DELHI, La. -- The 14-month old Black Bear Golf Club in the far northeast corner of Louisiana continues its rise to the top of the class of courses in the Pelican State thanks to its combination of isolation, conservation and style unlike any other track in this region.

Black Bear Golf Course, which debuted in June 2006, was designed by Austin, Texas-based Roy Bechtol and Randy Russell and is patterned after many of the courses the former team utilized in other successful tracks it built in Texas, California and Nevada. After little more than a year of existence, Black Bear is already the home course of Louisiana’s famed 13-course Audubon Golf Trail.

The 7,200-yard course spans a varied topography from tree-lined holes to open approaches. Because it is set atop 300 acres of the Macon Ridge, there are elevation changes that are uncommon in almost all Louisiana golf courses.

“Roy was able to keep the course natural and assure that Black Bear is not just an ordinary course,” said Francis Thompson, the Louisiana state representative who championed the course and the Poverty Point development. “Without the elevation changes, Black Bear would have been a ‘same old, same old’ course like most in Louisiana, but Roy found a way to utilize the site and was able to bring out the unique character of the course.”

Black Bear is stamped with Bechtol’s signature design: there are long par-4s and short par-4s, there is target golf and swing-away wide fairways and there are reachable par-5s and monster par-5s, all in a track that is bracketed by environmentally sensitive wetlands and a strict adherence to nature and the significance of the course’s historic surroundings.

“We paid attention to the boundaries and edges that the track provided us,” Bechtol said. “Black Bear gives golfers a chance to ‘feel’ the site and the wetlands that surround the course and understand that the course has only enhanced that feel, instead of interrupting it. You get out there and it is almost like you are part of the site itself.”

Although technically in the Mississippi Delta region that is characterized by flat terrain, Black Bear is like an oasis of varying topography. The course winds up and down and through wooded creek bottoms and provides golfers with a feeling of isolation and a kinship with nature.

Administrative director Mike Thompson said Bechtol “saw the course in the land even before a spade of dirt had been lifted.”

“The course that was on the site just waiting to be discovered, and Roy found it and nurtured it,” Thompson said. “He understood and fostered our desire to build a course that would interfere as little with the natural surroundings as possible that would also be a unique challenge to golfers. This course is unlike any other in Louisiana, and I truly believe that Roy is the only architect and land planner who could have brought our vision to reality.”

One of the reasons Bechtol enjoyed the success he has at Black Bear is that he also designed and planned the 3,000-acre, man-made lake that is the centerpiece for Poverty Point Reservoir State Park. The reservoir and golf course offers visitors an outlet for fishing, a variety of watersport activities and now championship golf.

Located on the park grounds are a new state of the art RV park complete with 54 pads and 50-amp service as well as 12 two-bedroom lodges, some set above the water.

The Poverty Point site is named for the nearby Native American National Historic Landmark Area. Dubbed the Poverty Point culture, its people settled on the banks of Bayou Macon, near what is now the community of Epps, between 1,400 and 700 B.C. Park guests are only 20 minutes away from Poverty Point State Historic Site for day trips to what has become a focal point for archaeological research since the mid-20th century.

The Bogzag and Cypress Creeks bisect Black Bear Golf Club and offer significant wetlands features. The routing of the course generally follows, then crosses, the creeks and offers passes through the heavily treed creek bottoms. The result is a course that weaves from tree-lined holes to open opportunities and sports expansive Tif Eagle greens, lush fairways and native grasses in all non-play areas.

The golf course, which was constructed by Weitz Golf International, takes its name from the Louisiana black bear which are often sighted on or near the reservoir. Bechtol even left in place a tree behind the 15th green that was previously used by the bears in the winters to hibernate.

“Roy is a class act with great, great ideas and great vision,” Rep. Thompson added. “Black Bear is a course that is memorable and fun to play for all golfers because of Roy’s vision and understanding of the environment. Also, we saved the black bear habitat – and the bear have stayed with us – and we saved the natural lakes and streams, and those ideas were paramount to this project.”

Eric Kaspar, the director of the Audubon Golf Trail Director, said when a golfer is out on Black Bear, he/she is really able to enjoy being away from it all and to simply think about playing golf.

“The remoteness and natural setting of the course promote this feeling,” Kasper said. “The hills catch a lot of people off-guard, and the course is more challenging than they are used to.”
Everything about the course builds on this natural feeling – the large bunkers (some shaped like bear paws), the 170-plus acres of wetlands, the meandering bridges and even the occasional bear sighting.

And while each hole is individualistic and memorable on its own, there is enough consistency in design to give Black Bear its distinct identity.

A round at Black Bear begins and ends with stern tests, and features four par-4s of 461 yards or longer, two par-3s that play from about 225 yards, a dead tree that guards the green and challenges throughout.

“The first hole is one on my favorites on the course because it gives you an indication of the test ahead of you,” Kaspar said. “It looks intimidating off the tee with the large fairway bunker and lake but can be one of the easier driving holes. You can't see the landing area of the fairway so it looks narrow, but is actually fairly wide.

“If you hit it decently over the fairway bunker on the right side, you can catch the ‘speed slot’ at about 175 yards out and get extra yardage,” Kaspar added. “The green is guarded by several large bunkers with the lead bunker 50 yards out from the hole, giving the golfer a misperception of yardage. Although a long hole at 461 yards, you will usually have a mid- to low-iron into the green, which sets up for a draw. While birdies are rare, a par is not difficult.”

The round at Black Bear ends with a chance for reward and a way to give that stoke right back, said Kaspar.

“No. 17 is a par-5 that plays at 535 yards, but for the low handicap player it should be a birdie hole,” Kaspar said. “The fairway slants from left to right, and the left side landing area is guarded by a bunker, so a nice draw off the tee into the slope is optimum. The approach is guarded by two levels of fairway bunker so you'll need to make a big decision. I think I like this one because of the vision of the many bunkers – you feel like you're on a journey when looking at it.”

The finishing hole, the 461-yard, uphill, par-4 18th, is simply magnificent with rustic clubhouse in the background. The fairway slopes down, crosses a creek and the leads back up dramatically to the green. Par is a good score here, especially if the wind is in your face.
“I am very proud of the way we have been able to create a real championship golf course at Black Bear,” Bechtol said. “I really think the course offers something for everyone and – for my money – is the best track in the state. As it matures, Black Bear will only get better and harder, but the course is more fun than just about any other I have played.”

Black Bear is located just six miles off Interstate 20 in Poverty Point State Park. The course is only 30 minutes east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, which is a hotbed for riverboat gambling.

About Bechtol Golf Design
Bechtol Golf Design’s principal, Roy Bechtol has designed more than 50 golf courses throughout the United States either as the lead architect or as a collaborator with other golf course designers. Bechtol Golf Design (www.bechtolgolfdesign.com) combines cutting-edge technology with creative, traditional design practices to determine the best possible plan for land development.

Upcoming projects include courses in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, in the mountains of Panama, in the Colorado Rocky Mountains near Vail, on the coast of Mexico, in the hills of western Virginia, in the Texas Hill Country along the upper banks of Lake Travis and on Mustang Island on the Texas coast.

Bechtol Golf Design’s completed projects, together with those via Roy’s continuing relationship with World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite, include:
The Waterford Club (Smithwick, Texas)
Gaillardia Country Club (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
The Club at Comanche Trace (Kerrville, Texas)
Legends on Lake LBJ (Kingsland, Texas)
Riverplace Golf Club (Austin, Texas)
The Golf Club at Somersett (Reno, Nevada)
The University of Texas Golf Club (Austin, Texas)
The Golf Club of Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
The Golf Club at Star Ranch (Hutto, Texas)
Black Bear Golf Club (Delhi, Louisiana)
ShadowGlen Golf Club (Manor, Texas)
The Ambush at Lajitas (Lajitas, Texas)
ConCan Country Club (North Uvalde County, Texas)
Saddle Creek (Copperopolis, California)
Great Hills Country Club (Austin, Texas)
El Paso Country Club (El Paso, Texas)
Diamondback Golf Academy (San Antonio, Texas)

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