There are plenty of favorable bounces incorporated into the long par-3s (but none over 200 yards), long par-4s (two play at more than 450 yards), short par-4s (three at less than 375 yards) and a monster par-5 (the 611-yard, opening hole). This courseвЂ™s combination of aquatic and natural vegetation on the edges of eight teeming lakes will challenge golfers of all skill levels. The site presented many obstacles in its design and construction, the most challenging of which was building a golf course in swamp-like terrain. The finished product enjoys the architectвЂ™s stamp. More than 400,000 cubic yards of dirt were moved to construct this course itвЂ™s the only public Fazio course in Louisiana. The casinoвЂ™s signature golf course is the Tom Fazio-designed Contraband Bayou Golf Club, which utilizes the areaвЂ™s marsh and lowland features of the natural Louisiana environment to enhance its unique 7,077-yard, par-71 championship layout. Looming over Lake Charles and the first of the mega-hotels and casinos in the area is the LвЂ™Auberge Casino Resort, built out of 227 acres of land that used to be underwater as part of the Calcasieu Waterway.

I love playing golf in Louisiana, and the combination of great courses and wonderful apres golf attractions and events will always place a trip to the Bayou State near the top of my golf travel plans.Д¬ontraband Bayou is a memorable Fazio design The southwest Louisiana region is less than a two-hour drive from Houston, the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States, and many of the areaвЂ™s casinos have distinctive themes that make Texans feel like they own the place. Since the late 1990s, the gaming industry has taken a stronghold in Lake Charles and its surrounding suburbs, stretching all the way back to the Texas border, some 30 miles to the west on IH-10. Thanks to a growing roster of casinos in the southwest Louisiana area - most of them built to lure Texans to their slot machines, craps tables and roulette pits - the past two decades has spawned another duo of pictures: gaming and golf, two things that seem to always go hand in hand. When one thinks of Louisiana, pairs of images immediately come to mind: saints and hurricanes Cajun and Creole swamps and bayous accordions and metal washboards relaxation on the back porch and raucous festivals boudin and gumbo and, fishing and hunting.

Contraband bayou golf