MOBILE, Ala. — Golf has returned to the old Linksman property. Mobile County leaders gathered on Wednesday, Sept. 23, to celebrate the soft launch of Cypress Creek Golf Course, a brand-new 18-hole public layout designed by 1976 U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate, and the Cypress Creek Golf Course opening to the public follows on Friday, Sept. 25, with limited, reservation-only tee times.
The morning ceremony at the course’s new driving range building drew county commissioners, city council members, project partners, church leaders, students and neighbors. It featured a ceremonial first drive and putt, followed by golf-cart tours that gave guests a first close look at the fairways and greens.
For District 3 Commissioner Randall Dueitt, who has pushed for the project since taking office in 2020, the day was the payoff for years of work on a property that had been idle for roughly 15 years before the county bought it.
“I had a vision, but I never envisioned it would be this nice,” Dueitt said. “I’m just excited for the community.”
A New Course on an Old Golf Site
Cypress Creek sits on about 100 acres at 3700 St. Andrews Lane North, in the Riviére du Chien community of Mobile. The land has been used for golf since the early 1970s, most recently as the Linksman Golf Course, but it had gone unused for about a decade and a half when Mobile County acquired it in 2022.
County leaders are careful to stress that what opened this week is not a refurbished version of the old course. The layout was built from the ground up, even though it follows a site that golfers in the area will remember.
“We basically built a golf course on top of a location where another golf course used to be,” Dueitt said. “It’s similar to the old Linksman, but it’s a lot different.”
Earlier reporting by South Alabama News described some of those differences. Pate’s design team flipped the old nines, so the Linksman’s former back nine is now the front nine and vice versa. The new front nine includes four par-3 holes and three par-5s, an unusual mix, and water comes into play on 15 of the 18 holes. Shane Allen is the course’s director of golf, and superintendent Trey Woods and his staff prepared the turf for opening.
During his cart tour, Dueitt singled out the 15th hole as his personal favorite. “This is my favorite hole because it’s got a creek named after me on it,” he said.
How the Land Was Paid For
The county bought the former Linksman property with money from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, known as GOMESA. The 2006 federal law shares part of the revenue from offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf with the four producing Gulf states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Their coastal counties and parishes also receive a share.
Under the program, 37.5% of qualified revenues go to those states and local governments. Federal rules say the money should go toward coastal conservation, restoration and hurricane protection. A separate 12.5% goes to the national Land and Water Conservation Fund, which supports public outdoor recreation. The program’s current annual cap is $375 million, shared across all recipients.
In this case, the money helped the county buy a large, long-idle property in the Dog River watershed. The county has said the golf course itself was developed using a combination of funding sources.
Tee Times, Fees and Hours
Cypress Creek will open on a limited schedule so its new turf has more time to mature before daily play ramps up. New greens and fairways are vulnerable to heavy traffic, and limiting rounds gives maintenance crews room to keep working between play days.
For now, golf is available only to foursomes with advance reservations. Golfers need to call ahead and book a tee time; walk-up play is not being offered during the soft launch. The limited schedule is:
- Fridays through Sundays: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Thursdays: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Green fee: $65, cart included
- Reservations: required, for groups of four
The rest of the complex is already open for everyday use. The driving range, tennis courts and pickleball courts are open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tennis and pickleball are free and first-come, first-served. At the range, a small basket of balls costs $8 and a large basket costs $12.
County officials have not set a date for moving from the limited schedule to full daily golf. They say operations will expand once the turf is ready.
A Home Course for Student Golfers
Dueitt has said from the start that young golfers are the main reason for the project, and the county built that goal into the design. Cypress Creek includes a dedicated youth practice area, with a putting and chipping green set aside for Mobile County high school golfers and designated space on the driving range. County leaders hope the course can eventually host school tournaments.
“We set out to build a first-class public golf course that would challenge experienced golfers, welcome new players and give our young golfers a place to practice and compete,” Dueitt said in a statement. “Cypress Creek delivers on that vision, and I’m proud that we’re now able to open it for the public to enjoy.”
For many high school teams, finding a place to practice and play home matches is a real hurdle. Paying green fees at private or commercial courses can be expensive enough to decide whether a school can field a team at all. A county-owned course with space reserved for students removes much of that cost.
Dueitt told the crowd he measures the course’s success in terms of what it does for young people, not only in rounds played or money earned.
“If one kid from any school in Mobile County comes out here, learns how to play golf, and goes on to college on a scholarship, then it was well worth every penny we spent here,” Dueitt said. “We’re investing in our children.”
He also made a broader pitch. “Golf in Mobile is back,” he said. “And it didn’t leave completely, but golf in Mobile is back. I want to encourage every single child that you can and adult to get out here and play golf, because golf changes people’s lives — and it changes it forever, because golf is a lifetime sport.”
First Impressions From Students and Guests
Several student golfers got an early look at the course on Wednesday. Rhett Flowers, a varsity golfer at MGM, said the course was better than he had expected.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be this nice,” Flowers said. “I like our fairways for sure — they look really good. I like the greens; they look very nice.”
Flowers said he had not known the course was being built until he saw it. “I’m really excited,” he said. “I had no idea it was even being built. I’m just excited that it’s out here, and I can’t wait to play on it some more.”
Dawson Hinton, another student golfer, said the drive was worth it. “I’m a senior and I’ve been golfing since about freshman year,” Hinton said. “It’s a little far from our school, but, I mean, they have good amenities for the youth, and it’s just overall a good course.”
Azalea Trailmaid AG McKee said the area had gone without a golf course for too long. “It’s an awesome opportunity because there has been no golf course in this area for a really long time, and I think it’s a good thing to get the younger kids engaged and excited about this great sport,” she said.
District 2 City Councilwoman Samantha Ingram said the course may even win her over to the game. “I’m so excited. You know, when I look at this golf course and look at what we’ve done here, I’m going to become a golfer,” she said.
Who Built Cypress Creek
Commissioners Dueitt, Connie Hudson and Merceria Ludgood led the ceremony. Other speakers included Mobile City Councilor Ben Reynolds; Steve Dana, representing the Jerry Pate Company; Lev Holly, interim athletic director for the Mobile County Public School System; Pastor John T. Phalo of Greater Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church; and the Rev. Patrick Driscoll of St. Dominic Catholic Church.
Several firms worked on the project:
- Watermark Design Group LLC handled park engineering and design.
- Ben M. Radcliff Contractor Inc. built the park infrastructure.
- Mid-America Golf & Landscape Inc. built the Jerry Pate-designed course.
- Dakinstreet Architects designed the new driving range building, which Tindle Construction Inc. built.
Besides the course, this phase includes the driving range, the youth practice area, the tennis and pickleball courts, parking, roadways, and an office and maintenance building.
Pate brings a well-known name to the project. A University of Alabama golfer who won the 1974 U.S. Amateur, he won the 1976 U.S. Open at Atlanta Athletic Club at age 22, finishing with a famous 5-iron approach over water from 191 yards that stopped about 3 feet from the hole. He went on to win eight times on the PGA Tour and later started a golf course design practice. His regional work includes Kiva Dunes in Gulf Shores.
A Boost for the Neighborhood
Dueitt said the course is already drawing investment to the neighborhood around it. During the tour, he pointed out that construction had resumed in an area where it had long been at a standstill.
“There has not been a new house built in this neighborhood in probably 30 years, and when we started the renovations on the golf course building, he built a brand-new house. The lot next to him is sold,” Dueitt said.
The opening is part of a busy season for golf in the region. It comes shortly before Longleaf Golf Club in Spanish Fort was scheduled to open on Oct. 3, and while several other courses in Mobile and Baldwin counties finish major renovations.
What Comes Next at Riviére du Chien Park
Cypress Creek is the first piece of the county’s larger Riviére du Chien Park, whose French name means “Dog River.” Later phases are meant to open public access to the Dog River watershed, which drains into Mobile Bay. Planned future amenities include:
- Waterfront access to the Dog River watershed
- Picnic areas
- A boardwalk
- An ADA-accessible kayak launch
- A permanent clubhouse
- A playground
County officials have not yet announced timelines or budgets for those phases. Until a permanent clubhouse is built, the course is using temporary facilities, and the county’s Golf Course Department will manage day-to-day operations.
Golfers who want to play during the soft launch should reserve a tee time in advance for a group of four. The range and courts are open daily at 3700 St. Andrews Lane North in Mobile.