Golf Course Review: TPC Louisiana

This turned into an unplanned review as my plans for the day had changed. Seemed like a good day for golf and to check out TPC Louisiana under somewhat "winter" like conditions. Even though I did not play to my standards on a cold and windy day, I got paired with three great guys, Chase, Ryan, and Tyler, who were a lot of fun to play with. they even allowed me to use footage of them in the review video.

When going to TPC Louisiana one always expects top service and conditions and today was no different. The outside staff is always friendly and helpful no matter If they know you or seeing you for the first time. The same goes for the golf shop staff and the staff in the grill. The pricing in the grill is a bit much, especially asking $4 for a 20oz bottle of Coke, but expected at a high-end facility.

Fairway View Hole #5

Hole #3

Hole #9

Hole #14

Alligator Tripod Statue

Hole #17

I am not exactly sure when but the golf course maintenance staff has already begun their preparations for the Zurcich Classic of New Orleans. The first 6-holes were cart path only and will continue to rotate like that until sometime in March when the entire golf course will be cart path only until after the Zurich Classic. Having cart path only is great for overall conditions, however, it also leads to many divots not being filled in with sand not having the cart next to them. It is easy to forget to grab the sand bottle to carry out to the fairway. I did it twice myself.

The only negative I can say about TPC Louisiana this visit is the tee markers. I am not exactly sure when they changed them but I noticed a few times earlier this year and thought it was a temporary change. The current tee markers look like they came out of the ball pit from Chuckie Cheese. It really cheapens the round with that look. Plus they are so small they were hard to tell which one was black or blue or where it was on the tee box until you were right on them. There is nothing unique about the colored ball tee marker and they nearly scream $30 muni instead of $100+ "Tour" golf course. I really like the old colored metal markers with the TPC Louisiana logo and they should bring those back.

The conditions overall were amazing as always. The overseed looked beautiful with a deep green that was in contrast to the yellowish-green rough. If it was sunnier it would have looked more beautiful. The wind was blowing steady about 10-15mph and with the amount of trees lost over the years from storms there is no way of getting away from it right now.

Tee Boxes: 4 out of 5

The majority of the tee boxes were pristine. However, there were some that looked to be getting chewed up more than they should. I know the maintenance staff knows what they are doing and by today the tee markers will probably be moved to a new perfect area. Even the areas that had plenty of divots were not horrible. You had plenty of area to tee a ball up. It was more of a visual than a playability issue.

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Fairways: 4.5 out of 5

The fairways were virtually perfect. The only reason I take a half point away from them is because they are softer and not allowing the golf ball to roll out as much. This is expected when the temperatures get colder. The ground is always softer during the colder months and when overseeded. Please do not take that as balls were plugging everywhere. The ball would still get a bounce or two it just didn't roll far. There were many drives where I could see the pitch mark the ball made only a few feet behind the ball. The approcah areas were still firm enough to play a run-up shot to the green you just had to give it a little extra than you would during the summer.

Greens: 4.5 out of 5

Similar to how the fairways were playing a little differently with the overseed so were the greens. The greens were still plenty firm with full or half shots. We saw quite a few balls take big hops and end up off the back of greens. This was mostly shots played downwind where the wind was taking spin off the ball. The speed was great and the greens were quicker than I expected with the overseed. Where it gets tricky when greens are overseeded is judging the spin on pitch and chip shots. If you tried to play a spinner shot you would have to fly it further than normal as the grass would grab it. On the other hand, if you tried a traditional bump and run the ball may roll out more than expected. Overseed is stickier than our traditional Bermuda grass and can grab a ball more than expected on any shot. if not maintained properly it can be very inconsistent but TPC Louisiana does a great job making sure the greens play as consistently as possible from one hole to the next.

The bunkers were in good condition as well. They were firmer than normal and almost damp but there was plenty of sand to play a normal blast shot. You can see that at the 3:26 mark in the video below.

All in all, TPC Louisiana is in amazing condition and well worth going to play. The local rate is decent right now and when you combine the service, amenities, and course conditions it is a good value.