![]() “Y’all didn’t try any of my favorites.” (Say what?) Turns out there are no less than 45 BBQ joints in Huntsville. (You don’t go to Alabama to diet.) While boasting of my feat (feast) to a local golfer, he just shook his head. In one 12-hour period I tried Boarhog’s Barbeque, The Chuckwagon, Melvin’s Place and Pig N Out. The options, mostly excellent, are ludicrously endless. Time will be a little more of the essence tomorrow. We recommend playing the two full-length courses today if you can. 5), a River Course in the flood plain of the Flint River that is the flattest course on The Trail (with water in play on 16 holes but not a single bunker) and an 18-hole Short Course with water in play on 11 holes. The northern gateway to The Trail, Hampton Cove has a Highlands Course that was restored in 2008 to its original Scottish-Links design (with a cool rustic mule barn on No. In Huntsville you’re only 10 miles from the 54 golf holes at Hampton Cove. And as a reward for driving up there, you get to spend two nights in the same hotel! You can unpack! (A little.)ĭay 3: You can sleep in a bit today, if you’d like. The good news is, Huntsville might have “the most fantastic BBQ per capita of any city in America” and plenty of lodging options among the hotel chains (including a Courtyard by Marriott) to fit whatever budget. (Me, laughing hysterically.) That’s the bad news: You’ve got to get to Huntsville tonight. … If you didn’t still have to drive another 85 miles, of course. ![]() It’s so pretty, with all the water and waterfalls, and a pretty great way to wrap the day … ![]() The conditioning, as it is throughout the Trail, is immaculate and the three regulation nines are all big, brawny and beautiful. The most resilient of The Trail’s courses, Silver Lakes was bludgeoned by an EF-4 tornado in 2011, nearly destroyed and then completely rebuilt, better than ever by most accounts. I’d call Silver Lakes “the little course that could” if it weren’t so big. Silver Lakes has 36 golf holes - three nine-hole routings called Heartbreaker, Mindbreaker and Backbreaker - and then a polar opposite golf experience (by length and description) in the lovely lakeside Short Course. Drive 85 miles to Silver Lakes Golf Course in Gadsden. You’ve got a full day of long drives ahead of you, on and off the golf course. Visit our GolfTripX Essential Alabama page for stories, podcasts, photos and moreĭay 2: Get up early and get going. You’ll stay at the 259-room Renaissance Ross Bridge tonight - the “Castle on a Hill” with a great little splash-pad park for children, The Spa with dozens of soothing-sounding treatment options, and dining venues at Brock’s (Mediterranean) and the indoor-outdoor JT’s Lounge with nightly live music. In full bloom the course feels very much like Augusta National (legitimately), and the wild topography is sure to keep you entertained. The challenging Ross Bridge is the fifth longest golf course in the world at 8,191 yards, with 10 holes that play along lakes and signature waterfalls. (Why couldn’t he have stayed asleep for my next shot?) I was told, when my ball stayed dry, that the elephant must have been sleeping. ![]() 1, so don’t stress while he tells you about the elephant buried under the first fairway that kicks all golf balls left into the lake. The starter is accustomed to people taking a mulligan on No. The Clubhouse Restaurant will feed you wings or a sandwich for lunch (“to go” if you’re in a time crunch) and the first tee is right out the door. Because we won’t let you visit Birmingham without playing Ross Bridge, we’ll start there - a short, 17-mile drive south of the airport, in Hoover. And golf you shall.ĭay 1: Because of the fact it serves nearly every major airline on Earth, it makes the most sense to fly into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM). You’ll also have to improvise a bit on “stays.” The Trail’s partnership with Marriott Hotels is extensive, but not extensive enough to cover site outliers like Huntsville and Silver Lakes. Have you noticed that? Why doesn’t it have two o’s like “moose?” Anyway, in this segment you’ll get used to moving, in part because the golf locations dictate that you must. We’ll break The Trail Trip up into three (more) logical sections for you (14 nights total), assume you’ll get at least 12 hours of daylight, and also assume that the airlines will consider your golf schedule their first priority. For the purposes of this article, we’re going to assume you’re not insane. Or take a more reasonable approach to golfing The Trail and split the trip up a bit. Take the golf portion as a challenge if you’d like. My son, Dylan, and I did when he was 11 years old, playing 22 of 27 courses (and eating at 22 Sonic restaurants) in 12 incredible June days. It is possible to cover all 11 sites of Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in one trip.
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