Feed Your Soul in New Orleans

In Golf Courses by Rich Styles

New Orleans is a splendid destination, no matter your interests. The city was the perfect start to our informative journey on the newly created Louisiana Golf Trails, from jazz clubs and breweries to museums and creole restaurants. While The Audubon Golf Trail remains the mainstay of golf offerings in Louisiana, I quickly learned that all the different aspects of the Bayou State make It such a unique place to stay and play. Themed golf itineraries include music, fishing, craft breweries, gaming, and a great variety of culinary options across the state.

Bayou Oaks, Public golf in City Park, New Orleans

The Bayou Oaks South Course in City Park was our first stop on our Golf & Culinary Trail experience in the Big Easy. Re-opened in 2017 after being closed since Hurricane Katrina, Rees Jones incorporated the east and west courses featuring historic oak trees and existing lagoons. The first nine holes were constructed in 1902. The Park had four courses at its peak, including the North, South, East, and West, which hosted the New Orleans Open featuring Nicklaus, Palmer, Hogan, and Sarazen. Knowing where some of the greats walked made playing the course even more special. Add that former Saints Coach Sean Payton was spotted playing during our round, and you see how popular the course is. He was gracious and more than willing to take some pics with us.

Thanks to Coach Sean Payton for taking a few minutes to pose with our group!

After our round, we headed to downtown New Orleans and the welcoming lobby of the Higgins Hotel across from its owner, The National World War II Museum. Decorated in WWII artifacts and memorabilia, rich in meaning and pride, The Higgins Hotel & Co convention center is steeped in WWII history.

After some adult beverages at Kilroy’s, we dined in Café Normandie at The Higgins Hotel. Chef Virgile Brandel treated our group to an incredible, mouth-watering multi-course dinner consisting of a Louisiana oyster trio of crawfish butter with romano cheese, champagne sabayon with Cajun Caviar, and Oyster in jelly. Then we had Shrimp Ceviche, pan-seared redfish, stuffed quail, and topped off with a floating island of freeze-dried strawberries, meringue, and crushed candied pecans. Plus, Higgins Private Cellar Reserve Cabernet and Chardonnay. Quite a memorable night.

TPC Louisiana

After breakfast and coffee at Rosie’s on the Roof, which has an incredible 180* degree views of downtown New Orleans, we departed for TPC Louisiana. TPC Louisiana is a Pete Dye design that hosts the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic featuring PGA 2-man teams. The course is located across the Mississippi River, only a 15-minute drive from The French Quarter.

PGA Tour’s Steve Elkington and Kelly Gibson consulted with Pete Dye on the layout, which was voted “one of America’s Top 5 Best New Golf Courses” by Golf Digest in 2005. TPC did not disappoint with 5-7 various tees combos and playing 7425 yds to 5121 yds. From an amateur golfer’s view, this course has a set of tees for everyone, no matter your handicap. Plus, you are playing a course with an annual PGA Tour event. If you watch on TV during the tournament, you will probably see several friends of the course peeping up in the water around TPC. Alligators are residents of the course and occasionally come out to see the golfers.

Our next stop was the National World War II Museum, across from The Higgins Hotel. The WWII Museum features exhibits, multimedia experiences, artifacts, and first-person oral histories, taking visitors inside the story of the war that changed the world. My dad and my wife’s dad fought in WWII but did not talk about it much. I have my dad’s WWII uniform, hat, and medals, plus the original flag that my mom hung in her window to tell others that her husband was serving our country overseas. The WWII Museum takes you through the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion to the D-Day invasion of Normandy to The Road to Berlin to The Road to Toyko to Pearl Harbor. The attention to detail was incredible and unforgettable once you had a chance to walk through the museum. You could spend a morning, an afternoon, or a whole day listening, imagining what our veterans went through to protect their families back home. I know I missed a lot, so I must go back again.

Not far from the WWII Museum was another special place….The Sazerac House Museum is right in the middle of downtown and only a few steps from The French Quarter. Sazerac is part of the customs, traditions, and culture of New Orleans. Inside, we learned how to make the specialty drink and had an opportunity to taste the famous cocktail. The free museum consists of three floors of history and interactive exhibits on New Orleans cocktail culture.

Then we walked a bit more to the famous Sazerac Bar inside the Roosevelt Hotel, a Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The atmosphere and memories of all the celebrities who had sat in this historic bar was pretty relaxed. BTW, the drinks were even better. 

We walked through the French Quarter to our next stop on Bourbon Street, Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House, a more laid-back option of the famous Brennan’s restaurant offerings. We were served New Orleans BBQ, shrimp and grits, and a delicious pineapple upside-down bread pudding.  

The Higgins Hotel is a convenient place to stay when golfers visit New Orleans. It’s steps from the streetcar line that safely takes you into the French Quarter and goes uptown to a fun Par 64 course, the historic Audubon Park Golf Course, which we did not have a chance to play. It’s also located Close to the Mississippi River Bridge and just minutes to City Park.

Quite a day, quite a day. Now to rest as we continue our tour of the Louisiana Golf Trails in our next report. Who Dat? 

Part 2!!