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Fallen Oak earns major Golfweek honor28 April 2010BILOXI, Mississippi -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- On the heels of its national debut at this week's Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, Fallen Oak added a timely award to its lengthening list of laurels when Golfweek ranked Fallen Oak 10th on its list of Best Tour Courses You Can Play. The ranking is a debut for the Tom Fazio-designed course, which has garnered nearly 20 awards since opening in November 2006. And it came right on the heels of many of the game's legends discovering Fallen Oak at this week's inaugural PGA TOUR Champions Tour's Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic. The 50-course list is comprised of public-access or resort-access courses that play host to events on one of the four major domestic professional tours: PGA TOUR, LPGA, Champions and Nationwide. At No. 10, Fallen Oak is the highest-ranked newcomer to the list and the No. 3 Champions Tour course – trailing only Pebble Beach, which is the No. 1 overall course and Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic. To illustrate the company Fallen Oak is keeping, the top three courses on the list: Pebble Beach (U.S. Open), St. Andrew's (British Open) and Whistling Straits (PGA Championship), are the host sites for the last three 2010 PGA TOUR major championships. With this week's Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic, television viewers on Golf Channel and the thousands of golf fans in attendance will see what the guests of Beau Rivage Resort & Casino fortunate enough to play Fallen Oak have seen – the naturally spectacular golfing template that Fazio created. "We can't wait for the fans to see it. It's an absolutely magnificent place, said Mississippi Tourism Director Mary Beth Wilkerson. "But because it's an amenity of Beau Rivage, the only time visitors have had the chance to see it is if they came out and actually played it. "I'm sure there are plenty of people who have heard about Fallen Oak, but have never been there. This event will enable them to go there, see its beauty and then hopefully make them want to come back and play it for themselves." Doing so would also allow golfers to play a course that Golfweek ranked Mississippi's No. 1 Course You Can Play in both 2009 and 2010. In March, Golfweek ranked Fallen Oak 41st on it's list of America's Top 100 Modern Courses – a 14-place improvement from its 2009 debut on the same list. The course was also ranked 19th on Golf Digest's prestigious list of America's Greatest 100 Public Courses. "It's always been a matter of pride to us that Fallen Oak is open to our guests, because we built the course with the intention of making it a golfing destination," 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. "That it has become a golfing destination for some of the legendary names of the game is something that means a lot to us, because we know that playing a course that the pros play is something that every serious golfer aspires to do. This latest ranking is symbolic of that fact." This most recent honor adds further distinction to a course that has vaulted onto everyone's must-play list as a destination course. What earned Fallen Oak these latest honors are the same elements that brought it to the forefront of players of all levels of skill and experience from the moment the course opened in November 2006. Unique among Gulf Coast courses, Fallen Oak features dramatic elevation changes, which Fazio incorporated among the more than 4,000 oaks, magnolias, pines and other hardwood trees that join the ponds, streams and wetlands that frame the course. 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 gently rolling 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 views of the 18th hole, as well as the majestic live oak that gives Fallen Oak its name. In 2008, that clubhouse was voted one of the "Best 19th Holes in Golf" by Golf Digest Magazine. Joining the heralded Shadow as the only golf courses built by MGM MIRAGE for their guests, Fallen Oak is located on a 510-acre tract at the edge of the DeSoto National Forest. 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 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. To make reservations, call (877) 805-4657 or visit www.beaurivage.com.
Fallen Oak earns major Golfweek honor
is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.
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