Started By
Message

Worst course ever played?

Posted on 4/27/26 at 10:20 am
Posted by BRich
Old Metairie
Member since Aug 2017
2964 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 10:20 am
Mine was on Friday with my dad (86 yrs. old).

He lives in Hattiesburg; I'm in Old Metairie, and we wanted to play somewhere between us, so he suggested (Lake) Hillsdale between Poplarville and Lumberton right off I-59. He played it quite a few years ago, and said it was a little rough and a bit of a cow pasture when he played it then, but an okay course.

As he told me while we were playing, it has gotten MUCH worse since then.

First of all, this is what passes for greens at Hillsdale:


Close-up:


That wasn't the worst by far, that was probably the best. THIS was the worst:


Bare sand: you can see folks have driven carts up on the greens there.
You never knew where your putt would end up-- it was more like a pinball in a pinball machine than a golf ball on a green.

No pics of the tee boxes, but they were just as bad ( if not worse). Many were terribly eroded; hardpan clay and dirt, difficult to find a patch of green to tee up. You almost needed a hammer to get a tee in. Box markers were missing half of the time.

Cart paths (or what is left of them) don't link up easily, and compounding that is the fact that the hole layout is difficult to follow at ground level, and signage indicators are lacking/missing. This is what it looks like on the scorecard:


It's a shame because it could be a decent little course-- some of the holes are rather picturesque-- this is my dad teeing off on the 3rd hole (one of the halfway decent ones):


But it WAS a beautiful day with me being outside instead of in the office, and I was hanging out with my dad and spending most of the day together. We even just laughed off the foursome ahead of us playing a boombox with songs like "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" loudly (they also graciously let us play through). And afterwards, we had a late lunch of some good BBQ in Poplarville, so it was a good day.

But we agreed to never play that course again!
This post was edited on 4/27/26 at 11:30 am
Posted by Riseupfromtherubble
You'll Never Walk Alone
Member since Jun 2011
39961 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 10:56 am to
Man, I've played some real goat tracks in the 6 years I've been playing golf.

Sunny Hills in Chipley, FL
Nature Walk in Lynn Haven, FL
Rocky Branch in Lincolnton, GA

At least with those 3, you're getting what you pay for. They didn't charge crazy greens fees so the golfer isn't expecting much

Signal Hill in Panama City beach is a fun track, but they struggle keeping the course maintained. I've played out there at times where it looks similar to those pictures you posted where there is more sand than grass on some of the greens.

Posted by LSUfan4444
Member since Mar 2004
57026 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 10:58 am to
Plantation Golf Course, Gretna, La
Posted by Bawpaw
Member since May 2021
1714 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 11:41 am to
Oak Lake in Clinton
LSU Golf Course
Posted by Dire Wolf
bawcomville
Member since Sep 2008
40275 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 11:51 am to
howel park

Posted by ReeseWee
Geismar, LA
Member since May 2019
538 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:24 pm to
Stonebridge in Gretna was pretty bad yesterday. Base on expectations, Atchafalaya the last couple of times I played.
Posted by LoneStarStiffShaft
Member since Aug 2025
48 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 12:26 pm to
Check out Blackhawk in pflugerville, Tx outside Austin. The worst
Posted by MizunoDude
Member since May 2020
1144 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 1:01 pm to
Covington Country Club (Should revoke that Moniker) says hold my beer.
No driving range or practice facility, no staff, no pro shop, and a few holes are simply unplayable (hole 6 hasn't really had a serviceable green for over 8 years).

Public golfers are the worst as there aren't many public courses in the area.

Been a member from way back when it was totally private. It was a beautiful place. But now, it is barely playable and if the greens don't recover come growing season, it may as well shut down.
Posted by Cleathecat
Houston
Member since Feb 2021
1749 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 1:12 pm to
How much was your green fee?
Posted by prostyleoffensetime
Mississippi
Member since Aug 2009
12497 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 1:15 pm to
I've got two easy ones.

When I was first getting into golf, I'd drive down to Sonny Guy Municipal in Jackson. This was like 15 years ago. It's got a new name now. The front 9 is on one side of Woodrow Wilson Ave, then you tunnel over to the back on the other side by the municipal airport.

Want to say it was $10 for 9 holes and $15 for 18. Cart and all... I mean, it's in Jackson proper, so you can imagine what you'd see and hear (gunshots, police chases, etc.) while playing. The greens would typically be okay, but beyond that it was always a mess.

I quit playing for a little while and had moved. When I picked it back up, I drove over to Greenville, MS to their Muni out by the airport. My God, what a dump. Putting across spotty Poa kind of comes with the territory on shitty courses in the south, but they had Poa and Dallisgrass that you were having to navigate.
Posted by paulb52
Member since Dec 2019
8392 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 1:21 pm to
Covington Country Club.
Posted by mikedatyger
Orlandeaux, FL
Member since Jun 2005
4417 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 1:55 pm to
quote:

Plantation Golf Course, Gretna, La

Wow, that's a blast from the past. I had forgotten about that one.
Living on the West Bank, I would play Brechtel over that one for sure.
Posted by The Johnny Lawrence
Member since Sep 2016
2230 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 2:30 pm to
Cam2 in Amite.

There was a 9 hole course in Hammond that was basically a driving range with 9 greens. That was bad.
Posted by iwyLSUiwy
I'm your huckleberry
Member since Apr 2008
42115 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 3:56 pm to
Wow, that first picture I mean it looks like regular ol zero turn could cut it shorter than that.
Posted by TenLittleIndians
The Oaks
Member since Feb 2020
118 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 4:01 pm to
Oak Lake in Clinton is the only answer. Land so bad even the cows wouldn't eat there so they made the next best thing - a golf course!

Runner up is Lake D'Arbonne Country Club in Farmerville.
Posted by BRich
Old Metairie
Member since Aug 2017
2964 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 4:03 pm to
quote:

How much was your green fee?


Had to look it up-- $45 for two of us including cart, and including my dad's senior/veteran discount.

Far too much $$ for what it was.
Posted by Cosmo
glassman's guest house
Member since Oct 2003
131311 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 4:57 pm to
Cajun Pines near Church Point
Posted by double d
Amarillo by morning
Member since Jun 2004
17152 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 5:30 pm to
quote:

Wow, that's a blast from the past. I had forgotten about that one. Living on the West Bank, I would play Brechtel over that one for sure.


Was talking to someone last week about all the courses in the Metro area that are long gone, Plantation was the first name that came up. Not much of a course but cheap. Used to take my son to Bayou Barriere, could play all 27 holes, eat a good burger at the turn after playing 18 then do the other 9 for under $75 bucks.
Posted by bstaceyau19
New Orleans
Member since Jun 2022
1258 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 5:48 pm to
quote:

Living on the West Bank, I would play Brechtel over that one for sure.


I miss Brechtel. It was a good little course and not in that bad of shape usually.
Posted by llfshoals
Member since Nov 2010
20888 posts
Posted on 4/27/26 at 6:04 pm to
The Links in Tuscaloosa.

Started out as a really nice track, went downhill fast. Greens were chewed up, fairways scraggly.

But the best part was the gunfire from the section 8 housing they turned the apartment complex into the golf course runs through. Having a few rounds popped off next to the fairway can affect your swing.

Pretty sure that’s when the maintenance went to hell.
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 3Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram