Day three
Grand National has earned acclaim as one of the country’s best public golf courses by Golf World readers. It features two regulation courses and a short course. We played the Lakes Course and teed off in a shroud of fog that made this layout even more scenic. Most of the holes ran along Lake Saugahatchee, and the sunlight shimmered off the lake as the fog lifted. It was a beautiful fall day for golf in Alabama.
After play, I spoke with the course’s professional, Scott Gomberg, about groups that play on the RTJ Trail.
“We do about 67,000 rounds a year and 30 to 40 percent of that is travelers,” he said. “We get a lot of golf groups from northern states and internationally as well. I had 20 in here last week from Australia.
“And Auburn’s home football games are huge for us. We’ll have golfers all day the Friday before and again on Saturday morning before the game.”
I’ve told more golfers about the next place we played than any other course on the trip. I’m not sure what I expected at FarmLinks in Sylacauga, Alabama, but this fascinating enterprise was a revelation from start to finish.
The golf was a welcome respite from the tight, tree-lined fairways and unforgiving greens so prevalent on the RTJ courses. FarmLinks features wide, sweeping fairways and large greens that are much easier to read. But make no mistake, this is a wonderful golf course.
The story at FarmLinks is about family. Founder and owner David Pursell grew up in the family’s fertilizer business and on the nearby family farm. He walked that property for years as a boy, envisioning a golf course.
Pursell sold the family company several years ago but built FarmLinks, a demonstration golf course for turf management professionals. Golf course superintendents from all over the world have gone there to study. A meetings complex accommodates seminars and videoconferencing, and many clients stay where our group stayed in the rustic Parker’s Lodge, overlooking the 17th green.
Pursell joined us that evening in Parker’s Lodge for a steak dinner and conversation about his vision for FarmLinks. An accomplished golfer, Pursell shared golf stories with us including an account or two from his rounds at Pine Valley in New Jersey.
The next morning, I spoke with FarmLinks president Erle Fairly.
“We bring superintendents in from courses like Valhalla, Banded Dunes, Pinehurst — you name it,” said Fairly. “We have almost a thousand a year come in here. But we’re also open to the public. We have guest facilities for small groups, and we have an all-day rate of $125 that includes all the golf you can play, lunch in the clubhouse, unlimited beverages and range balls.”
Day four
Due to inclement weather that was due in on Friday, our hosts in Birmingham changed our schedule, getting us on Ross Bridge on Thursday and resetting our game at Oxmoor Valley for Friday. Ross Bridge is one of the pre-eminent resorts on the RTJ Trail, and its course is among the longest in the world from the back tees.
I’ve played Ross Bridge several times with Smither and the resort general manager, Steve Miller. Ross Bridge is a bit more open than some of the other courses since it was designed for tournament golf. Its fairways are a bit wider, and the greens are somewhat larger. But it’s a great test, and you can play it from any one of five sets of tees.
That evening, we had dinner at Brock’s in the resort and had a farewell party of sorts for our group since we’d depart after golf the next morning. It was a long and enjoyable meal that included a lot of good-natured ribbing about mostly bad golf shots we’d made or seen made.
We were joined at dinner by Bill Lang, the trail’s public relations director, who shared this with me about its mission.
“Dr. David Bronner was frustrated that he saw people driving through Alabama to get to Florida,” said Lang. “So about 20 years ago, he partnered with Robert Trent Jones Sr. to begin building these courses.
“Today, we have 26 courses at 11 sites and eight resort hotels along the way. Ross Bridge is the newest. Since that time, Mercedes, Hyundai, Honda and others have invested in Alabama, so we know it’s working. Thirty-five to 40 percent of our golf business systemwide comes from groups.”
Day five
On Friday, it was ugly out. It was cold and threatening rain. Winter was coming to Alabama. It was the kind of day when any reasonable person would reset his or her alarm. So we all got up at 6 a.m. and went to play golf.
Oxmoor Valley is one of the oldest courses on the trail, and we had it all to ourselves that morning. We played the Ridge Course and had a great time. Any golfer knows that on an ugly day, once you get out there and get your mind right, it beats the alternative. I’ve also played this course in good weather, and it’s one to put on your list when you come to Alabama to play golf.
For more information about taking your golf group to Alabama, see the following websites:
www.alabama.travel
www.rtjgolf.com
www.honorsgolf.com
www.farmlinks.org
