The Bridges Golf Club - Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Located in a low-lying marsh area, The Bridges Golf Club was pretty much directly in Hurricane Katrina's furious path. After the storm the water was 20 feet deep in places. Today the rebuilt Bay St. Louis golf course is as good a play as ever.

This is one of the prettiest courses you'll find, with marsh views virtually everywhere and little visual evidence that it shares grounds with a large casino complex. There are no houses or condos to mar the scene. Just as before the storm, the fairways roll and tumble, the holes are interestingly diverse and the greens are large and contoured. With conditioning that would do any course proud, the Bridges is one of Arnold Palmer's better works and a coastal Mississippi must-play.

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

The Bridges Golf Club in Bay St. Louis, Miss., is an Arnold Palmer design.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The no.7 at The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

No. 7 at the Bridges is just a short walk from the Hollywood Casino, but you wouldn't know from looking at it.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

More than a mile of marsh-crossing wooden bridges span the course.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges' eighth offers a plethora of marsh views.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina but reopened only four months after the storm.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

Hollywood Casino, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges shares grounds with the Hollywood Casino.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis.

When the floodwaters receded after Hurricane Katrina there was a 20-foot boat grounded on the Bridges' ninth hole.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

No. 11 at The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

No. 11 at the Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

No. 13 at The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges lost thousands of trees to Katrina.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges has a slope rating of 138 from the back tees.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com

The Bridges Golf Club, Bay St. Louis

The Bridges' greens are large and undulating.

Tim McDonald/GolfPublisher.com