![]() It plays 452 yards from the tips and slightly uphill, and often into the wind. 1 handicap hole on the golf course is the par-4 16th. Of course, if you add a little wind, the tee shot becomes that much scarier, making the bailout a natural reaction. Hitting a pitch shot back to the green with water on the left will test the nerves of most players. The semi-island green has a bailout area on the right, but it's no bargain. But on most of them, it's right in front of you, such as the par-3 eighth hole, formerly the 17th. On some holes, the water can sneak up on you. The golf course's major defense is water and wind. There are four sets of tees, with the shortest playing 5,091 yards. ![]() And it's certainly fair, although there are some holes that will grab your attention. At 7,077 yards, this par 71 is a good test for every level of player. "It has a better flow to it now," said Bill Belcher, director of resort services for L'auberge du Lac Casino Resort, adding that 10-minute intervals on tee times and detailed customer service add to the experience.Ĭontraband Bayou is the only Fazio-designed golf course in Louisiana. Fazio's bunkers flash white sand and good depth, the water hazards and wetlands frame the holes beautifully, and the nines were switched so the course would start out at the clubhouse. The golf course, no doubt benefiting from the resources of the casino resort, is well manicured. This time, they went with Champion Bermuda, and they've never looked better. The course was flooded, hundreds of trees were lost, and the course had a difficult time living up to its promise.įast forward to 2010, and the decision was made to redo the greens. A second grand opening was scheduled for September, and wouldn't you know it? That's when Hurricane Rita made a direct impact on the area. ![]() But just as they were about to celebrate their grand opening in August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit. Resort officials brought in Fazio, which gave the course instant credibility, and promoted it heavily throughout the western Gulf of Mexico region. With Contraband Bayou Golf Club, L'auberge du Lac had another drawing card besides gambling and concerts. It wasn't until the building of casinos in the area that these better-than-worthwhile golf courses started to spring up. Twenty years ago, there wasn't much reason to visit Lake Charles unless you were in town for a McNeese State football game or looking for a job on an oil rig or a refinery. It does get hot so make sure you're hydrated - insects were not an issue for us - and thankfully we did finally get to see one of the courses Gators on Sunday morning.Ī brief 3 min walk from L'Auberge, you can store your clubs at the clubhouse safely overnight if you're playing multiple days - sandwiches, breakfast tacos and the usual fare on sale in the proshop.Contraband Bayou Golf Club: An auspicious beginning Pace of play was excellent, even on the weekends, the greens quickly absorbed the sand - and much to our surprise were very quick and smooth on Thursday despite being sanded only the night before. Even though we were only a group of 12 - they treated our event as if we were 200 - great customer service from start to finish. I'm a firm believer that when you go to a resort course and you're paying a premium to play - the course and staff should be little better than a regular course and honestly - the staff at Contraband could teach most of the premiere courses back home in Austin a thing or two about customer service, Scott and Casey in the Pro Shop were fantastic about keeping us on track and moving things around to accommodate us when there had been a slight mix up in tee times, Randy the starter was excellent and extremely friendly and kudos have to go out to Kirsten and especially Taylor - the beverage cart girls who provided awesome service and made every effort to ensure that we were well taken care of all 4 days. The course was in great condition, 1 round on Friday, 2 rounds on Saturday and Sunday and unfortunately our third round on Sunday was called off due to severe weather. That said - when we arrived our hearts sank as the course had sanded and we'd been given no advanced notice, but after talking to the pro shop and been given quite a thorough answer, out we went onto a course that is a blast to play - not overly difficult but will eat your lunch in a second if you're not paying attention. We contacted several other Resorts around Lake Charles first and none of them were anywhere near as helpful nor as willing to block off tee times several months in advance for our plucky band of 12. First off, we have a group of golfers who make regular weekend trips around the State of Texas and beyond and it's extremely important to us that golf is the priority for the weekend.
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