A friend and I had been wanting to play on the Robert Trent Jones (RTJ) Golf Trail for a few years now. We planned to meet up last year but that didn’t work out so we decided to give it another try! He flew into Atlanta, where I picked him up and we were on our way.
Because there are so many courses on the trail we couldn’t get to them all, but tried to pick out those that would somewhat minimize our travel throughout Alabama. I’ll list our itinerary below and then post some collective thoughts about the trail in the Hampton Cove post.
- Thursday 04/28/16: Grand National
- Friday 04/29/16: Capitol Hill
- Saturday 04/30/16: Oxmoor Valley
- Sunday 05/01/16: Limestone Springs (which is not on the trail)
- Monday 05/02/16: Hampton Cove
- Tuesday 05/03/16: Bradshaw Farms in Georgia on the way back to the airport
Our first stop was at Grand National where there are three courses. The two regulation courses are the Lake and the Links and then there is a short course. We didn’t play any of the short courses on our trip so I cannot comment on those.
We were scheduled for both regulation courses on Thursday and started out on the Lake course. The first thing you’ll notice is how nice the property is that the facility occupies! If you stand on the clubhouse balcony you’ll see a lake, some pines, and gentle rolling hills.
The 1st hole drops down from the pines to the lake, which starts to come into play on the next few holes. In case you are curious, the lake is named “Lake Saugahatchee”. Good luck pronouncing that one! As an added bonus for our day, we got to enjoy a tour quality course. The Lake Course is the stop for the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship!
As you can imagine based on the name of the course, the Lake Course has plenty of water in play! Many holes hug the shoreline so you could drop a ball in the lake on half of the holes, easily. Plus, there is a pond that affects play on a couple other holes so it helps to bring your “A” game.
We played the orange tees which are 70.6/122/6488 on the scorecard. And, I have no idea how the slope and rating aren’t higher! My friend and I joined a single who explained that when he posted his scores at some other trail courses, it appears some were re-rated.
Anyway, I found the Lake Course to be a beast with lots of trouble! Besides the water, which was hidden at times, you should expect every shot to be involved. The course is heavily bunkered off the tee and the fairways pinch. It seemed like my options on the tee shots were either, hit a good drive or struggle. There wasn’t much in-between.
Don’t let the toughness overshadow just how beautiful the holes are laid out on the shoreline! On the front nine, the 2nd and 7th are the standout holes to me. The 2nd is a 381 yard par 4 (#1 handicap) that hugs the shoreline. The 7th sits across from the 2nd and is a mid-length par 5 that could be reached in two.
On the back nine, the 12th is another risk/reward par 5 where I ended up with tap in birdie after nearly having an eagle putt. The drive over the lake is one of those where you can bite off as much as much as you can chew, setting up a chance to reach in two. The 15th, a 182 yard par 3 with an island green, is the signature hole. It almost looks a little like the 12th at Augusta, playing over the water to a narrow green! It is one of those “do or die” shots.
We encountered quite a few storms on the trip and on the drive over to Opelika it rained pretty much the whole way. As you’d guess, it was cart path only and soft. However, the course drained well and everything looked like it should be during peak season.
The fairways were full and cut so that I could clip the ball and the greens were on the firm side. The greens rolled fine and were a tad slower than they looked. The bunkers were firm because of the rain but consistent.
What I’m going to remember about the Lake Course is the 15th hole. I sent that picture to a friend and he commented that it looked like something from a postcard! The Lake Course is definitely worth checking out.
Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):