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4 Reasons the RTJ Golf Trail should be your next golf trip

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There is no other golf destination like it. The RTJ Trail in Alabama spans hundreds of miles. Only Myrtle Beach comes close in terms of top-to-bottom distance. The RTJ Trail courses were built concurrently. St. Andrews took hundreds of years, while Bandon took 2 decades. While Pinehurst unites three communities, the RTJ Trail unifies an entire state in golf.

And yet, the RTJ Trail bears elements that make each of those other destinations a success. It has the diversity of courses found along the Grand Strand, if not the variety of architects. RTJ offers variety of terrain and shot value, if not the native sands of North Carolina, the Oregon coast and Scotland. Most important, the RTJ Trail offers many reasons to return, all thanks to the range of venues where courses are located. Let’s have a look at 4 reasons to make Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail your next destination venture.

1) Sites and Scorecards

The first thing your eyes catch, even if you read from left to right, are the numbers on the official Trail web site: 468 holes, 26 courses, 11 sites. If you’ve ever gone on a trip where you change hotels and locales with the sun, you understand how frustrating and exhausting such poor planning is. I know from personal experience: I planned a trip to Michigan that way, and it ended with a near-fistfight! Only one of the 11 sites (Ross Bridge) has just 18 holes, but it’s a mere 5-minute car ride from the 54 holes at Oxmoor Valley. With the exception of the 36-hole Highland Oaks property, in the southeastern corner of the state, each site is within an hour drive of another. In the case of Highland Oaks, no southern Iditarod is necessary. Both Grand National (Auburn/Opelika) and Cambrian Ridge (Greenville) are 2 hours away.

A fact not emblazoned across the crest of the trail, each of the sites for golf courses was donated to the Retirement Systems of Alabama, the entity responsible for the massive undertaking. One might suspect that the lands acquired would be less than ideal for golf, but that’s not the case. The rumpled geography (including climate and weather, in addition to topography) of the state ensured an assortment of characteristics. Some layouts sit high above rivers and small lakes, while others traverse hillsides. Others still, abut the gulf of Mexico. In each case, the land offered was either viable in its current condition, or manipulable with minimal earth-moving.

2) Diverse Layouts

I’m the first to step forth and say that there was a lot about Roger Rulewich’s approach to golf course architecture that I dislike. I found his Ballyowen in New Jersey to be nearly unplayable. Perhaps it was the pretense of an Irish golf course, that in no way, shape or form looked like, felt like, played like, an Irish golf course. I wasn’t a fan of Saratoga National, either, as it seemed to base itself on ways to disrupt golf with water. It’s known that Rulewich was the driving force behind the RTJ Trail. Mr. Jones, Sr., was up in years when the trail was build: he passed away in 2000, 6 days short of his 94th birthday. As his lieutenant, Rulewich oversaw much of design and construction. AND he did a great job. Our trip took us from Prattsville to Birmingham, to Auburn/Opelika. None of the courses felt remotely like a copy or twin of any other. I will warn you that the Links course at Grand National (Auburn/Opelika) is actually more lakes than the adjacent Lakes course, but that’s nothing. Both courses and the 18-hole, par-three layout on site are a barrel of fun.

Let me tell you what it’s like to play an 8200-yard course. The Ross Bridge course near Birmingham is a delight for the senses. Up and down wondrous land, bagpiper playing as your come to 9 or 18, vistas across adjoining fairways, extending for acres. Back to the challenge. For transparency, I’m a 52-year old, 5’9″ guy with above-average fitness and golf ability (I’m fairly strong, very good hand-eye coordination and a traveling 5 handicap), so base your personalization of this experience off that. Now, here is the paradigm: everything in your mind shifts. Your shortest par-3 hole is 250 yards, and most of them require a 235-yard carry over doom. Your par-4 holes live in the rarefied air above 480 yards, unless they are uphill and only 450. As for the par-5 holes, I almost parred one of them. I hit more solid shots on this golf course than I can describe, and I did not make a single par. I had plenty of chances at par, but couldn’t get the putts to fall. Zero greens in regulation meant zero birdie putts. No chip-ins, either. Are you begging the question “Why did you do it?” Imagine the ultra-marathoner and the challenge that she faces in running way more than 26 miles. I wanted the experience. I wasn’t interested in a score. No one but you cares what you shot on your trip; they only ask about the experience. For me, the experience was brought to fruition at 8200 yards.

We had the opportunity to play two short courses. Long before par-3 courses became the rage at Bandon Dunes and other locales, the RTJ Trail incorporated them into their sites. Their reasoning, based on logic, was that golfers might not be up for 36 challenging holes in a day, but they might like a warm-up 18, or a day-ender. Hence, the open-arms approach to the short course. The day we played the 8200 yard course at Ross Bridge, we warmed up at Oxmoor Valley’s wee links. I use the term warm up with intent; the morning was a chilly, windy one on the ridge, but when we descended into the valley, the wind abated. The vertical topography demands that holes play either up or down a slope. The other reason for the term is, you will use nearly every club in your bag. No need to go to the range before a round at Oxmoor or Ross Bridge. Play the short course early and you’ll be ready for 18 holes in no time.

Our other venture onto a less-than-regulation layout was at Grand National. Home to the aforementioned pair of regulation courses (Lakes and Links), Rulewich and Jones found a way to weave the short course onto the same land as the big fellows. No perimeter wasteland here, no use of unneeded land for a throwaway course. The shortie at Grand National is just the thing to end a day, which is what we did when we pulled into town. Knowing that we had 36 big holes the following morning, we opted for brief and exciting, and Grand National Short offered both. Oh, if you’re wondering, the Lakes and Links courses provide the same memories, challenges and thrills. Former home to the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship, if I had to pick one resort to which to return, it would be hard to say no to Grand National.

3) Nearby Towns

It’s a 360 mile drive from Huntsville (in the north) to Point Clear (in the south), the longest distance between sites. Not far behind is the 340-mile trek from Muscle Shoals (also in the north) to Point Clear. That’s a lot of state, and to imagine 9 other sites and almost 400 other holes in between, is nearly preposterous. Fortunately, the Trail lives in harmony with its state. Unlike some resorts that strive to keep you on site, gypping the local businesses of needed cash and awareness, courses along the trail encourage you to visit places like Opelika, Prattville and Point Clear. The esprit de corps of an entire state is on display at every stop along the trail.

Case in point: Opelika. No need to ride-share from the resort. One of the drivers will take you into town, and pick you up at the pre-arranged hour. No charge for the ride, but don’t forget to tip the chauffeur. We took a 10-minute ride into town, expecting only dinner. What we found was a delightful, reclaimed downtown. Once home to factories and a busy train trestle, this pleasant area is now home to restaurants, breweries, distilleries and benches. What better place to be, after a round or two of golf, than an urban space with a place to dine, quaff, and relax? If you’re in the area in the fall, there’s another town nearby, called Auburn. Rumor is, they play a bit of football over there.

You’ll find an Opelika nearly everywhere you go along the trail. Each has its own flavor to savor, and offers the perfect complement to hard-fought battles on the links. As much as I want to return to see the other courses along the trail, I also want to visit the Yellowhammer state again for its small towns.

Opelika At Night

Opelika At Night

4) Lodging

It might seem odd to return to the importance of lodging, immediately after I’ve suggested you take a tour of the towns that house the Trail venues. There are times aplenty when you don’t want to go out after 36 holes. You want to lay down in a comfortable bed for a few hours, have a nice dinner on site, and watch a game or two on television, in the tavern. The majority of the properties have on-site lodging, allowing you to roll out of the golf cart and into  your room. It’s time for a dip in the pool or hot tub, followed by a beverage at the outdoor bar. Or, a quick shower and nap, then down to the grill room for some vittles.

Oh, the room. Let’s not forget the beds that make you feel like you’re sleeping on air cushions, the sitting rooms that allow friends to gather for television or conversation, nor the windows that look out, more often than not, onto the golf courses themselves. If it weren’t for the golf, you’d be forgiven for spending as much time as possible in the suite! Ironically, the one resort where we had to stay off-site was the one we most wanted to see. The Ross Bridge clubhouse and lodge, a Marriott property, was completely booked by a company for a retreat. No rooms were available, and you couldn’t go inside at the turn or the 19th hole, except to visit the pro shop. It’s understandable why that company, and others like it, would want to seclude its employees for training purposes. With gentle waterfalls, distant vistas and multiple dining options, Ross Bridge might be the premier property along the entire Robert Trent Jones golf trail.

Concluding Thoughts

–The best place to fly into is Atlanta. The drive is not too distant, and is entirely interstate. You even gain an hour when entering Alabama. What’s more, with Atlanta being a hub for so many airlines, chances are excellent that travel costs will be reduced;

–Our visit included the middle row of courses, from top to bottom. We saw some of Oxmoor Valley, and all of Ross Bridge, Capitol Hill and Grand National. A second visit would be the northern trio of The Shoals, Hampton Cove and Silver Lakes, where 6 regulation and 1 short course await. Visit #3 would take on the southern tier, the most ambitious of the trips. Four sites, offering 8 full-size and 1 short course, sit in anticipation of our arrival. After that, a 4th trip would select the favorite properties. Interstates and beltways move travelers from each corner and every perimeter, in appropriate amounts of time;

–As with any golf getaway, do your homework and know what to expect from the weather. My threesome assumed (typical northerners) that anything south of us would be balmy, steamy and sunny. It certainly was more enjoyable than upstate New York in March, but had we packed properly, we would have muttered less. Alabama is a beautiful state, and the positioning of the RTJ Trail golf courses throughout, ensures that visitors will experience and enjoy something new, no matter which corners of the state they visit.

###

Photos Courtesy of Michael Clemmer for RTJ Golf Trail

Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Capitol Hill , Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Prattville, Alabama, Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Capitol Hill, Prattville, AL, Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Capitol Hill, Prattville, AL, Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Oxmoor Valley/Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Birmingham, AL, Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Birmingham, AL, Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Birmingham, AL, Photo courtesy of Michael Clemmer

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Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

6 Comments

6 Comments

  1. ht

    Aug 3, 2018 at 11:09 am

    Great article! Couldn’t agree more. Everyone should put the trail on their list of future golf trips.

    Personal favorite is the Senator at Capitol Hill in Prattville. Nice links style set up

    • Ronald Montesano

      Aug 4, 2018 at 8:36 am

      What an interesting course. The other two on property spend a good bit of time below the ridge, but Senator is always on top, always out of the trees, exposed to the elements. I didn’t ask, but I hope that they allow it to play firm and fast always. The ground game is often sorely missed here in the USA.

  2. CJ

    Aug 2, 2018 at 11:04 am

    Prattville and Grand National were two of my home sites for years. Unbeatable quality of golf for the money just to reiterate. I urge would be travelers to include Farmlinks if possible.

    • Ronald Montesano

      Aug 3, 2018 at 10:37 am

      Thank you, CJ.

      Two great locations. Very inspired golf. It’s hard to believe that the land was undesirable and was donated, more or less.

  3. Egor

    Aug 1, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    I’ve played two of their sites – top quality, high class, well maintained and for what you’re getting – reasonable price.

    I go every year if I’m able.

    • Ronald Montesano

      Aug 2, 2018 at 10:02 am

      Egor,

      I don’t announce my arrival, as I don’t want service that differs from the non-writing customer. I agree with your assessment. We were in Alabama in late March, not necessarily the best time for climate, but every place we stopped was beyond standard, in the proper direction.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

  • 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
  • 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
  • 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
  • 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
  • 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
  • 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 LIV Adelaide betting preview: Cam Smith ready for big week down under

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After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide. 

For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.  

The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory. 

The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second. 

*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*

Past Winners at LIV Adelaide

  • 2023: Talor Gooch (-19)

Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami

Green in Regulation

  1. Richard Bland
  2. Jon Rahm
  3. Paul Casey

Fairways Hit

  1. Abraham Ancer
  2. Graeme McDowell
  3. Henrik Stenson

Driving Distance

  1. Bryson DeChambeau
  2. Joaquin Niemann
  3. Dean Burmester

Putting

  1. Cameron Smith
  2. Louis Oosthuizen
  3. Matt Jones

2024 LIV Adelaide Picks

Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)

When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.

At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.

The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.

Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)

Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.

In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.

For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.

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Opinion & Analysis

The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1

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Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.

Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.

But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.

To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.

Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.

If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.

In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.

Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.

While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.

So, what about grooves and face texture?

Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.

Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.

But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?

The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.

So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.

And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.

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