Mississippi State University (Tips)
6604 yards – 72.0 Rating – 126 Slope – 88 Score
Day 13; May 3rd, 2017
At Mississippi State University, like almost all of the courses on my trip, I had the first tee time set up for me so I could get on the course, play rapidly, and get on the road to the next state after the round. When I arrived I had a small group of people ask if they could play before me, as they regularly had the first tee time and were hoping to get their round in as quickly as possible. They promised I wouldn’t have to wait for them, and they were good on their word (as you will see from my pictures, they were never a factor in my game at all… it was as if I was alone on the course). Pace of play was strong beyond them as well, as all of the groups we observed after our round were coming in quickly also.
MSU was my second adventure with playing the tips and the first one where I really felt the distance on a few holes. There are some rather long approaches from the back, including the 240 yard par 3 15th (pictured below) which, between water and a waste area, is almost all carry. The par 5 7th is also daunting from the championship tees, but more manageable as you move forward.
I especially like a run of holes along the back, 7 through 9, which skirt a large pond and use it to protect the left hand side of the fairway (you can see the beginning of this pond on the left edge of the picture directly below). The course is not resplendent in bunkering; however, the traps they do have are placed well to keep play honest. This is clearly a track used for tournaments and up to providing the challenges they demand. It’s not the type of course where you are likely have a blow-up round (even from the very back), but scoring chances are at a premium from those tee’s nonetheless.
The course was in very good shape and (more importantly to me) the architectural design is strong. Lacking in abundant altitude change this track makes the most of the rolling hills it does have to create layout elements that force a player to consider multiple ways to attack various holes. My score did benefit a bit from a significant amount of ground under repair, as they are introducing a host new trees to the course which should improve the challenge it poses even more.
I found the staff and grounds crew accommodating and pleasant and the other patrons warm and friendly as well. Everyone seemed welcoming and glad we were visiting. MSU was a fun course to play and I would certainly make a point to take a turn at it again (especially once some of those trees come in) if I were in the area.