Only half an hour from Baton Rouge and mere minutes from historic St. Francisville lies Louisiana’s hidden treasure, The Bluffs Country Club and Resort. Nestled among the hardwoods and lush landscape of West Feliciana Parish, the Bluffs is a master planned community that combines an Arnold Palmer 18-Hole Signature Golf Course with an upscale residential neighborhood, complete with on-site fine dining, guest lodge, and fitness center.
The natural beauty of the land takes precedence here, and you’ll find flowing creeks, still ponds, and rolling bluffs along the award-winning golf course. Arnold Palmer paid careful attention to preserving the natural environment of the wilderness above Thompson Creek, so you can enjoy nature’s beauty for years to come.
Bluffs Golf Resort getting its game back Owners of the Bluffs Golf Resort in St. Francisville have been quietly working to bring the once-troubled country club back to life. So far, the efforts appear to be paying off. Businessman Clyde DuBois, who joined Claude Penn as managing partner in January, helped guide the resort’s cash flow from red to black within two weeks of taking over the club’s management. Under his stewardship, new home construction, golfing and two restaurants on the resort grounds are booming, DuBois says. Play at the Arnold Palmer-designed golf course has increased by 30% and membership is up almost as much since DuBois “reversed the nine,” or reversed the direction of play of the first 10 holes, in April. The public 18-hole course is getting top rankings in national golf publications; and for the first time, later this month, it will host a U.S. Open qualifying event. That’s a big turnaround for a course that was temporarily closed by an insolvent owner in 2009. Interest from potential homebuyers has spiked as well, DuBois says. “It has changed dramatically,” he says. “We probably have as many as 25 new residents within the last 90 days.”
A 48-lot subdivision called Savannah Square recently gained approval from parish regulators to begin construction, and more than three years after purchasing the lot, builders are now at work at the subdivision. A fourth filing, including some 65 lots, is set to open this summer. Meanwhile, DuBois says business at Palmer’s at the Bluffs restaurant and The 19th Hole has increased by 40% under the guidance of Chef Buff Thompson, who specializes in steaks and seafood. —April Castro