RTJ Golf Trail in Alabama

[Ronald Montesano]

I've read threads that touch on the trail, but most are older than high school freshmen. I wonder if anyone among the illuminati might shed some lumina on this most unique collection of courses in Alabama. My reason for asking is a plan to play about nine of the courses, over three sites, next spring. I'm not certain which sites yet, but your insight will be appreciated. Thanks in advance; I'll hang up and listen.

[Mike_Young]

Lots of macro...not much micro and not very quaint...does that make sense...

[BCrosby]

A heads up that I plan to steal Ron's line (with minor changes):

"I've read threads that touch on the Trail, but most are older than a high school freshman." 

I think I get what Mike is saying. Big courses built on tight budgets that feel like they could have been built in 1975. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Bob 

[Michael Wolf]

I've played almost all of them at one time or another during the past 20 years. I would rate the 15+ I've played at between 2's and 5's on the Doak scale, and agree completely with Mike Young's comment. The early courses on the Trail were built over discarded mining land, and many have long cart rides from green to tee and would be completely unwalkable.


Some better public options would be Ol Colony in Tuscaloosa, Kiva Dunes down on the coast, Farmlinks about halfway between Birmingham and Auburn, and Limestone Springs about halfway between Birmingham and Huntsville.


If you are planning to play 9 different courses, you will be covering some miles anyway, why not dip just into Tennessee and try Sweetens Cove or over in Mississippi to Mossy Oak? Both are miles ahead of anything on the RTJ Trail.


If you need to stick to Trail courses for an unstated reason, look into an annual pass. For I believe $1,500 you can play all you want for a year. This probably says plenty about the quality of the designs.

[John Kavanaugh]

If you are one of the lucky ones who hit it further, straighter and higher with modern equipment these courses get better every year.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Ron - what's plan B ? 

[Mike Hendren]

If the trail is guilty of anything it is that it provides enjoyable and challenging golf for anyone willing to hop in a golf cart with a few buddies.    The five courses in Birmingham and Auburn are plenty good enough and I wouldn't miss the par-three course at Auburn.  Might as well stop at Montgomery while you're at it.  Huntsville not so much.  Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers but only two extremely long and average golf courses.  Slide across the lake if you can garner access at Turtle Point Yacht and CC - a solid RTJ effort that flies below the radar.   

Strongly recommend neutrality on college football and politics, especially right now.  Oh, and at any BBQ joint order the chicken with white sauce.  Finally, all right is pronounced a'ight.

Bogey

[Kalen Braley]

Every time I read about "Golf Trails" I always think:


1)  Buddy trip
2)  Affordable
3)  Beer
4)  Bars/night clubs
5)  Quality golf


...in that order...

[Mike Schott]

If the trail is guilty of anything it is that it provides enjoyable and challenging golf for anyone willing to hop in a golf cart with a few buddies.    The five courses in Birmingham and Auburn are plenty good enough and I wouldn't miss the par-three course at Auburn.  Might as well stop at Montgomery while you're at it.  Huntsville not so much.  Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers but only two extremely long and average golf courses.  Slide across the lake if you can garner access at Turtle Point Yacht and CC - a solid RTJ effort that flies below the radar.   

Strongly recommend neutrality on college football and politics, especially right now.  Oh, and at any BBQ joint order the chicken with white sauce.  Finally, all right is pronounced a'ight.

Bogey

Agree about Huntsville. I played it 5-7 years ago and it left no impression on me. There's a hole that's straight uphill, I'm assuming because they had to use that piece of the property. The course is a 2 at best.

[Jeff Shelman]

I have been to parts of the RTJ Trail on several different trips. Sometimes, it has been one or two rounds added to a golf trip. Twice it was for a pre-Masters golf trip. I have been to spots in Mobile, Auburn, Prattville (just north of Montgomery) and both Oxmoor Valley and Ross Bridge in Birmingham.


They are all very solid, very serviceable facilities. Most have at least 36 holes, so there can be a bit of variety. They usually have several stay-and-play options and they can make planning very hassle-free. With the exception of Ross Bridge, the golf is pretty affordable.


The courses and holes aren't all that memorable and they aren't all that charming. It is a bit of a factory where they jam a bunch people through each days.


Overall, I would say that it is a good spot for easy and affordable winter golf. Will it be the greatest golf you'll play in a year? No. But you should have a good time.

[Ed Homsey]

Ron--


I would skip Huntsville, Silver Lake, and the Montgomery site.  I enjoyed the two courses at Grand National.  I thought they were the best of the 6 sites we played.  My wife and I walked, and carried, the Ridge course at Oxmoor, on a very hot day.  I have to admit that on a couple of long trek's between green and tee, we hitched a ride on the back of our playing partners cart.  Actually, we walked most of the courses we played, our first year there.  Not Montgomery. I'd also suggest the Sherling course at Cambian Ridge. 


Good restaurants were few and far between.  If we asked for recommendations, Cracker Barrel was often the first choice.  We stopped asking for recommendations.

[Doug Wright]

Ron,

There are  a lot of spot on comments above. I played three Trail locations about 10 years ago, when I was younger and a bit better player. I generally enjoyed the courses, though they are repetitive and a slog in places. It was a great guys trip, and I loved the barbecue places we found (except on a Sunday, when everything was closed). The courses we played were Capitol Hill Senator and Legislator, Cambrian Ridge three nines, and Grand National Lake and Links. Of these, Capitol Hill Senator and Grand National Lakes were my favorites. Although a lot of dirt was moved at Senator, it played more like a links course than the others and I liked the difference. Grand National Lakes was a more traditional parkland course and I liked the variety there. I’d go to Capitol Hill and Grand National again and skip Cambrian Ridge, which was a repetitive slog of hard holes featuring tee shots into valleys followed by long uphill shots into well protected fortress greens, RTJ like but not enjoyable. When I went it was a good value with affordable lodging onsite or nearby. I haven’t been back, and that is probably due to my affinity for a place called Bandon, which is so much better golf-wise.   

[Adam T]

Ron,

My WFU Alumnus brother was down in Birmingham for a summer internship three years ago and we played both Ross Bridge and the Oxmoor Valley Ridge Course. Agreeing with most of what has been posted above, I think B'Ham/RTJ Trail would be a great buddies trip, even if lacking in great golf from an architecture standpoint. We really enjoyed Ross Bridge (very strong, interesting set of Par 5's) even if the OVRC was nothing to write home about, and there was no shortage of great places to eat. I was surprised how well maintained the course was for the hot temperatures in Alabama July.

Cheers, and good luck in the Belk Bowl!

-Adam

[A.G._Crockett]

Most of the above are pretty spot on assessments of the RTJ Trail.

For sure, nobody would put the courses in a Top 100 list for the GCA, but the Trail is Top 100 for a trip with buddies if you want to play a lot of golf at a very affordable price point.  Not only are the greens fees not bad, but there is very affordable lodging and meals nearby, certainly compared to the standards for golf "resorts".  And as to the GCA itself, I haven't played a single one of the 8 or so that I've played that I did NOT like, or would not want to come back to on another trip.

Alabama is an underrated state for scenery, IMO, and playing the entire RTJ Trail from one end of the state to the other on a marathon golf trip would be a pretty cool trip.

[Morgan Clawson]

Ron,

I visited The Trail quite a few times when it was in it formative stages. 

I will echo what others have said - evening dining options can be very limited in the small towns where some of these courses are located.  One year I think we went to McDonald's 3+ times because nothing else was open.

Accordingly, I would include Oxmoor Valley in your trifecta. It's in suburban Birmingham, and there are good dining options in Birmingham.  The Ridge course was fun and had some unique holes. The Valley course was pretty forgettable.

The other 2 sights that are close to Oxmoor Valley are Grand National in Auburn/Opelika and Cambrian Ridge in Greenville.  I used to monitor the Golf Digest course ratings quite a bit, and the 2 Grand National courses were often ranked the highest of The Trail courses.  They are also more walkable than the Oxmoor Valley and Cambrian Ridge courses.   Oxmoor and Cambrian are built on some pretty hilly sites.

As other have stated, you probably won't see anything unique architecturally.  But, I always had fun on those trips!

[Andy Ryall]

I led five different trips to RTJ between 1993 and 2008, mainly for the value.  I know RTJ takes a lot of heat from an architectural perspective, but at that time, there were not a lot of options that offered this type of value experience. I think in 1994 they offered $99 for 3 days unlimited golf in September, which was enough to entice four of us from Boston.   


I eventually just ended up staying at Grand National given proximity to ATL, and decent nightlife in an SEC college town, and an onsite Marriott.   I prefer the Links course and I do agree with the earlier comment that the Par 3 Short Course is excellent.  Solid and affordable golf.

[Bill_McBride]

Nobody goes to the RTJ courses in Dothan, way SE Alabama, but I rank them right behind the two courses at Auburn, Grand National.  Mobile is awful, one elevated pulpit green after another. 

[Brock Peyer]

I played two of them on a trip earlier this year, one near Anniston, which I liked ok, and one in Birmingham.  Unfortunately, without googling them, I can't remember either of their names but both were in good condition and at a nice price point which are two things needed in golf.