Carter Plantation

Located in the scenic Louisiana countryside, just an hour’s drive from downtown Baton Rouge, the course at Carter Plantation is a new millennium project that was developed by the Penn and Sharp families, both long-time local residents. Indeed, the Sharp’s are descendants of George Richardson, the man who acquired the Carter Plantation property back in 1856.

It’s the first course designed by native Louisianan David Toms, PGA Champion in 2001, and the fairways of this 7,049-yard layout occupy a wonderful arboreal landscape of oak, cypress and pine trees. Grassed with TifSport on the fairways and TifEagle on the greens, the layout is routed around several ponds, bringing water into play at more than half the holes.

The front nine concludes with testing par fours at the 430-yard 8th (doglegging sharply right across water to the green) and the 415-yard 9th (veering left to a pond-protected putting surface). On the inward half, the enormous par five 13th and short par four 14th are starkly contrasting back-to-back holes, with the 444-yard 18th providing a sold finish to the round.