Featured Getaway
Dancing Rabbit Golf Club
“ The Augusta You Can Play”
by Alan Hoskins, feature writer
From Azaleas to elevated greens, a Choctaw Nation-owned gem in Mississippi. Part 3 of 3
The Oaks course at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club
Like millions of other golfers, you’ ll never play the host course of the Masters in Augusta, GA. But that doesn’ t mean you can’ t enjoy getting a peek at what makes Augusta one of the world’ s most celebrated golf courses— the dramatic elevation changes, tree-lined fairways, meandering creeks, and large, undulating greens.
Those same challenges can be found in 36 magnificent holes at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club, a Choctaw Nation-owned golf club located at the mammoth Pearl River Resort in Choctaw, MS, four miles west of Philadelphia and 72 miles from the state capital in Jackson.
So similar to the course at Augusta, home of the Masters, GOLF Magazine has called Dancing Rabbit“ The Augusta You Can Play.”
The first reaction to seeing the course for the first time is almost unanimously the abundance of hills. By my count, the Azalea course has 11 holes with elevated greens, and another four descending down hills. The Oaks course has more downhill tee shots, but that’ s misleading. Numerous holes on both courses feature tee shots into rolling valleys that leave demanding second shots to elevated greens, some as many as 20-30 feet above the lowest point.
So, what separates Dancing Rabbit from Mississippi’ s other 139 courses?“ The elevation changes are the biggest obstacle, but keeping the ball in the fairway is nice,” says Billy.“ In building the course, we were able to keep a lot of natural features. It was not necessary to move a lot of dirt, and we kept a lot of the terrain. All the limestone features and the creeks are natural.”
Like Augusta, the greens are undulating, kept at a moderate speed( 8.5-10 on the Stimpmeter), feature Bermuda grass, and are large.“ We say our greens are as big as Texas; why can’ t anyone hit them?” laughs Billy.
Azaleas and white bunkers among a maze of tall pines and oaks turn Dancing Rabbit’ s two courses into a sea of vibrant color.( Photo courtesy Dancing Rabbit G. C.)
And yes, just like Augusta, Dancing Rabbit has the azaleas that make the beauty of the Masters tournament so special.“ This spring, we had 10,000 azaleas on the course,” says Dancing Rabbit General Manager Collins Billy, who has 25 years with the club.
16 August 2026 TEE TIMES GOLF GUIDE
Named No. 91 of the 100 best public courses in America by GOLF Magazine and No. 33 on the Top 100 Courses You Can Play by Golf Digest, the Azalea course is considered about four strokes more difficult than the Oaks.“ The Oaks has a little more forgiveness; the Azalea is a little tighter,” notes Billy.
Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate designed the courses, named after the Dancing Rabbit Creek that meanders through them. The Azalea opened in 1997, and the Oaks in 2001. Both stretch more than 7,000 yards from the back tees of the five tee boxes.
The quality and respect for Dancing Rabbit have not been lost on national golf publications, as Golf Magazine, Golf Digest, Golfweek, and Mississippi Magazine have all rated Dancing Rabbit as one of Mississippi’ s best and the Pearl River Resort as the top casino and resort.