WEST POINT, MI. - The maroon coloured cap sits on my mantle like a trophy. The fabled Mississippi State University bulldog mascot known as “Bully” is embossed on its side. Above the brim sits a cupola with a pennant flying proudly above.

I’ve never worn that cap but often, while sitting in my den enjoying a glass of wine in that old wingback chair that’s had the stuffing knocked out of it over the years, I just stare at it and replay in my mind one the most memorable rounds of golf I’ve ever enjoyed at a course I’d rate among the top 50 in the world I’ve played. And I’ve played a lot!

That’s the effect Old Waverly golf club has on me and a lot of others who come to this pretty backwater town in the heart of Mississippi to play a layout Golf Digest recognizes among its top 100 courses in America.

Old Waverly enchants the moment its stately white clubhouse comes into view. The plantation-style building looks like it jumped off the pages of Gone With The Wind. The exterior is accented by lush gardens. The air is spiced with the sweet scents of lavender and roses. The interior is filled with cozy parlors, stately dining facilities like the Magnolia Room where sunsets are enjoyed while enjoying southern culinary delights.

The golf is so good at Old Waverly it’s been chosen to host a number of important professional and amateur championships on several occasions, including the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2006 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. But we would expect nothing less from a course designed by the dynamic duo of golf architects, Jerry Pate and Robert Cupp.

This course can best be described as Mississippi’s Augusta National – complete with a grouping of holes, 10, 11 and 12, that rival Augusta's famed Amen Corner troika. And just like Augusta, there are magnolia bushes and stone bridges. The only difference between these southern gems is we mere mortals can tee it up at Old Waverly.

This Mississippi beauty is the Great Lakes of golf, with five bodies of water coming into play on eight holes – two on one hole, No. 16, alone!

The biggest of the lakes is Lake Waverly, which the clubhouse overlooks. Five holes surround the shimmering pond – 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18, for my money, one of the best finishing holes in golf.

You get a quick introduction to the water at Old Waverly, with Lake Azalea poking into the front of the well-bunkered first hole. The rest of the front nine is water free but what 2 through 9 lacks in water, they more than make up for in bunkers – over 45, with 11 on the par 5, 9th alone.

The front nine fairways are wide and generous for the most part, with tall pines and bunkers being the only distractions. But all filter into narrow, well-guarded greens that are as tough a test of putting you’ll ever encounter.

Take time at the clubhouse, enjoy something to eat and have a spiked drink – it will help settle your nerves for what lies ahead on the back nine.

Having a slice is a definite advantage on 10, 11 and 12, with water coming into play down the left side of each narrow fairway. The pin is tucked behind the green on the par 5, 10th but keeping your second shot right could introduce you to a grouping of five small bunkers.

The par 4 11th is a bit more generous off the tee but your approach shot will be challenged by the lake that guards the front and a long narrow bunker that runs the full length of the green.

The par-3 12th requires accuracy so choose your club wisely. The lake and five strategically-placed bunkers will test your shot making, and nerves.

Numbers 13 and 14 take you away from the water but you quickly return, with Pecan Lake guarding the green at No. 15 and lakes Camellia and Livesay’s coming into play on 16, rated the fifth toughest hole on a course full of tough challenges.

Now it’s back to Lake Waverly where the par-3 17th is highlighted by a beach bunker that starts mid fairway and winds up the left side and behind the green. Oh, did we also mention that the lake vies for attention all the way from tee to green down the left side. Good luck!

They save the best for last at Old Waverly. The par-4, 18th is a sensational test from tee to green. You’re tempted to cut off the lake with your approach shot but six front bunkers and a green that falls off into the lake may make you have second thoughts. However, those trying to avoid the lake off the tee may find themselves digging out of trouble from one of the three bunkers that come into play down the right side. There’s also a hidden gully behind the tall pines that border the fairway’s right flank. Once on the green, mounds located back centre and left front define the contours of this large, well protected hole.

Your round over, it’s nice just to look back at the light dancing on Lake Waverly and tip your cap to a Mississippi beauty you’re sure to fall in love with.