By David Theoret
When people think of Diamond Head, inevitably they think of Hawaii. The broad, saucer-shaped crater formed over 300,000 years ago, is visited by over 3,000 people daily and is Hawaii’s most recognized landmark.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast also lays claim to a Diamondhead, located about 35 miles from Biloxi and 50 miles from New Orleans, it is easily accessible from either city. It’s an area that attracts “snowbirds,” and the course recently completed a five-year renovation program. In fact, the entire area is a perfect alternative for northern golfers as a winter golf getaway.
Although it’s located on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, Diamondhead has some interesting topography, with elevations that rise to over 100 feet. The club boasts two 18-hole championship golf courses, as well as, ten hydra clay tennis courts. There’s also a marina, 5,400 square feet of meeting and banquet space, full-service restaurant and the only indoor/outdoor Golf Academy along the Mississippi Gulf Coast run by the state’s top golf instructor. 
Within the clubhouse there are two dining venues, the 19th Hole Bar & Grill, plus the main dining room. The menu at Diamondhead Country Club is anything but your typical clubhouse fare. Start your repast with the Crawfish Spring Roll appetizers, a savory combination of flavors. Choose an entrée from a wide variety of fresh fish and steaks available with different toppings such as Dianne, Amandine or Marsala. A number of seafood platters are also available: shrimp, catfish or fried oysters, or choose from a number of favorites such as Paneed Veal or Chicken. In the mood for Italian? Try their Shrimp and Scallop Scampi, Parma Rosa Fettucine or Veal Parmesan. All of these dishes are prepared with the freshest of ingredients and made to order in their kitchen.
When it comes to practice facilities, Diamondhead offers a full-length driving range, which allows golfers to hit every club in the bag. The short-game area includes putting, pitching and chipping greens, as well as, practice bunkers.
The Golf Academy’s focus is to provide quality instruction to golfers of all ages and abilities. The Academy uses the latest high-tech equipment including, Flightscope Launch Monitor to analyze your swing and put together a program to improve your game. The Junior Golf Academy of Diamondhead is an elite program for kids ages 5 – 12, based on U.S. Kids Golf Three Level Instruction Program.
The Pine Course at Diamondhead opened for play in 1971, was designed by Earl Stone and measures 6,769 yards from the longest tees. Four sets of tees make the Pines course playable for golfers of all skill levels.
Laid out in a classic figure eight pattern, both nines move in a clockwise circle and no two holes play parallel to each other. Pine will test your shot shaping ability, requiring you to move the ball both right to left and left to right. The fourth hole, a par-4, provides the course’s sternest test requiring a tee shot that narrowly avoids the oak trees on the right side. The approach shot must carry a small creek and plays uphill to a fairly deep green guarded by a large bunker on the right side. A back right pin placement can be especially tricky.
The second course to be built at Diamondhead Country Club was the John LaFoy designed Cardinal Course, which opened for play in 1979. It plays 6,729 yards from the longest tees, with a course rating of 73.1 and slope of 131. Most golfers will find that the White tees at 6,128 yards provide a challenging test. The Forward Tees at 4,905 yards will prove to be a sturdy test for juniors and high handicappers.
Like its sister the Pine, the Cardinal’s major challenge is the tree-lined fairways. Like the Pine Course, it also features gently rolling terrain, long sand bunkers, with no parallel fairways. The fifth hole is Cardinal’s most difficult. At only 371 yards from the White tees, it requires an accurate drive down a narrow tree-lined corridor. We suggest favoring the right side of the fairway to avoid the stately magnolia tree guarding the left side. The green is narrow and deep, with bunkers on each side. Check your yardage and take dead aim at the pin.
For me, the most memorable hole on either course is the 12th on the Cardinal Course. At short par-4 at only 330 yards from the White tees, it is a slight dogleg right. From the tees, the creek that crosses the fairway looks innocent enough and easy to carry. If I were naming holes at the Cardinal Course, this one would be called “It Ain’t a Creek!” It’s actually a lake that requires a carry of about 300 yards. Hit less than driver off the tee, to stay short of the lake, which will leave an easy approach shot.
Diamondhead Country Club has partnered with the nearby Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi to offer impressive golf packages, which can be found on the Silver Slipper website. These packages include a one-night stay at Silver Slipper Casino Hotel, one free buffet at the Jubilee Buffet and one round of golf on one of the two championship golf courses at Diamondhead Country Club. Packages start at $99. Golf packages can also be booked through the Gulf Coast CVB website https://www.gulfcoast.org/things-to-do/golf/)
Memberships to Diamondhead Country Club are available to both residents and non-residents, with several membership options available. For more information about Diamondhead Country Club, visit their website at www.diamondheadms.org.
