Golf Guide: Lake Charles - LA

If you crave heaps of fried food, jambalaya, gumbo, fresh-caught fish or crawfish; if you like gaming, deep-sea fishing or floating down a lazy river pool that goes on forever, then consider Lake Charles in southwestern Louisiana, for your next golf vacation. And what a deal. When it comes to golf, Lake Charles, Louisiana has close to ten courses offering green fees of $50 or less including a cart.

Most green fees with a cart are less than $50 including designer tracks like L'Auberge du Lac's slick Contraband Bayou, a Tom Fazio-designed public course running around eight lakes; Gray Plantation, one of only 12 courses in the state on the Audubon Golf Trail and home of a state-of-the-art golf academy; National Golf Club, the epicenter for a master-planned community of new homes; and Mallard Cove Golf Course, a good choice with no scary carries and the sweet scent of Ligustrum blossoms wafting through the air as you approach the first tee.

While you're down there, tie into the Southwest Boudin Trail. No we're not talking golf, but a food trail where you can sample a regional food made up of a rice concoction with pork, alligator or some other meat, veggies and spices pushed into sausage casings. Locals have their favorite places to go like at Hollier's Cajun Kitchen, Sonnier's or the corner grocery.

Lake Charles is an inexpensive family destination and for those who don't play golf in your party, there are plenty of things to do, especially if you stay at the 1000-room L'Auberge du Lac, a 30,000-square-foot casino with an enormous pool complex, spa, shops and several restaurants. Fishing charters on Big Lake and the Gulf are also on the hot list of things to do.

Be sure to order a Po-Boy, a local "sandwich" staple sold everywhere like Darrell's famous for their Po-Boys, studies in messy gluttony with layers of meat and cheese dripping with jalapeno mayo sauce and butter. At the Seafood Palace, a causal local haunt, the place is packed with diners sucking the meat out of piles of crawfish while the Ember Grille & Wine Bar in the L'Auberge du Lac hotel appeals to a fine dining crowd who like their steaks thick and juicy.