Tamahka Trails Golf Course — Attraction in Louisiana

Tamahka Trails Golf Club is one of the wonderful amenities at the Paragon Casino Resort in Marksville, LA, and believe me, this course has some bite.

Tamahka Trails was designed by Lakeland, FL native Steve Smyers who took the natural contours of the property and created one of the best daily fee golf courses in Louisiana. Juniors, seniors, and ladies can move up to the Gold Tees and play the course from 4,370 yards while low handicappers and masochists can move back to the Black Tees and play from 7,019 yards. Par out here is 71.

The golf course winds its way through 230 acres of rolling terrain, majestic century-old trees, and a bevy of native wildlife. The putting surfaces are incredible, well-undulated, and a joy to putt on.

The 2020 renovation included the conversion to the Better Billy Bunker system which improves drainage and creates longer-lasting sand traps. Tamahka Trails also converted about 40,000 square feet of bunkers to grass and added several small pot bunkers.

The Tamahka Trails yardage book can be a valuable asset, especially if you’ve never played the course before. With several blind shots and a few doglegs, there’s nothing worse than standing on the tee box and not knowing where the hole goes.

There are three par 3s on the front side and all are challenging from the White Tees. Move to the back tees and they get even more challenging. Number 2 plays 112 yards from the Whites and is all carry over water. The kidney-shaped green is flanked with a bunker between it and the water. Anything short of the green is probably in the water and anything over the green will find the deep collection area. The green slopes steeply from back right to front left.

From the back tees, Number 6 plays 199 yards from an elevated tee box, so it’s considerably less than the stated yardage. Distance and accuracy are both important because of the three sand and one grass bunkers that guard the multi-tiered green. Watch out for the false front too. Par is a good score here.

If you think the par 3s are getting longer, that’s because they are. Number 8 plays 204 yards from the White Tees. Don’t let the length get to you; well-struck tee shots tend to run onto the green. Two large, deep bunkers guard the green, which is large and has been known to produce a lot of three-putts.

The toughest hole on the entire layout is Number 7, a par 4 that plays 380 yards from the White Tees. Keep your tee shot right of the fairway bunkers; there’s more room over there than meets the eye. The approach shot is semi-blind, although the front of the green is wide open. There’s a lot of contour in this green, so pay attention.

Number 17 is a good risk/reward par 4. From the White Tees, this short dogleg left plays 276 yards. If you can hit a draw, now’s the time. A good line is the tree right of the green. Hit a good drive and catch the downslope and you can easily find the green. Three fairway bunkers guard the right side, waiting for errant tee shots while those that try to cut the dogleg will have a separate set of traps to deal with. If you have any questions about whether or not you can make the green, play a long iron off the tee and leave yourself a manageable pitch shot into a green that slopes left and away from you.

The friendly, knowledgeable staff at Tamahka Trails want your golf experience to be unique and memorable. After your round, head to the Tamahka Grill where they serve some delicious food. I highly recommend the Tamahka Black Oak Smoked Sausage, 1/4 lb. smoked sausage grilled to perfection and served with grilled peppers and onions. You can’t go wrong when you build your own Tamahka Burger, a half-pound burger, served with lettuce, tomato, and onion on a toasted bun with your choice of several toppings.

Once you play it, Tamahka Trails Golf Club is a course you’ll want to come back to again and again. They offer several affordable membership programs for singles, couples, and out-of-towners. They also offer some incredible Stay and Play and Play...

I will say that the course has nice, although annoyingly hilly greens, as well as a nice driving range. My problem is the bunkers. I've heard that a couple years ago the bunkers were really nice, granted that was in the summer. Now they are utterly terrible to play in. If you are playing with a group, declare the bunkers unplayable before you start and just agree to drop your ball behind them if you land in them. I know that seems extreme, but how are you supposed to clear a lip that is several feet high without hitting under it. If you ignore how weed infested and hard the sand is, the bunkers look like they belong in The Open. Other than that the course is pretty nice and well kept, it is just unfortunate the bunkers are so terrible, it's obvious they were designed to be a key feature of the golf course. Anyways, besides that, my only complaint is that the kitchen closed at 2:45 and there are only 2 people that work it. Might be very annoying on a busy day or if you wanna play in...

Loved this course! The greens were in great shape and rolling fast. It has a fun layout with some interesting holes. I would say this course rewards accuracy more so than distance with all of the fairway bunkers, slope, and undulating greens. It was just the right amount of challenging to make it fun and not make you want to sell your clubs after the round. The pace of play was perfect. The course also has ice machines halfway through the front and back 9 and had ice chests all over with ice cold mango scented towels to cool you off. Definitely recommend...