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| _ | | _ | | | Cambrian Ridge in Greenville, just 40 miles from Montgomery is a Robert Trent Jones design. The par-4 fifth is the most beautiful hole on the course and is arguably its most difficult. Its lush fairway lies behind a focus-rattling body of water and a daunting mix of sand and skyscraping trees eagerly awaits your slightest miscalculation. And 426 yards away, a mercilessly placed flag waves in a 10-mph wind.
Slope = 140 / ****1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | The newest site on the Trail, Capitol Hill in Prattsville, continues to get praises from golfers and golf writers alike. Approximately 13 miles north of Alabama's state capital, Capitol Hill features three 18-hole championship courses with the option of a fourth championship course to be added in the future. With more than 1,500 acres of golf and nature, the pure magnitude of this facility is amazing and allows each course to be drastically different from the others. The Judge plays alongside the 200 acre glistening backwaters of the Alabama River.
Slope = 144 / ****1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | The Legislator, a more traditional course, plays in and out of pine trees along a bluff. The view riding down the "Sky Bridge" for six holes laid out in a native cypress swamp will impress as you are led back up the bluff to finish the course at the spectacular clubhouse.
Slope = 126 / ****1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | The Senator is a traditional Scottish-style layout. Over 150 pot-hole bunkers are situated throughout the 18 holes, and mounds 20 to 40 feet in height engulf the landscape, cleverly hiding the cart path or any other hole from the fairway. The Senator's bent-grass greens provide exceptional conditions every month of the year.
Slope = 131 / **** | | | _ | | _ | | | Grand National, by all reports, was the single greatest site for a golf complex Robert Trent Jones, Sr. had ever seen. Built on 600-acre Lake Saugahatchee, 32 of the 54 holes drape along its filigreed shores. The cornerstone of the complex is the Links Course, which is without a single weakness. The Lake Course is every bit as scenic as the Links. And the Short Course while overshadowed by the two main tracts, is a thing of beauty, with more than half the holes touching the lake.
Slope = 138 (Lake) / 141 (Links) / **** & ****1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | At the northern terminus of the Trail in Huntsville is Hampton Cove, a 54-hole facility with terrain that drastically changes from one side of the property to the other. The Highlands Course, which emulates a Scottish links, is one of the gems of the Trail. Thousands of Japanese black pines, oaks, dogwoods and crepe myrtles have been planted to enhance such features as an old mule barn beside the fifth hole. Completely opposite is the River Course, the only RTJ layout without a single bunker. The River Course is laid out on former soybean fields in the flood plain of the Flint River. The River is a throwback to the way courses were built long ago - the dirt was merely pushed up to create the greens and tees, leaving all else as is.
Slope = 134 / **** | | | _ | | _ | | | Located in the Southeast corner of Alabama, Highland Oaks offers three nine-hole championship courses. The Highlands/Magnolia combination was named by Golf Digest as the 7th best new public course in America in 1994 and 31st in their list of America's Top 50 Affordable Courses. Marshwood has been made famous (or notorious) by its behemoth par-5 sixth, which stretches to 701 yards from the tips. And The Short Course, a nine-hole par-3 has demanding bunker placements, three water holes and possibly the best putting Bermuda greens in the South.
Slope = 135 / ****1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | Lakewood Golf Club at Marriott's Grand Hotel is open to anyone who enjoys playing golf in a 36 hole setting, full of rich history. Established in 1847, Lakewood Golf Club offers some of the finest golf in the South. The Azalea Course showcases classical architectural features such as natural sand waste areas and Scottish bulkhead walls.
Slope = 128 / ***1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | Lakewood Golf Club at Marriott's Grand Hotel is open to anyone who enjoys playing golf in a 36 hole setting, full of rich history. Established in 1847, Lakewood Golf Club offers some of the finest golf in the South. The Dogwood Course showcases classical architectural features such as natural sand waste areas and Scottish bulkhead walls. Fairways weave around spring-fed lakes and 200 year-old Magnolia and Oak Trees.
Slope = 124 / *** | | | _ | | _ | | | Limestone Springs Golf Club is one of Alabama's best kept secrets. Located 25 minutes north of Birmingham, this course is nestled throughout 225 acres of the Appalachian Mountains. It offers some of the most dramatic elevations and picturesque views in the state. Designed by former U.S. Open winner Jerry Pate, the course stretches to almost 7,000 yards from the back tees. You'll find many elevated tees that provide breathtaking views along with twisting fairways and free-flowing streams that pose one hazard after another but never dampen the spirit. Limestone Springs will definitely provide you with a highly satisfying, emotionally charged golf experience.
Slope = 139 / ****1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | The Falls and Crossings courses at Magnolia Grove were named by Golf Digest's Places to Play as two of the nation's Great Value courses, and both courses were listed in America's Top 50 Affordable Courses. The property at Magnolia Grove includes creeks, marshland, and lakes, with each of the 54 holes carved from a thick forest of hardwood and pine.
Slope = 134 (Crossings) / 137 (Falls) / **** & ****1/2 | | | _ | | _ | | | This 54-hole facility was built on former mining land owned by U.S. Steel. Sculpted from the peaks and valleys of the Appalachians, the courses offer scenic forests, numerous creeks and challenging elevation changes. The Ridge Course, with its roller coaster fairways, heavy tree cover, and precipitous 150-foot elevation changes, is incredibly photogenic. The Valley Course is dotted with picturesque lakes, beautiful rolling fairways, and stretches two miles downrange along a slender valley. The Short Course at Oxmoor Valley is a delightful collection of 18 pure one-shotters which offer severe elevation changes and almost every hole plays downhill.
Slope = 135 (Valley) / 140 (Ridge) / ***1/2 & **** | | | _ | | _ | | | Set on rolling terrain at the edge of Talladega National Forest between Anniston and Gadsden is Silver Lakes, home to some of the most scenic golf you can find. The "Heartbreaker" nine is dubbed by many as the most challenging nine on the Trail from the championship tees. Consider the 8th hole, a par-3 that plays over 200 yards across water and uphill to the green, or the 450-yard par-4 ninth with water rippling down the entire left side of the hole. The "Backbreaker" nine is a photographer's dream, boasting beautiful views of the Appalachian foothills from its elevated tees. The par-5 7th, a 623-yard thriller brings water into play not once, but twice.
Slope = 131 / **** | | | _ | | _ | | | The Shoals lies between the Wheeler and Wilson dams on the Tennessee River near Huntsville. The east championship course at The Shoals is named after General Wheeler. Fighting Joe was the first Trail course to break 8,000 yards, measuring 8,092 from the black tees. Some say the spectacular 17th hole is the signature hole on the course, but the 18th green overlooking Wilson Lake on the Tennessee River will distract you with its beauty, if not its treachery. The second course, The Schoolmaster (named for President Woodrow Wilson), may be tougher than Fighting Joe. This tree lined course is traditional golf with every hole keeping with the natural topography along the Tennessee River. It's wooded, rolling and spectacular. | | | _ | | _ | | | Ross Bridge is just two miles from the existing 54-hole complex at Oxmoor Valley in Birmingham, but it is light years away from the expected or ordinary. A big, muscle-bound course, its 18 holes sprawling over 330 acres and stretching almost 8,200 yards from the back tees, Ross Bridge is big and brawny, yet inviting to golfers of all skill levels. Designed for tournament play, it is symbolic of an old parkland style course. Ten holes play along the banks of two man-made lakes connected by a spectacular waterfall dropping 80 feet between the 9th and 18th greens.
Slope = 135 | | | | | | | | Custom Trip Quote to Robert Trent Jones Trail | | | | | | | | | | |
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