Mississippi is home to great Southern golf!

Forget what you think you know about Mississippi, it will surprise you. From the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which offers breathtaking views of the Gulf of Mexico (it's called the Riviera of the South for a reason), to its abundance of casinos, to its connection to the South of yesterday, seen through the countless plantation and antebellum mansions, Mississippi is a state with an eye toward the future and the pulse of the past.

Oh, and great golf courses.

From resorts to stay-and-play destinations, Mississippi offers the perfect Southern golf vacation. Start your journey at the beginning: The Great Southern Golf Club, the state's oldest course, designed by Donald Ross in 1908.

Travel along Highway 90, which spans the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and see why the stretch of real estate should be renamed the Mississippi Golf Coast. Sprinkled among all of the vacation destinations, including 12 casinos, are some big-named golf courses such as Arnold Palmer's The Bridges at Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis, a Davis Love III signature course named Shell Landing Golf Club in Gautier, and The Oaks Golf Club in nearby Pass Christian.

If inland golf is more your style, be sure to check out Dancing Rabbit Golf Club's Azaleas Course, east of Jackson. The course was named No. 35 on Golf Magazine's Top 100 You Can Play List.

Or stop in Oxford - a city that is cut straight out of the historic South - home to the University of Mississippi and its Ole Miss Golf Course. Or visit West Point, a charming small town and site of the Old Waverly Golf Club, a course that was named tops in Mississippi by Golf Digest in 2006. Or Hattiesburg, home of Canebrake Country Club, designed by Jerry Pate, and Timberton Golf Club, recently named by Golf Digest as one of North America's best places to play.

From casinos to sunsets, high-priced resorts to college towns, Southern history to golf exclusivity, Mississippi has something for everyone.