Gray Plantation Golf Club

Gray Plantation Golf Club: Journey south-east from the centre of Lake Charles and you'll discover one of the top rated courses on Louisiana's Audubon Golf Trail - just past Lake Prien and two miles beyond Lake Charles Country Club, the Gray Plantation layout at Graywood retains a predominantly natural feel, even though residential housing is also beginning to make its presence felt - the front-nine offers views out onto a bend in the Calcasieu River, while the back-nine is played in a clockwise loop around Lake Matilda - many of the excellently crafted holes are threatened by lakes and ponds, while the Calcasieu waterway presents its own challenges at the well-bunkered par-4 5th, signature island-green par-3 6th and very testing par-5 7th - even with petro-chemical plants on the other side of the river, this mid-front-nine stretch of holes is both wonderfully scenic and dramatic to play - added to the not infrequent water hazards, a veritable mass of stylish bunkering is also deployed to give excellent definition to the fairways and serious defences to the large and testing greens - although relatively flat, the predominantly quite open, at times a little more tree-lined layout possesses an excellent variety of holes - with generally good-width fairways, big-hitters will often be tempted to "go for it" from the tee, as at the risk-reward par-4 11th and drivable, but dangerously water-flanked par-4 16th - most of the time careful course management and a less gung-ho approach may better serve your cause.