COURSE REVIEW

Gulf Hills Golf Club near Biloxi shows little trace of Hurricane Katrina

By Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor

Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on Gulf Hills Golf Club in Ocean Springs, Miss., just outside Biloxi. Two years later, a review of the golf course shows few traces of that distruction.

Katrina takes its toll on Biloxi-area golf courses Download the Gulf Coast golf guide e-book here There's life after Katrina for golfers in Mobile Course review: Great Southern Golf Club

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. — When Jimmy Fayard showed up at the Gulf Hills Golf Club here shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through in August of 2005, he expected the worst.

He got that and more.

"I've been here 25 years and it's the first time I started to turn around and leave," said Fayard, the club manager, who has seen the historic course battered by several hurricanes and severe storms.

Katrina was a different story from the previous storms. On the fifth green sat a large boat, one of dozens scattered around the course. Jet-skis were all over the layout. There were washing machines and every sort of debris you could imagine.

"We had boats from all over Biloxi," Fayard said. "Some of them floated up still attached to the trailers. It was overwhelming."

The greens were covered in thick mud from the bayou, some of it four inches deep. Fayard was certain he had lost the greens on at least four holes.

Then there were the trees, or more accurately the lack of them. Hundreds bent and snapped like popsicle sticks. Gulf Hills has always been known as a shady oasis of sorts, but now it was a completely different course.

All the buildings had been damaged, some of them completely after the high winds and six- to seven-foot surge inundated them. Worse, morale was shattered.

But, Fayard didn't turn around and leave. He started back to work with tournament manager Larry Holt and a host of volunteers. Gulf Hills is a member-owned course, so there was no lack of willing helpers.

"We had to do something," Fayard said. "It was so depressing."

The first clean-up contractor quit, after enduring 30 flat tires on the first day from all the debris. But, the members endured and re-opened not long after the direct hit, the second course on the Biloxi coast to do so.

They flushed the greens and used chemicals and tender loving care, and didn't lose a single one.

Fayard and Holt said the course was about 85-90 percent complete, but Katrina left behind a little legacy.

First, they noticed the carts started to go bad, the result of salt water intrusion. Also, many of the surviving trees have died, from root rot and other problems.

"I don't think we're going to have any pine trees left," Fayard said. "If we have a drought this summer, they'll all be gone."

Gulf Hills: The verdict

I played Gulf Hills two years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. After playing it post-Katrina, I still enjoyed it.

Gulf Coast Golf Tours Phone: 866-813-7494

It's certainly more open than it was, but the greens are back to normal as well as most of the rest of the course. Other than the fewer trees, there are few signs of the hurricane, though the members could surely point out some lingering after-effects.

It still has some subtle elevation changes, especially on the front nine, and enough big oaks remain to give it a shady, walk-in-the-park feel. Though the course is short, there are a good variety of holes.

It's a fairly easy, well-conditioned course, with few hazards. However, the smallish, old-fashioned greens can be troublesome.

Officials have started a live oak program that should help shade the course as they mature.

The club is still doing around 30,000 rounds a year, and expects to do more when the U.S. 90 Bay Bridge reopens. Two lanes are scheduled to open in November.

August 20, 2007

Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.