BILOXI, Miss. -- The list of honors that Fallen Oak has earned for its beauty, playability and overall experience just increased with the golf course's debut inclusion in the prestigious Golf Magazine "Top-100 Courses You Can Play" list.
The Tom Fazio-designed MGM MIRAGE course checked in at No. 29 on the biennial list of elite courses that don't require a country club membership to play.
"The feedback from our course evaluators about Fallen Oak is that it's the Southern equivalent of Shadow Creek," said Joe Passov, Golf Magazine's Architecture and Course Rankings Editor. "It's just such an extra-special property, with gorgeous landscaping and unusually rolling terrain for that part of the country. It's basically tantamount to a first-class, private-club experience that is open to guests of the resort. It's obviously something special. To crack the Top-30 courses you can play in its very first year of eligibility means it has an awful lot going for it."
Fallen Oak was one of 11 courses making its debut on the prestigious list. Of the 11, only highly acclaimed Chambers Bay in Washington and Erin Hills in Wisconsin were ranked ahead of Fallen Oak. It is one of three courses in Mississippi on the Top 100 list and the second-highest casino course on the list, behind big sister Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas, which was No. 13.
"While Shadow Creek was hewn from an absolutely barren landscape, this 7,487-yard layout flaunts its natural attributes, from the rolling terrain to its streams, lakes and wetlands," Passov writes in Golf. "The Southern mansion clubhouse adds greatly to the Gone With the Wind ambience, but it's the individual holes that lift Fallen Oak from merely 'pretty' to 'pretty great.'"
Passov, who oversees the list, is one of the most recognized golf and travel writers in the country. Besides Golf Magazine, he handles ratings for Zagat's and has written for numerous publications, including the Robb Report.
"With Fazio's design, the natural beauty of the terrain and MGM MIRAGE's commitment to service, we knew Fallen Oak would be a special place," said George P. Corchis, Jr., president and chief operating officer of MGM MIRAGE's Mississippi resorts, which includes Beau Rivage in Biloxi and the Gold Strike Casino Resort in Tunica. "To be recognized as one of the nation's top courses so soon after opening is quite an honor. We are both proud and pleased, because we know the course will only continue to improve as it matures."
The award marked the third time in the last four months Fallen Oak has received recognition from golfers and the golf media.
In January, Golf Digest selected Fallen Oak as the No. 2 Best New Public Course $75 and Over. In March, Golf Digest recognized Fallen Oak's lounge with a panoramic view of the 18th hole as one of the "Top 19th Holes in Golf."
Last year, Golfweek Magazine selected Fallen Oak as No. 2 among its prestigious 25-course list of Best Casino Courses for 2007.
Fallen Oak was also mentioned as one of the must-play golf resorts in the 2007 Robb Report's "Best of the Best" issue and has been featured or prominently mentioned in such publications as Golf Digest, Golfweek, LINKS, T+ L Golf, US Airways Magazine, Golf for Women Magazine, GolfSouth Magazine and Golf Vacations Magazine.
And from the moment it opened on Nov. 6, 2006, Fallen Oak has impressed players and writers alike with its dramatic elevation changes – unheard of for a Gulf Coast course – and more than 4,000 stately oaks, magnolias, pines and other hardwood trees, interspersed with ponds, streams and wetlands.
Aside from those elevation changes, remarkably true-rolling greens and Fazio's dynamic design tactics of using the DeSoto National Forest and all its inherent natural elements as a template, the multi-million dollar course features undulating terrain and pecan orchards amid the oaks, pines and magnolias.
The clubhouse and practice facilities alone put Fallen Oak among the top courses in the region. Built to resemble an Acadian-style Southern mansion, the 12,000-square foot clubhouse houses a 1,000-square foot pro shop and locker facilities. The 70-seat lounge and restaurant features top-level dining and a panoramic view of the 18th hole, as well as the majestic live oak that gives Fallen Oak its name.
From the moment guests enter the lush and picturesque course through the gated front entrance, they know they are someplace special. With a personal greeting upon arrival, swing tips on the practice facility, exceptional caddy service, on-course food and beverage and chilled scented towels, Beau Rivage guests find a round at Fallen Oak that delivers an experience that is memorable and unrivaled in the region.
Stretching to a hearty 7,487 yards from the back tees, Fallen Oak offers golfers five sets of tees and strategic play options as each hole winds through ever-changing terrain and environments.
Fallen Oak is available exclusively for guests of Beau Rivage. Greens fees for this elite MGM MIRAGE golf experience are $200- $300. To make reservations, call (877) 805-4657 or visit www.beaurivage.com.
ABOUT BEAU RIVAGE:
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, named one of the top 100 hotels in the continental United States and Canada by Travel + Leisure Magazine, opened on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1999. The property re-opened for business August 29, 2006 following a dramatic $550-million renovation. Beau Rivage is a wholly owned subsidiary of MGM MIRAGEä, the premier entertainment, hotel and gaming company in the world. For more information or to make reservations, call (888) 56-ROOMS or visit www.beaurivage.com.
ABOUT FAZIO GOLF COURSE DESIGNERS:
Throughout his 40 years in golf course design, Tom Fazio and his staff of talented designers have been recognized for creating award-winning courses throughout the United States. No living designer has more credits on Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses and Golfweek's collection of America's Best. The Golf Digest poll for Best Modern Day Golf Course Architect was discontinued after Tom claimed the award three consecutive times, and he has also received The Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
ABOUT MGM MIRAGE:
MGM MIRAGE (NYSE: MGM), one of the world's leading and most respected development companies with significant holdings in gaming, hospitality and entertainment, owns and operates 17 properties located in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan, and has investments in three other properties in Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois. MGM MIRAGE is the largest landholder on the Las Vegas Strip, with significant undeveloped landholdings in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City. The Company recently opened MGM Grand Detroit, a major new resort; and will open another, MGM Grand Macau, before the end of the year. Major MGM Grand resorts have also been announced in Atlantic City, NJ, and Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Company is also developing City Center, a multi-billion dollar mixed-use urban development in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. City Center is a 50/50 joint venture with Dubai World. MGM MIRAGE has signed a definitive agreement with Cerner International Holdings Limited and Istithmar Hotels FZE to develop a new multi-billion dollar integrated resort property on the Las Vegas Strip. The Company has separate agreements with the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing and Mubadala Development Corp. in Abu Dhabi to pursue non-gaming business opportunities. MGM MIRAGE supports responsible gaming and has implemented the American Gaming Association's Code of Conduct for Responsible Gaming at its properties. MGM MIRAGE has received numerous awards and recognitions for its industry-leading Diversity Initiative and its community philanthropy programs. For more information about MGM MIRAGE, please visit the company's website at http://www.mgmmirage.com.
Contacts:
Mary Cracchiolo-Spain, Beau Rivage, (228) 386-7134
Brian Robin, Brener Zwikel & Associates, Inc., (818) 462-5610
