice facility is nice, complete with short game area. So you can take your time to warm up.
The course is typical Fazio, room off the tee, lots of doglegs and large greens. From the Tips I found the course forgiving with room for misses. Choosing the correct tees will be important, as the course can be long in spots, and asks a few questions about your iron game. I would recommend moving one tee box up when playing for first time.
Conditions were excellent, but with so few rounds your would expect nothing less. The greens rolled at a good pace for August, and were consistent.
Overall, if you are willing to pay for a golf experience, this is the best option along the Gulf Coast.