Audubon Trail is not Just for the Birds



Atchafalaya Golf Course at Idlewild (l) Nottoway Plantation (r)
Golf in and around New Orleans

On August 29, 2005, Katrina sent water surging through the city of New Orleans. Later we went back to see what it was like 2-1/2 years later.

After checking into the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street which was gleaming and polished, we walked to K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, one of the French Quarterís most famous restaurants. After an excellent dinner topped off by sweet potato pecan pie, we went out to check out night spots like Funky Club Jazz bar and Preservation Hall. The streets were busy but not crowded, music spilled out lending a soulful sound to the night. The heart of The Crescent City was beating.

In fact most restaurants in the historic center are now open, places like Acme Oyster House just off Bourbon Street known for oyster and catfish plates; CafÈ Maspero where you get huge hamburgers and terrific chili; Bon Ton CafÈ serving Cajun dishes from treasured old recipes; G.W. Fins for great fish and seafood; and Cooter Brown famous for its crawfish.

Courses
Outside the city, we found the golf courses in great shape. The Audubon Golf Trail, is a golfers' paradise combining reasonable greens fees on 11 lush, designer courses with year-round warm weather. The Audubon Park Golf Course in historic uptown New Orleans, the only course in America you can reach by cable car, is a gem. Blessed by 100 year-old live oaks, this par 62 course is a perfect choice for all levels of golfers, especially for those who want to warm up for longer tracks on the Trail.

The Atchafalaya Golf Course at Idlewild, a beauty by Robert Von Hagge, provides not only golf on a fine new course, but the opportunity to see the hauntingly beautiful Atchafalaya Basin about 80 miles outside New Orleans. On this course you'll not have housing developments to break natureís moodÖjust 40 species of birds, five lakes and 10 native wetlands.

Less than an hour from New Orleans and 30 minutes from Baton Rouge, Carter Plantation, designed by David Toms, is attracting new homebuyers to this vast residential resort and golf community. Characterized by moss-draped live oaks, cypress trees and pines, the course is buffered from residential development to some extent in that buildings are constructed along one side of the fairways. Ask about Play and Stay packages with accommodations in the Villaís Carriage House.

Carved out of a sugar plantation, The Island Golf Course with nine lakes, finds water coming into play on all by one hole. This is a quietly serene course with an occasional blue heron sighting.

The Pete Dye-designed TPC of Louisiana located within an iron shot of New Orleans, was named ìOne of America's Top Five Best New Golf Coursesî (Golf Digest, January 2005). A challenging 7,520 yard layout with 69 pot bunkers, is now better than ever, reopening ahead of schedule following Katrina.

Where to Stay
At historic Nottoway Plantation which was not affected by Katrina, the Cajun and Creole cuisine is better than ever and the golf courses all around present one of the best deals in the country.

In New Orleans, the Royal Sonesta Hotel set in the heart of the historic French district on Bourbon Street, is a grand hotel with a swimming pool, outside patio, French doors, gables windows and wrought-iron-lace balconies. The two-story suites are especially grand.† www.sonesta.com

Where else can you sink your teeth into a mouthwatering beignet in the morning, play 18 holes of golf on an elegant designer course punctuated by live oaks, sip Plantation mint juleps and dine in Nottowayís grand Randolph Hall or at the renown K-Pauls and listen to the best jazz in the world into the early morning hours.

Through the golf trail is in great shape, visitors should be aware that the parishes of the 9th Ward, Orleans, St Bernard and Jefferson are still rebuilding, recovering.

Travel Tips
Getting there: Fly into Pensacola, Florida and rent a car for the 30 minute drive to the Gulf Coast.