New Resort Course in Biloxi Will Be a Botanical Wonder

Construction is well underway on the new golf course at Beau Rivage Resort in Biloxi, Miss. The Tom Fazio-designed Fallen Oak Golf Course is being built on a portion of the resort’s 510-acre property next to DeSoto National Forest, about 20 minutes from the hotel.

Expected to open for public play in early 2006, the layout will be characterized by its lush location. The rolling terrain is filled with live oaks, yaupons, magnolias, pecan groves, lakes, streams and marshes. In an effort to maintain the naturalness of the land, paved cart paths – winding across 10 bridges – will be concealed.

Fazio, one of the most acclaimed golf course architects in the U.S., explained how his team selected the property for the course in a recent article with George McNeill of the Mississippi Business Journal. “When we were originally asked about the possibility of a golf course for Beau Rivage, we spent a tremendous amount of time researching sites in the area,” Fazio said.

“We looked at more than a dozen sites before eventually settling on the present location.” Fazio told McNeill that Fallen Oak’s site offers dramatic elevation changes rarely found so close to the coast, as well as “tremendous vegetation that we knew could be incorporated into the routing of the golf course.

“The trees and shrubs could also be transplanted throughout to give it a very nature feeling from day one. Now, years have passed since we initially chose this site and the vegetation is even more spectacular. It has just gotten better with time and will continue to do so.”

Perhaps best of all is that the owner of the resort, MGM Mirage, headquartered in Las Vegas, has given Fazio an ample budget to pursue his vision for Fallen Oak. Beau Rivage already has a reputation for enhancing its native environment. The resort’s entrance lobby is a 60-foot-high atrium with a formal garden featuring a variety of trees, plants, flowers and ornate sculptures. Beau Rivage’s pool facility is set alongside the Gulf of Mexico amid dense and colorful growth.

“The trees on this site are spectacular, and Beau Rivage has given us a landscaping budget for the golf course that will allow us to transplant large, mature trees to key locations on golf holes,” Fazio told McNeill. “In areas where the routing of the golf course requires the clearing of existing specimen trees, we’ll be able to simply move them to a location that works and move them back after the hole is built.”

Fazio added: “This is the ultimate in design flexibility and, when completed, Fallen Oak will feel very naturally integrated into the site.”

Two nurseries being built will house trees removed during the construction process. “Five-hundred-year-old live oaks, pines and other trees and vegetation will be put in the nursery,” said Bruce Nourse, Beau Rivage’s director of public relations.

Site prep and shaping are nearly complete, with sodding of the course set to take place in May. No date has been set for construction of the clubhouse, which will resemble an Acadian-style mansion and contain banquet and locker facilities, a lounge and restaurant.

The 7,516-yard will be accessed by resort guests via a shuttle; Beau Rivage guests will get tee-time priority over the public. For more information about Beau Rivage, which boasts a 32-story hotel with 1,740 rooms, a 75,000-square-foot casino, 12 restaurants, a 31-slip marina and fishing facilities, call toll-free 888/567-6667 or visit www.beaurivage.com.