This may be the definition of a "Decent/Typical" state park course.

It is not particularly challenging, but not an unpleasant way to pass an hour. The course plays over lots of mown grass with some widely spaced mature trees to require just a bit of line shaping. However, the edges of some fairways are a wall of brush and thorns and you want to avoid those areas at all costs.

Not a lot of variety in the hole lengths. Fourteen of the holes fall into the 200' - 300' range, with a couple that are slightly shorter, and a couple more that are longer.

There are straight shots as well as some gently curving right and left shots, but with the exception of Holes 13 and 18 (see cons) nothing tight or doglegged.

Course infrastructure is decent, with a mix of single and double-chain DISCatchers that are showing their age. Adequate concrete teepads and pretty nice signs take care of the rest. Didn't notice any benches, and the only trash can I saw was near the 18th basket.

The biggest challenge the morning I played was the howling wind off of the Gulf of Mexico, which is only a few hundred feet from the course.

Most of the holes on this dead-flat course play across open ground, with a few trees to shape a line around.

The two wooded holes (13 and 18) had the potential to be interesting but were poorly executed. Both had a dogleg fairly close to the tee, and a narrow gap near the basket. Really no way to get around the corner and to the gap without going over the top of everything. The surrounding rough is very dense and thorny. Just not good holes.

The first three holes play near a playground. I didn't feel like I needed to change my shot to work around it, but if it was busy that could change.

I dislike playing down roadways, and this course has several holes featuring a narrow fairway between the main entrance road and a wall of brush. You have little choice but to play over the road, which required waiting for cars to clear.

A decent effort for a State Park Course. For the most part the course is set away from other park activities though you are always in sight of parking lots and roads.

Buccaneer State Park is right off the coast, easy to find, easy to access, easy to play. The park is past the first kiosk that had a sign on it that said pay at the next office, but the course was before that so if you're just there to play the course, you probably won't have to pay the entrance fee (but you could to be nice).

The park staff is also pretty friendly, judging by my single interaction with them when a guy told me to watch out for water moccasins.

This all being a long diversion from naming pros about the course itself because, well, that's a bit difficult.

What I did like was the distance. All par 3's, some very easy to reach, others a bit of a stretch, so you got to air out a couple shots. A few holes were pretty intriguing, including 2, 3, and 11. The rest were average, bizarre, or worse than average but felt ok because that seemed to be the standard here.

Holes 9-11 circle an open field, but are pretty well designed given the fact that it looks like it was a redesign after the building of the water park. The designers made the most of what they had to work with.

Sadly though, the best holes are few, and still what would only be an "ok" to "slightly better than ok" on most courses. The two in particular which stand out as pretty terrible are 13 (maybe 14) and 18. They are just silly doglegs that are way too short and way too narrow to be fun or feasible.

The first several holes play VERY close to a playground (hole 1 literally tees from one end and you stand next to it as you throw). Hole 11 also is very close to a building that you could throw into; hole 10 has you throw over a parking lot (luckily there were no cars when I was there, but during the summer I would have hit a car no problem). Holes 3, 10, and 17 throw over, or very close to a road.

Navigation is very easy, with the 7 to 8 transition as an exception. It looks like they had to redesign it and hadn't updated the map, but otherwise I had no problems figuring out where to go.

Baskets.. ehh *throws hands up shrugging*. Most are old-school discatchers, but still in decent condition (not counting rust, but they're catching well), and maybe one or two of the newer models, I'm guessing as they replaced the worst of the old ones.

This course was at it's best a good round, at it's worst, miserable, but mostly just an exercise in perseverance. The rough is terrible, the holes are repetitive (hyzer, hyzer, hyzer, floaty hyzer, etc) with a few good forehands thrown in, mainly at the beginning. The bugs were the worst though; I killed no less than 9 horseflies by hand on one hole, and usually had to get a few before I could throw. I've also seen wind as a problem here, but I got very lucky when I played it and the air was still-to-gentle breeze. No real problem.

If I lived nearby I would play this course every once in a while. As is, I don't plan on making the trip again, unless for special occasion, and I don't really plan on stopping by if I'm driving through I-10. It's a pretty average course, with mainly forgettable holes (and the ones you remember won't be for how fun they were...) But if you do play it, I hope you enjoy!

Short, fairly easy course in a nice setting.

Holes 13 & 18 make no sense, some baskets are difficult to find on the first round. Course map is wrong.

I have seen people playing 1 thru 7 three times and staying away from the rest of the course. Again, holes 13 & 18?????

Buccaneer State Park is at its best on the front 9 and the closing holes, where intermittent trees and a periphery of brush are effectively used to force a variety of lines. There's a nice array of holes here, and the challenge level often sits at a happy medium, at least for a high-level rec/intermediate type player, with birdies often possible but only through effective shot shaping. Throughout the course there are a variety of opportunities to break out all kinds of shots: FH, BH, turnovers, big hyzers, and overhand shots are all prompted at one point or another. Kudos for the effort to force a complete game.

Distances sit mostly in the 250'-300' range, but there are a few spots on the back 9 to pull out a distance driver. The present course layout varies a bit here from what's listed on DGCR, and has a few longer holes that break things up and keep the course from settling into one distance range. While there are no truly long holes, the scope of distances is nevertheless nice, ranging from technical ~175' shots to two or three 350'ish+ shots. The disc I reached for seemed to vary between most holes.

Parking is ample, and there are several quality bathrooms readily accessible. The park is, overall, family friendly, with playgrounds, pavilions, fishing piers, etc.

It's hard to complain too much about the course design itself; it's really the drab setting that doesn't do it any favors. The area's dotted with trees are relatively flavorless, making the designers fight for every ounce of technicality. As the back 9 opens up, the variety and mild challenge that the course starts off with diminish, deflating things a bit. Holes 10-15 are pretty forgettable. Also, there's a distinct lack of challenge to the approach game: this course is really all about what you do off the tee. The rest sorts itself out pretty readily.

The course seems to have been subject to numerous redesigns, particularly on the backend. The tee signs, such as they are (wooden stakes with only numbers), almost all feature 2-3 distinct hole numbers on them (not pictured), which can confuse. On the back 9, I struggled to find the next hole at a few places, and ultimately missed one or two holes somewhere between 13-15. I could often see the tees and the pins, but figuring out what went with what was a futile proposition, so I mostly just made things up myself. This navigation snafu was far from monumental, but it did slow things down, making for a choppy latter 9 and a good bit of head scratching. I'm not really sure what I missed out on.

Natural tees in a rainy part of the country can occasionally frustrate your footing. Pro tees could really enhance the course, and the requisite space seems to be available.

The rough bordering fairways comes in the disc-eatingly-thick variety, especially on the closing holes. Avoiding it isn't too problematic, but be forewarned.

While Buccaneer State Park won't be making my top 10 list, it actually pleasantly surprised me. The front 9 offered a greater challenge and interest than I had anticipated, while still regularly dangling the birdie carrot in front of me. In an area where great courses are lacking, BSP is a more than serviceable stop over between greener pastures. I was happy to have visited, and will surely visit again.

As of April 2014, the pictures and hole lengths on DGCR seem to diverge at times from the course's present layout, at least on the back 9.

Be prepared for wind here. The greater gulf area in general gets gusty, and Buccaneer State Park seems to be a notch or two more intense than anywhere else I've played thus far. What was a relatively calm day at McLeod was breezy here, a 20 minute drive away.

If it isn't clear enough from the ratings and the pictures, Buccaneer State Park is easily the best course you can play if you're passing through southwest Mississippi.

Signage ... Each hole was numbered and there are arrows pointing to holes in long transitions. +.5

Tee Pads and Baskets are legit. I just need to work on my putt ... +1

Design - A mix of drives, and approaches to keep it challenging yet fun. +.5

Restroom, Benches, Trash and Water... All good, but not great +.5

Signage ... no Complete course map or scorecard - .5

Design - No OUT and IN (although there is a restroom by the transfer). Although the land won't allow it, there is not much difficulty. -.5

Some water, more trash cans or or benches -.5

There is nothing here to deserve and extra point. This course is worth making a trip for. We didn't need to pay the entrance fee, ALTHOUGH YOU SHOULD NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT PAYING A FEW DOLLARS TO PLAY GOLF!!!!!!

Nice open course for the most part. Nice looking area. If you have kids half the course keeps your next to the playground so you can still keep an eye on your kids while playing. First half of the course is great for beginners.

The first half is really short so it'll be a bit boring for intermediate or pro players. Course goes from boring to frustratingly cursing. The holes aren't hard per se but the high winds from the gulf (which is a good throw away) and the very thick bush is punishing for throws that get away from you. Holes 14 through 17 are all along the very thick bush so any errant throws have a very good chance of getting lost (which i found out the hard way).

The attached picture for the holes is no longer accurate for the course must have been changed. Lost a Champion Boss on hole 14.

This is a very typical course with just enough foliage variation to make things interesting. There are wood signs for tee markers with the hole number painted on top and less than accurate distance measurements. The boxes are natural but in good condition and the baskets are in good condition as well. The difficulty level is just about perfect for the beginning to casual rec. players, and this is a great course to bring new players or families to.

The entire park area was empty when we played, and my guess is course traffic is usually pretty light. There are typical park amenities including raised bathrooms (thank you hurricanes), and a play area for the kids. A water park is currently being installed, another plus for enticing the family to come out, and fortunately with a little redesign - the course itself looks to stay intact. The map will give you a general idea of locations, however I didn't find it extremely helpful. Finally, did I mention you are literally playing a course 100 yards from the Gulf of Mexico - I think that's pretty cool.

BEST HOLE/S: #14

The water park, although a great park feature has forced some holes to be redone, and makes for some minor out-of-the-way walks, but I do applaud the efforts to retain the integrity of the course. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out in the future. However, the biggest complaint most players will have is the overall lack of wow factor. The course is steady eddie and besides a few holes hugging the thick rough, I didn't have to think too much. I shot one over and was a little upset at the score, so advanced players may probably get bored fairly quick. With distance a non-factor at 4500' your main work just trying to dodge a few trees and hold your lines.

I know this course says pay to play - but we didn't see any where to pay and weren't stopped by the few park trucks that drove by. Could be my ignorance, but my round was free.

WORST HOLE/S: #10; #11

I enjoyed this course basically because I wasn't expecting much and just wanted an easy casual round of golf. Tournament ready and championship caliber this place is not, nor does it try to be - so just understand that and enjoy a laid-back round by the beach. It's not a gimmie course be any means, which should keep the majority of players engaged, and if I had time I definitely would have played it again. I would warn you to stay out of the thick rough areas, bring your map, and keep an open mind. I did, and walked away feeling satisfied and happy that I made the trip.