BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The roads will be less traveled than usual by the Northeast Mississippi Community College golf program during the 2023-24 season.
Five of the eight courses on the Tigers' schedule, including their first two potential postseason destinations, are in the northern or central portion of the Magnolia State.
Each of those events is less than a three-hour drive from the Booneville campus. Tournaments located in Corinth, Tunica and West Point are even closer than that.
"Anytime we can stay north I love to," said Northeast head coach Derek DeVaughn. "I love the closer places because that's tough to go out and have a round of five hours and then get in a vehicle and ride six hours right back home."
The Tigers begin the season from September 18-19 at one of the newest venues statewide in the Mossy Oak Golf Club. It opened seven years ago and is second on Golf Digest's 2023-24 ranking of best courses in Mississippi.
Checking in at number five on the same listing is Northeast's second destination in Dancing Rabbit from October 2-3. It is the third consecutive campaign in which the Tigers have played at the Philadelphia based golf club.
"The conference as a whole has made a decision going forward to play some of the nicer courses," DeVaughn said. "It gives our guys that really want to go to the next level a chance to score."
Northeast wraps up its autumn slate with a pair of trips down south starting at Laurel Country Club. It is the Tigers' first appearance at the home of Jones College since the 2015 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast Fall Invitational takes place two weeks later at Gulfport's Windance Country Club. This is a unique event for Northeast in that players must complete three rounds over a two-day period.
The Tigers will host the fifth Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) competition coming out of spring break from March 18-19 at Shiloh Ridge Athletic Club.
Shiloh Ridge has recently renovated several holes, including the fairway on hole seventeen and the island green on the par-three eighth. It is the third time in four years that Northeast has welcomed its rivals to the Crossroads.
The Tigers return from their winter layoff one month earlier back on the coast at Diamondhead Country Club. Northeast concludes the regular season at the Lou Hart Invitational in Meridian for the third straight campaign.
Playoff sites in April include Tunica National Golf Course for the MACCC Tournament and Dancing Rabbit for the NJCAA Gulf District Tournament, which for the first time ever will feature 54 holes over three days.