05/03/2026
Along U.S. 190 between Mandeville and Covington, Louisiana, Louis Prima once turned open land into his own slice of paradise — a place where jazz, horses, and golf all swung to the same beat.
Born in New Orleans in 1910, Prima rose from the city’s streets to become one of the most electrifying entertainers in America. He wrote “Sing, Sing, Sing,” dominated the swing era, then reinvented himself in Las Vegas with Keely Smith and Sam Butera & The Witnesses. Hits like “Just a Gigolo” and “Pennies from Heaven” made him a headliner, but he never left Louisiana behind. In the early 1950s, Prima bought 36 acres off Highway 190 and built a race track for his horses. He then put in a few golf holes and liked it so much that in 1956 he purchased another 60 acres and created Pretty Acres Golf Club — an 18-hole course (expanded in 1957) that became a true Northshore destination. The development had it all: a restaurant, motel, miniature golf for the kids, horseback riding, and swimming. It was more than a golf course — it was Prima’s lively retreat where music and recreation mixed freely. His brother Leon helped manage it at times, and the whole family spent time there. Prima and his wife Gia Maione split time between Covington and Las Vegas, but Pretty Acres was his hands-on Louisiana project.
He loved the game so much that he later built another course on his Las Vegas estate — Fairway to the Stars — where he could play during the day and perform at night. But Pretty Acres always held a special place as his Northshore creation.
After Louis passed away in 1978, Gia maintained and even refurbished the course, keeping it open into the early 1990s. Today a Walmart, Home Depot, and other retail now occupy parts of the old property — but Louis Prima Drive still runs through the area, and a small dog park at the end of the road carries the name Pretty Acres. From the French Quarter clubs where he first learned to play, to the Vegas lounges he packed, and back to these quiet Louisiana fairways he built himself, Louis Prima lived every moment at full volume.
A true New Orleans original who brought the swing home.
Who remembers playing at Pretty Acres? Drop your memories below ⛳🎺
