Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail and Golf Resorts
Welcome to the resort collection on Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Known for having the best public golf on Earth, the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail stretches from the northern tip of Alabama down to the Gulf Coast in the South. The trail and its resort collection are investments of the retirement systems of Alabama and feature 26 courses on 11 sites, plus eight hotels and resorts. In all, that’s over 450 holes of championship golf. That’s a lot of golf to play. Time to tee it up. Muscles Scholes, Alabama, located on the left bank of the majestic Tennessee River, is famous for outdoor recreation and for that muscle sh sound that can be heard on countless chart topping hits recorded here. And there’s no better place to take in all of this than at the new Renaissance Scholes Resort and Spa. Every inch of the resort has been thoughtfully curated to showcase the area’s musical heritage. Here you can fully immerse yourself in the place that Keith Richard called rock and roll heaven. Renaissance Scholes features 196 guest rooms, a fullervice spa, a spectacular swimming pool, and two exceptional golf courses. Fine dining is available in Alabama’s only revolving restaurant, the 360 Grill. For more casual fair, all-day food service, and live music, relax in Swamper’s Bar and Grill. The hotel also offers more than 34,000 square ft of meeting space. There are two nearby trail courses, Fighting Joe and the School Master. The Fighting Joe course at the Scholes was the first trail course to break 8,000 yd, measuring 8,92 yd from the back tease. Long hitters will experience a test of champions, but from the appropriate tea box, all players will enjoy worldclass golf. The second course, the school master, which opened in 2005, offers spectacular vistas. The view of the river from the high bluffs on the 18th hole is hard to top, but the waterfall guarding the second green sure comes close. The Scholes is also famous for water sports and of course that Muscle Scholes sound that drew the likes of the Rolling Stones, Artha Franklin, Bob Dylan and dozens of other artists to record here as documented in the film Muscle Scholes. Let Renaissance Scholes Resort and Spa strike that perfect chord for a relaxing getaway. The northern gateway to the trail is Hampton Cove in Huntsville, a 54-hole facility with terrain that dramatically changes from one side of the property to the other. The Highlands Course, renovated in 2008, is one of the trails most picturesque and playable courses. One of the most recognizable landmarks on the trail is the old mule barn beside the fifth hole. While the finishing holes on the Highlands course are among the most scenic and challenging on the trail. Opposite in design is the river course. The only Robert Trent Jones layout without a single bunker. The course is routed through former soybean fields in the flood plane of the Flint River. With water on 16 of the 18 holes, the river course will challenge your shotmaking ability. The short course is an open length style design with water in play on 11 holes. It’s a fun venue for golfers of all skill levels and alternating TE’s allow golfers to hit every club in their bag. [Music] Located in northeast Alabama between Aniston and Gadston, Silver Lakes is set on rolling terrain with stunning views of the surrounding Appalachian foothills. Explore 36 holes of forests, wetlands, grasslands, and dramatic elevation changes at Silver Lakes. The Heartbreaker, Backbreaker, Mindb Breaker, and Shortcourse provide challenging and scenic varieties of holes to play. Surrounded by the Appalachian Foothills and Le, Silver Lakes features the most unique and aptly named courses on the trail. and all 36 greens boast beautiful and lightning quick Champion Ultra Dwarf putting surfaces. The RTJ Golf Trail at Oxmore Valley is a 45 hole facility in Birmingham built on former mining land and was the first location to open on the trail. The ridge course offers numerous elevation changes with treelined fairways and is incredibly photogenic. as a tribute to the area’s mining past, the green at the par five third hole is buttressed by a shelf of exposed shale rock. Completely renovated in 2021, the valley course features new tees, bunkers, and beautiful tiff eagle greens. For those who have played the Valley in the past, there are also a few new surprises with complete redesigns on a few holes, including the picturesque brisk screen on the par 313th and the previously notorious 18th hole. The newest addition to Oxmore Valley is the backyard where you can enjoy fun, games, camaraderie, and refreshments with friends and family. meant to be played in about an hour by a forsome. The nine par three holes can play as short as 59 yards with the longest at 132 yards. The backyard is a walking only golf course with no water hazards and just a handful of bunkers so that even the most novice golfer will enjoy their experience. Yes, it’s a golf course, but nothing like anything we’ve ever built in over 30 years on Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Enjoy a drink while sitting around the fire pit in the rocking chairs overlooking the first tea. Yard work has never been this much fun. A few miles away, you’ll find one of the gems of the trail, Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa. After a renovation in 2023, there’s never been a better time to visit Ross Bridge. The course features new Tiff Eag eagle Bermuda greens, new bunkers, and architectural changes that make the course more player friendly. The par 314th hole now challenges the stunning 9inth and 18th holes as the signature hole on this aesthetically pleasing property. At 8,168 yards from the back tees, Ross Bridge ranks as the fifth longest course in the world. This award-winning fourdiamond resort has 257 guest rooms, including 11 suites, 16,000 square ft of versatile indoor meeting space, 10,000 square ft of outdoor meeting space, and offers a 12,000 ft European spa. Relax with a cocktail at our lobby bar, JTS. Enjoy a casual lunch in our clubhouse. Or make your reservations for a glorious dining experience at Brocks. Whatever you do, you don’t want to miss the bagpiper performing each evening at sunset. It’s easy to see why readers of Golf World named the RTJ at Grand National the number one public golf facility in America. Robert Tren Jones, Senior, is on record saying that Grand National is the single greatest natural site for championship golf he had ever seen. 32 of its 54 majestic holes are draped along the shores of 600 acre Lake Saga Hatchee. Golf Week named the Lake Course at Grand National one of the top 200 resort courses in the US for 2023. Whether playing the Lynx course or the Lake Course, you’ll be inspired by the breathtaking rolling fairways surrounded by towering trees on one side and the lakes’s glistening waters on the other. Not to be overshadowed by the two championship courses, the short course renovated in 2022 consistently ranks in the top 25 par three courses in the US. Adjacent to Grand National, National Village offers upscale homes and cottages for golfers who want to move to the area. US News and World Report named the Auburn Opaikica area one of the top places to retire for golf lovers. The Auburn Marriott Opaelica Resort and Spa at Grand National is aaa fourdiamond award winner offering elegant guest rooms and luxury suites overlooking lush green fairways. The Auburn Marriott includes 221 rooms, including 19 luxury suites. A three-story spa complex was also added, including a fitness center featuring extensive cardio and resistance training and eight treatment rooms in a nature inspired setting. The spa offers men’s and women’s infrared saunas for private relaxation, or unwind in one of the whirlpools or hideaway lounges. You’ll also find manicure and pedicure stations and a fullervice salon. With 15,000 square ft of technology equipped event space, Grand National offers an outstanding meeting venue. Enjoy farm-to-table dining at the Southern Oaks restaurant. Relax with friends at the splash poolside bar or around one of the fire pits. Enjoy the nightly s’mores experience and daily train horn ritual. The pool and tennis and pickle ball complex offer additional recreational opportunities, making the Grand National a premier destination for golfers traveling on business or those looking for a luxurious getaway. Its proximity to Auburn University makes it a perfect place to stay if you have business on campus. Located just 13 miles north of Alabama’s state house, Capitol Hill features three 18hole championship courses on over 1500 acres of immense natural beauty. It was named the number two site for the best public golf in the country by Golf World Readers. The Senator, a Scottish link style course, features over 140 pot bunkers, mounds, and new Tiff Eagle ultra dwarf greens. The Legislator is a more traditional course with a beautiful mixture of hardwood and pine trees on the bluff overlooking the Alabama River. The Judge offers stunning vistas amongst the backwaters of the river where 14 holes have water in play. The first hole is the most photographed on the trail as the tea sits 200 ft above the fairway overlooking the Alabama River and the Montgomery skyline. The Montgomery Marriott Prattville Hotel and Conference Center at Capitol Hill has 74 rooms in the main lodge, plus 14,000 square ft of meeting space. The complex also includes two 8- room luxury villas and a 10,000 ft² presidential cottage with a private helport. The Marriott’s Oak Tavern offers dining with an extraordinary view of the 17th Fairway of the Senator Course. Just a few miles away in the heart of downtown, the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center offers 342 luxurious rooms and suites, a sizable European style spa, and more than 140,000 square ft of hotel and conference center meeting space. Enjoy a great meal at the hotel’s house restaurant, and retreat outside for a drink around one of the fire pits at the Exchange while listening to live entertainment. Take advantage of the daily bell ringing at 5 to signal happy hour. The Renaissance is also home to the 18,800 seat Montgomery Performing Arts Center. Known by avid golfers as one of the most beautiful and most challenging stops on the trail. Cambrian Ridge in Greenville is just 40 mi south of Montgomery on I65. It’s a great stop for golfers traveling to or from the beach. 2016 culminated in a three-year total renovation of the original 27 championship holes. The Sherling Canyon combination was named by Golf Digest as the third best new public course in America when it opened and 13th on their list of America’s top 50 affordable courses. This combination was also named by Golf Digest places to play as one of the nation’s 40 superv value courses. The Lobli 9 with its gently rolling fairways, massive bunkers, cathedral-like pines, and waterfronted greens exudes a stately austall-like quality. Cambrian Ridge is well worth the ride for any golfer looking for 27 holes of jaw-dropping golf. Nestled in the southeast corner of Alabama near Dothan, Highland Oaks offers three 9-hole championship courses and a 9-hole short course. The Highlands Magnolia combination was named by Golf Digest places to play as one of the nation’s great value courses. The regrassing of the championship nines with Tiff Eagle ultra dwarf greens was part of an extensive redesign completed in 2020, including a new short game practice area and putting greens. The Highlands course is relatively open with several lakes in play on four of the nine holes, including a peninsula green. The Magnolia 9 is well named for the magnolia trees that dot the higher ground which is reached via a 1,000 ft long wooden bridge spanning a marsh. Marshwood is famous or notorious for its behemoth par 56th which stretches 701 yards from tea to green. Annually, Highland Oaks hosts qualifying school for PGA Tour Canada and the PGA Tour. Head south to Mobile and enjoy Magnolia Grove, one of the original locations on the trail. Golfers will find that the newly renovated courses are more player friendly. While maintaining the integrity of Robert Trent Jones original design, each of the 54 holes carved through indigenous hardwood and pine features creeks, marshland, and lakes. Magnolia Grove was named one of the top 50 public courses by Golf World magazine readers. The crossings and falls courses are also listed in Golf World’s Places to Play as two of the nation’s great value courses and America’s top 50 affordable courses. The Crossings course has hosted the LPGA and Cornferryy Tour Championship. The short course at Magnolia Grove was also named one of America’s best parry courses. Initially built in 1852, the Battle House Renaissance Mobile Hotel and Spa was renovated, restored to its original grandeur, and reopened in 2007. It’s been rated one of the top 500 hotels in the world by Travel and Leisure. The Battle House and its trellis room restaurant have received four diamond ratings from AAA. The Battle House features 238 gracious guest rooms and suites, 27,000 square ft of meeting space, a world-class spa adjacent to a rooftop pool, and a fitness center overlooking Mobile Bay and downtown. The Battle House is the perfect urban retreat for business or pleasure. And it’s right on the parade route during Martyra season. And the Moon Pinerop on New Year’s Eve is just across the street. A prime downtown location and covered walkway to the Mobile Convention Center make the Renaissance Riverview Plaza a favorite place for business travelers. The spectacular views of Mobile Bay are a bonus for visitors as well. The renovated Renaissance Riverview Plaza also received the coveted AAA four diamond rating. The hotel features 32,000 square ft of versatile event space and is within walking distance of Mobile’s Carnival Museum, Golf Quest, the Museum of Mobile, and the GF Coast Explorium Science Center. The Riverview Plaza is also on the Marty GR parade route. Overlooking the eastern shore of Mobile Bay, the Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa has maintained an outstanding tradition of southern hospitality since 1847. In 2018, the Grand Hotel completed a three-year transformation and joined the autograph collection of hotels. Cited by USA Today as one of the most outstanding renovations in the country, the Grand is a fourdiamond family-friendly resort that blends tradition with modern upgrades that guests desire. Its unique combination of natural beauty and unsurpassed luxury has earned recognition from Garden and Gun, Travel and Leisure, Kandast Traveler, and Southern Living among other national publications. The 405 luxurious guest rooms and 37,000 square ft of meeting space have been completely renovated with its European style spas, pools, 11 pickle ball courts, two championship croquet lawns, eight Rubico tennis courts, biking, non-motorized watercraft, and 550 acres of live oaks on the shores of Mobile Bay. The Grand is grander than ever. Be sure to experience the firing of the cannon and afternoon tea each day. Nearby Lakewood Golf Club offers two 18hole courses that showcase fairways lined with 200-year-old live oak trees and abundant water hazards. Recently renovated, the new designs lend themselves to superb conditioning year round. With numerous water features and other architectural challenges, golfers face decisions at every corner. The varying degrees of difficulty promise a memorable golf experience for both the novice and the experienced golfer. Where the Dogwood course seems more leisurely and the Aelia more of a challenge, both courses can play to your liking depending on your selection of TE’s. With five sets of TE’s per hole, your decision should be relatively easy. On three occasions, the Lakewood Club has hosted the USGAA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, most recently in September 2021. For more information on any of our trail courses or to reserve tea times, visit rtjgolf.com or call 1-800-949-444. And welcome to the Robert TrentJones Golf Trail. Worldclass golf that’s not a world away. [Music]
In depth video about the 11 golf locations on the RTJ Golf Trail and their 8 hotels and resorts
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