The Oaks Golf Club

Getting To Know: The Oaks Golf Club

An Insightful Interview With Russ Bloom, PGA, General Manager

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Russ Bloom, PGA who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Originally opened in 1998, The Oaks Golf Club is nestled amongst majestic timberlands and native wetlands providing one of the most unforgettable golfing experiences on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The striking par-72 layout is highlighted by strategic bunkering, dramatic green complexes and a meandering routing and creates a serene and tranquil golf experience. Throughout its ten year history, The Oaks has received numerous awards and accolades including being honored by Golf Digest as one of the "Top Ten Courses" in Mississippi, voted as the "Best Course on the Coast," by readers of Coast Magazine and selected as the "Golf Course of the Year for the Mississippi Gulf Coast," by the National Golf Course Owners Association. Most recently, The Oaks has received a 4 1/2 Star Rating in Golf Digest's Best Places to Play for 2012-2013. Golfweek has given The Oaks the prestigious BEST PLACES YOU CAN PLAY award the past three years. The Oaks is currently ranked 6th best in the state for 2012 Best of Mississippi from Golf Digest. In addition, The Oaks is the Home of the Hooters Beverage Cart Girl.

The Oaks has challenged some of the best players in the country as a former host of Nike Tour/Buy.com Tour events in 1999 and 2000 (now the PGA Tour's Nationwide Series) and having hosted the first stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School in 2003. More recently The Oaks has hosted the Hooters Tour and in 2015 is going to host the Symetra Ladies Tour.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
The Oaks is the perfect combination of a great golf and value. The Oaks is a high end public course that is always maintained to the highest standards but the pricing is a bit lower than the direct competition. Plus, the convenient location 1 mile south of I-10 makes it easy to get to from anywhere in Mississippi or Louisiana. Visit www.theoaksgolfclub.com to see pictures and to make your tee time at the Best Rate Guarantee.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The Oaks is a challenging course that winds through native timberlands and wetlands, it is important to keep your ball in play. There are white posts in the middle of the fairway at 150 yards on each hole. Although some of the holes are shorter, those are the ones that will bite you, keep your ball around the 150 post for the widest part of the fairway. Also, stay out of the fairway bunkers, they make it difficult to get to the green. The Oaks has four sets of tees that make it as challenging or as easy as you would like.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
* BEST COURSES YOU CAN PLAY GOLF DIGEST
* 4.5 STARS BEST PUBLIC COURSES GOLF MAGAZINE
* #6 IN MS - BEST VALUE PGA TOUR
* HOSTED NIKE AND BUY.COM TOUR PGA TOUR
* HOSTED FIRST STAGE Q SCHOOL PGA TOUR
* HOSTED SECOND STAGE Q SCHOOL

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #7 is our signature hole. It is a par 3 over water with a shallow green and a bunker in front. The water and bulkhead with the wild grasses and beautiful oak trees make it a stunning view.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
#18 is my favorite hole, it is a long par four that requires two very good shots to get on the green. The fairway bunker to the right and trees left create the pucker factor on the tee when you are trying to win that bet. Once you are in the fairway, there are two live oaks that frame the green which is elevated and fairly narrow. The key to playing the hole is to hit it long and straight off of the tee. Get off track and you will be working very hard to get a par.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The Oaks is famous for the great burgers, the Rueben and the BBQ brisket sandwich. One of these with an ice cold draft Newcastle or Abita Beer is a good way to end the day.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
The course record is held by Brandon Brown. He shot 61 in the Hooters Tour event in 2012. Before this, Tripp Eisenhower shot 64 during the Nationwide Tour Event in 2001 and that score held up for 11 years.

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7009
Slope: 131
Rating: 72.5

More Information
The Oaks Golf Club
24384 Clubhouse Dr.
Pass Christian, MS, 39571
228-452-0909
www.theoaksgolfclub.com

Revised: 03/18/2014 - Article Viewed 30,973 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.