Sweet Home Alabama - A Golf Tour Chasing The Trail & More

Till about the mid 1980s when one started planning one’s golf travel itinerary Alabama didn’t really figure on it. The Yellowhammer state grew cotton and entertained with its national parks and history trails. If one wanted a golf holiday one went to Florida or California. This notion changed drastically when David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, decided to put the assets of the state pension fund to better use and give a fillip to tourism in the state. The result was the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail with 378 holes spanning over eight multi-course facilities giving golfers across USA one of the best golf vacation destinations ever.

Chasing the trail has now become one of the most hallowed traditions of the game with golf packages being dedicated to the pursuit. A golf vacation built around The RTJ Trail is meant to be explored and is bound to result in a satiated golfer as most of the Trail’s courses are among the finest in Alabama.

You can start your golf holiday with Cambrian Ridge in Greenville, regarded as the best of the 36-hole facilities. This facility consists of four nine-hole courses – Loblolly nine, The Canyon, The Sherling and The Short Course. The Sherling Course is the most likely candidate for being the best on your golf tour which is dramatic and challenging at the same time.

Another course on the trail that should to make it your golf vacation wish list is The Capitol Hill in Montgomery offering 3 courses – The Senator, an 18-hole Scottish style championship course; The Legislator and The Judge, two more championship courses that are comparable to some of the best courses in the country. Magnolia Grove, located near the Gulf Coast in Mobile is an incredible 54-hole facility that needs to be played to add sheen to your golf tour. Featuring The Falls Course as the main track, Magnolia Grove is well complemented by The Crossings Course and The Short Course.

You cannot get away from The Trail without having played The Grand National in Opelika. One of the eight stops on The Trail, The Grand National property was singularly appreciated by Robert Trent Jones himself and his deliberations on the course have been thanked for by every golf holiday maker that has stopped here. The Links Course with its par four 18th is undoubtedly the best and the hardest on the trail. With 12 holes never leaving the side of the Lake Saugahatchee, The Lake Course is mouth-watering and The Short Course with more than half the holes touching the lake makes it one to savor on any golf vacation.

If you think ‘Alabama’ and ‘Golf’ simply add up to the RTJ Trail you would be missing out a lot on your golf holiday. The Trail is great and most golf travel to Alabama does end up chasing it, however there is a lot more quality courses to be played in the Yellowhammer State. Alabama golf offers several other courses like The Kiva Dunes Golf Course, The Lost Key and Peninsula and Craft Farms.