Pro Golf Now
Fansided

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail – 11 Sites, 26 Courses, 468 Holes

By Elizabeth Bethel

AUBURN, AL - JULY 16: Billy Hurley III of the United States hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Barbasol Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National Lake Course on July 16, 2015 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
AUBURN, AL - JULY 16: Billy Hurley III of the United States hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the Barbasol Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National Lake Course on July 16, 2015 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 11
Next
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 09: Golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. looks on during the third round of the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 9, 2016 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) /

Robert Trent Jones, Jr. gave golf it’s Field of Dreams

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is a great way to see Alabama and play some fine golf on some very challenging venues. The Trail that winds through Alabama captures some of the best public golf around.

Don’t assume that “public golf” means poorly-kept munis with bumpy greens and gnarly fairways. (For the record, my home course is a nicely-kept muni that competes easily with the private golf clubs in the area. I’m a huge supporter of muni golf!) The Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic is contended on the Senator Course at Capitol Hill in Prattville in early May and the PGA TOUR Barbasol Championship on the Lake Course at Grand National in Auburn/Opelika in July.

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is golf’s “Field of Dreams.” The project was financed by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, part of financial management plan to diversify the state’s pension fund. The legendary Robert Trent Jones was lured out of retirement to work on the project that began in the late 1980s and was originally planned as eight sites, 378 holes of golf.

Today the RTJ Trail begins on the northern edge of the state, where Alabama butts up against Tennessee and golf is nestled into the Highland Rim and the Cumberland Plateau, down through the center of the state and on to stunningly beautiful Magnolia Grove golf course in Mobile and, across Mobile Bay, to Lakewood Golf Club at Clear Point.

The Trail offers a wide variety of package deals, including a “Build-Your-Own” option for golfers who don’t want to get locked in to one of the seasonal or geographically specific special.

Let’s take a closer look at the current eleven sites, all but one with at least 36 holes and five with 54 holes of golf just waiting to be played! We’ll start at what passes for up north in Alabama – The Shoals – and work our way down to Mobile Bay.

Next: The Shoals

Home/Courses