Windance vs The Oaks: which Gulfport-area course fits your trip rotation

Windance vs The Oaks is a choice between conditioning and value. Windance in Gulfport is the best-kept public-access course in the area by recent reviews, at $90 to $110 or $85 after 2 PM (seen October 2026). The Oaks in Pass Christian is longer, books 365 days out, and drops to $39 to $49 late in the day.

Both are public-access courses off I-10 west of Biloxi, and both work well in a trip rotation. This guide compares Windance vs The Oaks on price, booking, design, conditions and where to stay, so you can decide whether to play one or both. Prices were read on October 25, 2026, and change through the year.

Quick facts

• Windance: Gulfport, Mark McCumber, 1986. Semi-private with public tee times. 6,708 yards, 72.6 / 139. $85-$110.
• The Oaks: Pass Christian, opened 1998. Daily-fee public. 7,006 yards, 74.6 / 140. $39-$109.
• Booking: Windance 14 days; The Oaks 365 days.
• Package: Island View's Unlimited Golf package at Windance from $99 per person; none found for The Oaks.
• Google ratings: Windance 4.7 (252 reviews); The Oaks 4.4 (143).
• Drive from downtown Biloxi: Windance about 41 min (25.3 mi); The Oaks about 38 min (27.9 mi).

Windance vs The Oaks at a glance

Price

Windance

Windance runs a two-tier 2026 price. Peak runs March to June and September to November at $110 for 18; non-peak runs December to February and July to August at $90. The live tee sheet showed $110 before 2 PM on October 28 and November 7, 2026, and $85 from 2 PM. Other rates:

• Nine holes: $55 peak, $45 non-peak.
• Same-day replay: $45 peak, $25 non-peak.
• Military and guests of members: $25 off the current rate.
• GolfNow Hot Deals for October 17 to 27, 2026, ran about $59 to $110. They are prepaid and refundable only if you cancel 24 hours or more ahead.

The Oaks

The Oaks steps its online rates by season. For late October and November 2026 it was $99 on weekdays and $109 on weekends before about 2 PM. December to February showed $89 on weekday mornings, March to April 2027 was back to $99 and $109, and June 2027 showed $89 on weekdays.

The afternoon is where The Oaks wins. From about 2 PM it was $59 on weekdays and $69 on weekends, and from about 4 PM it was $39 and $49. The Oaks Card cuts green fees 30% to 50% for repeat players.

On price, The Oaks is cheaper at almost every time of day, and much cheaper late. Windance also sells a $25 same-day replay in non-peak months; no replay rate was published for The Oaks.

Booking windows

This is the biggest practical difference.

• Windance: 14 days on the club's own EZLinks public site. Anyone can book.
• The Oaks: 365 days on its foreUP public tab. Cancel 48 hours ahead or the card is charged. A waitlist sends text alerts for sold-out times.

For a spring group trip, you can lock The Oaks a year ahead, then set a reminder to book Windance exactly 14 days before. Our Biloxi tee times guide lists every course's window.

The Windance golf package

Island View Casino Resort in Gulfport bought Windance in 2007 and sells an Unlimited Golf package from $99 per person, double occupancy, tax extra. It includes:

• One night in a deluxe room.
• Unlimited golf at Windance with cart and range balls.
• Unlimited buffet trips.
• One free drink and $10 free slot play.

The price varies by day and tee time. It is prepaid and refundable if cancelled 72 hours before arrival; call 228-314-2100. Island View charges no resort fee. Since a single peak round is $110, the package is a value play if you are staying in Gulfport anyway. No package was found for The Oaks. Our guide to Biloxi golf packages compares every stay-and-play on the coast.

Design and difficulty

Windance tees

Windance is a rolling, pine-lined parkland course with lakes, inland north of I-10. Water and pines are the main hazards. Seniors who want a shorter course can drop to the White/Green combo.

The Oaks tees

The Oaks routes through timberland and native wetlands inside a housing community, with strategic bunkering and big greens. It is the longest public course on the west side. From the middle tees, though, The Oaks' Blue set (6,354 yards, 71.3 / 130) carries a slightly lower slope than Windance's White (6,170 yards, 69.9 / 132).

Both hosted developmental tour events: Windance the Ben Hogan and Nike Tour, The Oaks the Nike and Buy.com Tour in 1999 and 2000.

Conditions

This is where Windance pulls ahead. It rates 4.7 on Google from 252 reviews and is the best-conditioned public-access course in Gulfport by most recent reviews. Its fairways and greens are bermuda. The club lists aerification closures on June 1 to 4 and August 3 to 6, and GolfPass reviewers mentioned punched greens in June 2026 and verticut, sanded greens in July 2026.

The Oaks rates 4.4 from 143 reviews, and GolfPass reviews are mixed: sparse fairways in March 2025, good greens in May 2025 and "tee boxes hurting" in September 2026. Cart-path-only after rain is common. Neither club publishes an overseed policy.

If one round on the trip has to be in top shape, make it Windance. Our Windance course guide and Oaks course guide have both on the map.

Building a rotation with both

They work well together because they are different. A sample two-day plan:

• Day one: Windance in the morning, then a same-day replay or a cheap round at Bayou Vista ($28 with a cart, seen October 2026) a few minutes from the airport.
• Day two: The Oaks at the 2 PM rate, or a morning round there and Pass Christian Isles, about 10 minutes south, from about 3:30 PM at $36.

Island View is about 27 minutes from Windance and about 24 from The Oaks by the map's routing, so a Gulfport base covers both. Our full guides to Windance Country Club and The Oaks Golf Club in Pass Christian have more detail, and where to stay in Biloxi for golf compares bases.

When to play

Windance's peak months (March to June, September to November) overlap the coast's busy seasons. Its non-peak $90 rate applies December to February and July to August. Avoid the June and August aerification dates. The Oaks is $89 on winter weekday mornings. Our guides to the best time to golf in Biloxi and cheap golf on the Mississippi Gulf Coast go through the year.

Plan it on the map

Open the Biloxi golf map to see Windance and The Oaks side by side, with rates, tees and drive times from every hotel. The $30 plan can lock The Oaks months ahead, remind you when the Windance window opens, and fit both into a Gulfport-based rotation.