Great Southern, CLOSED 2022

Detailed description of Great Southern, CLOSED 2022

Great Southern is a Semi-Private 18-hole golf course located in Gulfport, Mississippi.

Great Southern first opened for play in 1908. Donald Ross designed the course. The course was restored in 1999 by Brian Curley.

The old L&N (Louisville & Nashville) Railroad track runs through the course. You have to look both ways before heading to the tee box on No. 9. The train still shakes the centuries-old oak trees found on the course.

Play this course, and you walk on the same fairways walked by notables, including Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen, Babe Zaharias, and Woodrow Wilson.

In 1999, Brian Curly renovated Great Southern, who took pains to keep Ross' square greens and still satisfy the USGA's specifications. The greens are tiny by modern standards. They harken back to the golf design at the beginning of the 20th century. They're undulating, hump-backed with deep swales in the middle of some and wild, unexpected slopes in others.

The course plays to 6,236 yards from the back tees.  With the usual assortment of refined Ross-designed "tricks," the length will not indicate your final score.

There's no driving range, but a 100-yard practice hole is off to the side.

The course closed on May 9th, 2022. The course was slated to become housing, but as of the end of 2022, environmental concerns reportedly have those plans on hold.