Best Golf Courses Near Monroe, LA

Monroe, a river city known as the cultural capital of Northeast Louisiana, was named for the “James Monroe” steamboat that first navigated the Ouachita River, not the fifth president of the United States. When it comes to golf, the stars of the golf scene in and around Monroe are private courses. Squire Creek Country Club, a Tom Fazio design located 25 miles east of Monroe, is the top-rated course in all of Louisiana, while Bayou DeSiard Country Club right in Monroe boasts a playing field originally laid out by Perry Maxwell in 1948. For public tee times, Chennault Park Golf Course is a flat, tree-lined muni that can play as long as 7,200 yards. Many locals learned to play on Johnny Myers Golf Course (aka MUNY), a basic 9-hole city layout that dates back to the 1920s. Frenchman’s Bend Golf and Country Club, a flat layout with fairways lined alternately by trees and houses, features an island green. Monroe, which is on the Ouachita River, was the original home of Delta Airlines. Delta started as a crop dusting company and was headquartered in Monroe until 1941. You can learn about the airline’s early history as well as Monroe’s role as the site of the largest aviation navigation school in the U.S. during World War II at the Chennault Aviation Museum. Another top attraction is the Biedenharn Museum & Garden on the riverside estate of the man who first started bottling Coca Cola. Downtown Monroe, which features unique shops, restaurants, and a full-scale craft brewery, extends right down to the riverfront.