Ross Bridge
Every golfer knows a straight shot is the simplest, most risk-free choice. So, it is with golf destinations. With mostly interstate travel and direct flights into both state and regional airports, Alabama fits the bill with great value golf and year ‘round golfing weather. The unrivaled, original golf trail spans the length of the state and the seaside destination of Gulf Shores-Orange Beach marks the end of the road. But it’s the golf resorts in the state that create a journey like no other.
Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is now over 30 years old and boasts 25 golf courses at 11 locations from top to bottom. In the northwest corner is a 36-hole complex aptly named The Shoals, as it’s located in Muscle Shoals, the hit recording capital of the world and just across the river in Florence is the much-awarded Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa, one of four golf resorts in the RTJ Golf Trail collection of hotels and resorts. Birmingham has certainly become golf central, with the state’s most luxurious resort, Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort and Spa leading the way. The resort’s 18-hole layout is both challenging and rewarding. Located just a mile away from Ross Bridge is the RTJ Golf Trail at Oxmoor Valley. It offers two unique full-length courses, Ridge and Valley, plus an exciting, new 9-hole, walking, short course, called The Backyard.
South of Birmingham, Pursell Farms in Sylacauga is a multi-faceted stay and play spot offering golf cottages, an 8-room lodge, a spa, and a new Inn. The Inn, with its restaurant and pub, sits along the 18th fairway of their FarmLinks Golf Course.
In the Montgomery suburb of Prattville is the Trail’s only site with three full-length courses, the RTJ Golf Trail at Capitol Hill.. The on-site Marriott Hotel is a convenient place to stay, but for additional nightlife and dining options, the downtown Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa would be a good choice. Fifty miles east of Montgomery near Auburn in Opelika is one of the most requested sites on the Trail. Robert Trent Jones, Sr. is on record saying that the RTJ Golf Trail at Grand National was the single greatest natural site for golf he had ever seen. The award-winning Marriott Golf Resort & Spa is located on the back nine of the Lake course and offers a true stay and play experience.
The Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, an Autograph Collection on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay offers superb dining, a European spa, exciting waterscapes, a beach along Mobile Bay and 36 holes at the Lakewood Club. The courses meander around spring-fed lakes and are framed by stately magnolias, oaks, and dogwoods, which have been around for quite some time. The resort itself has upheld a grand tradition of Southern hospitality, charm and elegance since 1847.
Kiva Dunes Golf & Beach Resort in Gulf Shores is on a spit of land just 1,100 yards wide at its most slender point, meaning airflow above the golf course is influenced by the air exchange coming in from both the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay. Traditionalists relish the chance to play in the wind on a links-style layout, so the appeal of Kiva’s site was always there. Kiva Dunes is considered the premier design in the portfolio of former U.S. Open champion Jerry Pate. The onsite beach resort, with linkside condominiums and beach homes, is a great option to stay and play.
To learn more about all the golf resorts in Sweet Home Alabama, visit www.GolfAlabama.org
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