Lake Charles Golf Courses & Tee Times

Who runs public golf in Lake Charles

The City of Lake Charles built Mallard Golf Club to replace the old Mallard Cove course. That course was on land the federal government gave the city for recreation, next to Chennault International Air Park, a former military base. The new course has a lighted range, and a new clubhouse opened in June 2023. In Westlake, The National Golf Club of Louisiana has 14 lakes and 65 bunkers over about 7,000 yards; Golf Channel called it a muni in its Lake Charles trip story. Sulphur has Frasch, a tree-lined par 71.

Public courses worth knowing in Lake Charles

• Mallard Golf Club: Built by the City of Lake Charles and opened in October 2021. A treeless, links-style Jeff Blume design, on the Audubon Golf Trail since 2022. The club says Golf Digest named it one of America's Best New Golf Courses in 2022.
• Contraband Bayou Golf Club: Tom Fazio design at L'Auberge Casino Resort that opened in 2004. Wooden bridges cross ponds throughout the course.
• Koasati Pines at Coushatta Casino Resort: Par 72 in Kinder with six sets of tees, 65 acres of lakes and a "Gambling Hole." An Audubon Golf Trail member.
• National Golf Club of Louisiana: About 7,000 yards in Westlake, with 14 lakes, 65 bunkers and five sets of tees.

Booking tee times in Lake Charles: the local rules

Mallard is closed all day on Tuesdays for maintenance. It allows no fivesomes and no spectators Friday through Sunday. Green fees at Koasati Pines include the cart and GPS. We found no published booking windows for the area's courses.

Why tee times in Lake Charles are hard to get

Spring and fall are peak season in Lake Charles. In summer the heat pushes everyone toward early morning, so the first few hours of the day fill before anything else.

Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.

When tee time cancellations happen

Booked-up doesn't mean gone. Plans change: groups cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline (often 24 to 48 hours out), players drop when the forecast turns, and a group that shrinks leaves an open spot. Those times quietly come back on the booking page, usually for minutes, not hours.

How to get a tee time in Lake Charles

Doing it by hand? Here's what works.

1. Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
2. Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
3. Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
4. Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
5. Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Sulphur has 1 courses on Yoink and Westlake has 1.

Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked