Golf in Metairie Louisiana

In Louisiana, you can hit the links at the site of an 1812 battlefield or an old plantation home. Here, golf courses seem a natural part of the landscape. And for good reason: The courses of Louisiana's Audubon Golf Trail—the innovative collection of 18 top-notch courses, covering all five regions of the state—are all members of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, which promotes ecologically sound land management and the conservation of natural resources.

Established in 2001, the Audubon Golf Trail includes courses designed by Hal Sutton, David Toms and Pete Dye. Dye's latest creation, TPC of Louisiana at Fairfield, which opened in 2004, hosts the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which is an annual draw for golf's heavyweights.

And while the Audubon Golf Trail provides a splendid sample of golf in Louisiana, there are numerous other beautiful and challenging courses statewide. Be sure to swing by.

Though closely associated with its famous neighbor, Metairie largely developed as a 20th century alternative to the Old World ways of New Orleans. The upscale Old Metairie community boasts many 1920s-era homes and high-end boutiques, while much else in Metairie evolved along familiar American suburban patterns of family living and convenience. Veterans Memorial Boulevard forms a long, broad route lined with restaurants and retailers of all description, including Lakeside Shopping Center, one of the region's largest malls. The dense and diverse collection of bars and restaurants in a part of town called Fat City serves as the nightlife center. The New Orleans Zephyrs minor league baseball plays at a stadium adjacent to the headquarters and training facility of the New Orleans Saints. A long roster of Mardi Gras parades transforms the suburban streets each year, while Metairie recently added a youth-oriented, weekend-long festival called Family Gras to the carnival calendar.