There's some good news for Louisiana golfers. A new public golf course is opening Tuesday.
There's also some bad news: The tee markers are giant handcuffs. The course is - Fore! - at the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Fortunately, there's some additional good news: You can leave when the round is over.
The Prison View Golf Course is a nine-hole layout with 18 tee-boxes situated on 80 acres in a former bull pasture next to Camp J, the disciplinary facility where troublesome prisoners are housed.
While Warden Burl Cain conceived of the course to provide recreation opportunities for the 600 employees of the remote prison, members of the public who have not been convicted of a felony may arrange to play by making reservations at (225) 655-2978.
A round of golf with a cart costs $20. If you want to walk, it's only $10.
About five years ago, Cain pointed to the bull pasture and told the prison dentist, Dr. John Ory, "I'm going to build a golf course there one day."
Ory said he had his doubts, but three years ago, Cain gave his dentist friend, an avid golfer, the go-ahead to design a golf course where bulls once grazed.
Ory, who has played many golf courses and watched the construction of The Bluffs, a premier course at St. Francisville, went to the library for books on golf-course design.
After his research, Ory managed to develop a course that meets U.S. Golf Association specifications.
The course was built with funds raised by employees operating concessions at the Angola Prison Rodeo and through the efforts of inmates who put their horticulture and vo-tech skills to use. Businesses donated sand and gravel.
"The whole thing was scavenged," Cain said.
The golf course also provided an opportunity for prisoners.
A lot of inmates from urban areas wouldn't be able to use cane-cutting skills gained at the prison because "they don't grow a lot of sugar cane in New Orleans," Cain said.
But now, they can develop skills that could land them a job on a golf course or in the landscaping department of city government, the warden said. "It gives them a purpose."
In addition, Cain said the golf course can keep employees on the prison grounds. "The whole point is to keep employees here in case of an emergency," Cain said.
"The employees are ecstatic. They can get off work and play golf," he said.
Prisoners, however, will not be playing the fun course Ory has designed in the old bull pasture which now sports Tifdwarf Bermuda grass on the greens and Bermuda 419 on the fairways. He's even developed a 2-acre sod farm to grow the special grass that can handle the Louisiana heat.
As all golf courses, the Prison View layout needs time to develop, especially the crape myrtle and pine trees that line some fairways, but it's playable.
Watch out for the water and traps, particularly the cruel pot bunker in front of the No. 4 green.
The most dramatic hole is the Par 5 No. 1. The tee box is set across a road from the rest of the golf course about 60 feet up one of the Tunica hills. It can be reached in two shots by long-knockers who really lacerate the ball.
Cart paths will be built when money is raised, which is one of the reasons there is a scramble tournament scheduled June 19. To enter your team, call Trampus Butler at the number listed above.
Meanwhile, the course opens to the public Tuesday, and a grand opening is scheduled June 12 to formally celebrate something Louisiana can be proud of: The best state prison golf course in the nation.
It's also the only one, Cain noted.
Source: Sunday Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)
