Tunica National Golf & Tennis

Mark McCumber's Tunica National, a 7,210-yard par-72 championship layout designed by the PGA Tour player-turned-architect and opened in 2004. Tunica County owns the course; Kemper Sports manages it. Set in the Mississippi Delta, the routing balances strategic hazards with generous landing areas, the rare course that punishes off-line shots without intimidating mid-handicappers into paralysis. Nearly 100 sand bunkers and water on 14 of 18 holes define the test. The 16th is called out as the signature par 3, a middle-distance one-shotter with sand left and water right that asks for a committed tee ball. The finishing par-4 18th builds to the drama McCumber liked in PGA Tour venues: water running the entire left side, a green framed by water and bunkers, the kind of pressure-packed approach that decides matches. The 5-through-13 stretch is the course's enjoyable core. A US Open Local Qualifier host, an honor reserved for courses meeting USGA's conditioning and design standards. Worth the drive south from Memphis or north from Jackson.