Gray Plantation Golf Club

Review and Rating of Gray Plantation Golf Course in New Orleans

What an outstanding golf course – fun, fair but challenging, excellent conditions, friendly service, affordable rates, great layout, and some outstanding holes. The Gray is a delicate mix of Southern Charm & Cajun Fire as it plays around 60 acres of lakes and water on twelve of the tree-lined holes.  And it's not surprising that Gray Plantation Golf Course is one of the top ranked courses on the Louisiana Audubon Golf Trail and was ranked #6 in Golf Digest's Best Courses in Louisiana, #3 in the best public courses in Louisiana, and is consistently ranked in the Top 100 Courses in the United States by Golf Digest

Some of what we really liked about playing Gray Plantation included:

• the conditions were excellent from tee to pin, the course was well manicured and maintained, and the landscaping was well done
• the rates are very reasonable for such a good quality course and the pace of play is excellent
• the staff and everyone we met were friendly and service oriented
• the layout is outstanding with some really fun holes and designed with strategy in mind
• the course puts a premium on the approach shots thanks to the raised and guarded greens
• it's fair but demanding with bunkers, water, dog legs, forced carries over water and natural areas, some great risk-reward opportunities, and wind that can impact your score

The first three and the last three fairways on the front nine have homes set back off the fairway but the rest of the fairways play through tall pines and other trees, dense natural areas that will devour your golf balls, and lots of water. The fairways were in excellent condition when we played and they are flat, ample to a little tight, and with a wide rough that varies from thick and challenging to thin and playable. 

The bunkers at Gray Plantation Golf Club were wet thanks to a recent rain and unplayable.  It looked like the sand would normally be soft and fluffy.  The lips are manageable at 1" to 8'' tall and should be relatively easy to escape from.  We didn't have much trouble avoiding the bunkers. 

The greens at Gray Plantation are raised and the false fronts prevent bump and runs, meaning you need to stuff it on the green and hope it holds or you've got a challenging chip back toward the pin.  The greens were in very good condition, held the ball well, and ran true and at a good speed of around 10.5.  Most had some combination of slope and undulation.

A must play if you're in the area!

The Golf Academy at Gray Plantation is fantastic and perfect to help develop your skills and help you rethink the fundamentals of golf in order to strengthen your game.  The state-of-the-art TrackMan can pinpoint exactly where your game can use some improvement.  And for practice you game, the simulator virtually puts you on the course at Troon, Gleneagles, Mauna Kea, Pinehurst, and several others.