Spilling the tees on BREC golf

Golf got a popularity boost during COVID, and the fairways and greens continue thanks to the popularity of Good Good Golf and other free-swinging YouTubers.

Why it matters: The best way to enjoy the game is to play on a course—and from tee boxes—suitable for your skill level. It becomes a good walk spoiled pretty quickly if you're hacking and scudding the ball around a course that's beyond your skill level.

BREC course guide:

• Santa Maria—The crown jewel of the BREC roster, this Robert Trent Jones Sr. design is one of South Louisiana's best municipal courses. This course isn't for beginners, and double-digit handicappers shouldn't consider playing from the tips, which maxes the course at 6,969 yards.
• Beaver Creek—The wooded back-9, which meanders through protected wetlands, is the best nine-hole swing in the BREC bag. It's fabulous. The front-9 is rather pedestrian and is faux-links-style. It's a course that suffers from being in Zachary, which is a bit of a hike for the South Baton Rouge golf crowd. Again, at 6,950 yards, newbies and high-handicappers need not play from the championship tees. Pick one of the four other tee options to test your game.
• Webb Park—Affectionately known as "Webble Beach," this course in the heart of Baton Rouge is the best 18-hole track for newbies, high-handicappers and those with weekly games. It's an underrated layout, easy to walk and, at 6,349 yards, a decent test when the course is in good shape.
  City Park—Controversy over its future aside, the most notable feature of this 9-hole course is the elevation changes. It has actual hills. Designed by Tom Bendelow, the Walmart of course architects, the 4,600-yard, tree-lined layout has visual appeal. The best hole is the blind, uphill, par-3 eighth that has railroad tracks running along the right side of the fairway. It's the one challenge on a course that otherwise doesn't punish slicers. A good course for beginners or anyone in a hurry.
  J.S. Clark—This is the far more interesting of BREC's two 9-hole courses. The hole routing is better than at City Park, and it's a better short-game and putting test. Great for beginners, for anyone who wants a quick round, or for banging some balls at the PGA-style practice area.

The bottom line: Golf Director Mike Raby does a good job managing his resources and has improved conditions at every course. Give BREC credit for offering courses designed for golfers of all levels.