"Mississippi's oldest golf course was built in 1908 as a nine hole course to accommodate tourists staying at the Great Southern Hotel owned by the founder of Gulfport, Captain Joseph T. Jones. The hotel was located in downtown Gulfport. The Donald Ross designed course was built by Charles Nieman, a New Orleans architect, at the request of Bert Jones, a Harvard graduate and the son of the founder of Gulfport, Captain Jones.
The land on which the course is located was once owned by Jefferson Davis, whose home Beauvoir, is located east of the golf course in Biloxi. The original nine hole course sported oyster shell tee boxes and sand greens. Several years later the greens were converted to grass. In1910 a clubhouse was built by Bert Jones in an old English gable style and the course became known as the Great Southern Golf and Country Club. At the age of 32, Bert Jones died on Christmas Day in 1910 shortly after the clubhouse was completed. The original clubhouse was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A new clubhouse is under construction and is expected to open in February, 2013. The design captures the theme of the original clubhouse and will share the same site, surrounded by ancient, majestic oaks overlooking the beautiful Gulf of Mexico."
