English Turn Golf & Country Club

English Turn Golf & Country Club: Located close to a historic bend in the Mississippi River, the high-end residential development of English Turn is home to one of Louisiana's finest championship golf courses. This immaculately maintained Jack Nicklaus design is laid out on relatively flat, open terrain, with mansion-sized housing kept at a safe distance around the perimeter, separated by a canal that encircles the course.

The layout comprises two excellent nine-hole loops played on either side of a luxurious, plantation-style clubhouse. Water here is in plentiful supply and typically lines one side of most holes. Should you miss the gently mounded, good-width fairways, a wonderful array of bunkering and expansive sandy waste areas also lie in wait.

Although you'll not see the Mississippi River itself, this challenging course will keep you fully occupied. Among a raft of excellently crafted holes, the closing pair could cause you most trouble, especially if attempted from the back-tees. The par-3 17th plays diagonally across water to a well bunkered green. The long par-4 18th, which can be played from an island teeing area in the lake, requires your full concentration to avoid the plentiful array of sand and water that lie in wait ... all the way to the green.

On the opposite side of the lake at the 18th, an older-style dwelling may give the impression that English Turn was once a plantation home. But in truth only Louisiana swamp existed here before the prestigious residential and golf development arrived in the late 1980s.

Although originally a strictly private facility, some outside visitor play is now possible at this renowned New Orleans course.