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‘Build It And They Will Come’ Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Celebrates 25 Years of Perfection By Dave Finn Kevin Costner’s iconic 1989 movie Field of Dreams may not have won an Oscar, but it sparked a winner. Let me take you behind the scenes, and tell you about another man’s vision. A golfer’s dream may be to have 18 of their favorite holes, featured on a single course. Dr. David Bronner, the CEO of Retirement Systems of Alabama, had a dream to invest his organization’s pension funds and build 26 world-class golf courses that would challenge people enough that “they will want to come back and try again.” Bronner may not have heard the voices Ray Kinsella heard but he listened to the call and tapped into his creativity and courage to do what no one could imagine. Once he lured the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr. out of semi-retirement, there was no looking back. With Jones as his co-director, the result is an extraordinary golf trail that meanders across Alabama, from the Appalachians in the north all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Golf Digest declared the RJT Trail as “the number one value in the country for golf!” “The very best courses are those where nature provides the canvas,” Jones said and, ”my job is to discover her secrets and reveal them.” Bronner was also convinced that the trail would attract tourism and industry to Alabama. He was right. A golfer gets a feeling for a course based on what makes it a great experience. Here is what left a memorable impression on me after visiting the RTJ Trail during its 25th anniversary. Scenery The Judge course at Capitol Hill has one of the most incredible opening holes in golf. As you stare down a 200-foot bluff to a sliver of a fairway with a well-protected peninsula green that juts out into the Alabama River, it will take your breath away. The layout traverses 200 acres of river backwaters with 14 holes that feature water hazards, making accuracy more important than distance. Here, you can also play the Legislator, a more traditional parkland course framed by tall pines and built along a large bluff, or the Senator, a Scottish links-style design with more than 150 sod-faced pot bunkers and mounds that stretch 40 feet towards the sky. Challenge Ross Bridge in Hooveris the fourth longest golf course in the world. From the very back tees, it plays all of 8,191 yards. Surrounded by the foothills, it features lots of elevation changes and forced carries that provide drama and danger. Ten holes play along the shoreline, and the waterfall that spills into the central lake is best viewed from the 9th and 18th tee blocks. Linger until dusk to hear the soulful sounds of a bagpiper as he makes his way to the putting green. You’ll be transported ‘across the pond’ at this challenging course that once played host to the Regions Charity Classic on the Champions Tour. Personality Grand National near Auburn/Opelika offers three 18-hole layouts. The Lake Course is the home of the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship that runs the same week as the British Open. Built around 600-acre Lake Saugahatchee, twelve holes nudge the shoreline and will test your skills against the pros. The Links Course reportedly has the strongest finishing hole on the Trail, but the Short Course was my favorite. With a good combination of short and long holes, some uphill, some downhill and more than half touching the lake, every hole is unique and what I’d consider a signature hole anywhere else. Design Personally, I’m a big fan of huge elevation changes, and in this category, I’m torn between two contenders. Oxmoor Valley near Birminghamliterally rocks. The Ridge, built on the site of a former mine once owned by U.S. Steel takes full advantage of the peaks and valleys of the Appalachian mountain range. It showcases towering shale formations, more than 150 feet in height and rich, dense forests. Cambrian Ridgeboasts three nine-hole layouts. The Canyon was carved out of a former hunting ground, and the first hole will both inspire and intimidate you, a par-5 that drops 200 feet from the tee to the fairway. And that’s only the beginning of the adventure. With 11 sites, 26 courses and 468 holes of golf, the Robert Trent Jones Trail is varied, fun, challenging and affordable. Often imitated but never replicated, it’s no wonder the New York Times has declared the RJT Trail, “the best public golf on earth.” Dave Finn is our Canadian Correspondent. To read more about golf in Alabama visit his website at: http://golftravelandleisure.com/category/united-states/alabama-united-states/

USA Best In State Golf Course Rankings Launched Top 100 Golf Courses extends its rankings to “Best In State” The independent website, Top 100 Golf Courses, is excited to announce that it is extending its golf course rankings to focus on the USA’s “Best In State” golf courses. Top 100 Golf Courses features thousands of golf courses in more than 150 different countries in numerous ranking categories. After having extended our rankings for British & Irish counties and regions in 2011, we have progressed naturally to the USA. The Best In State process has started and will hopefully complete by June 2012. Numerous golf magazines have published Best In State rankings for some years, so our process is not unique. However, we have decided, in the case of a number of US states, to increase the number of ranked courses. This means that we will provide not only a more comprehensive list, but also far more information that will be permanently and freely available online to browsers. We’ve focused our attention initially on eight US states; Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina. The process included gathering all historical golf course ranking/rating data and polling professional and amateur golfers and golf journalists. Development of this new Best in State initiative is at an early stage, but we’ll keep you updated via periodic announcements across the Top 100 News Channel on the website and via Twitter. So, if you are not following us already, we hope you will now! To find out more about our Best in State rankings please navigate to our dedicated US state pages by clicking on the following links: Alabama Best In State Golf Courses (Top 10) Arizona Best In State Golf Courses (Top 30) California Best In State Golf Courses (Top 50) Florida Best In State Golf Courses (Top 50) New Hampshire Best In State Golf Courses (Top 10) New York Best In State Golf Courses (Top 40) North Carolina Best In State Golf Courses (Top 30) South Carolina Best In State Golf Courses (Top 30) The Top 100 Team If you are passionate about your home state’s golf courses and would like to help us further develop this initiative, then please send an email to info@top100golfcourses.com. We’d love to hear from you.

US East South Central Division Best in State Rankings 2020 Three weeks ago we revised the charts for the four states in the West South Central Division of the United States. We now turn our attention to Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee in the East South Central Division, adding another twenty courses to the mix in the process, so we now feature a hundred courses across a geographical area extending to more than 180,000 square miles. Only one of these one hundred layouts – The Honors Course outside Chattanooga in Tennessee – makes the cut for a ranking position within our US Top 100 but don’t let that statistic lull you into thinking there’s little golfing interest to be found in this section of the American South. Hopefully, you’ll recognize there’s plenty to like here from the short profile of the courses mentioned below. Alabama It was something of a surprise when we last appraised the state listings to find out that Shoal Creek in Birmingham had been knocked off the top spot. Well, it’s not taken long for the course to bounce back, regaining its No. 1 status at the first opportunity. Designed by Bob Cupp when he was a lead architect for Nicklaus Design, the course has hosted a number of high profile national tournaments since it first opened in 1977, including a couple of PGA Championships. Shoal Creek Mark White, one of our regular contributors, commented earlier this year: “I do believe Shoal Creek is worthy of a Senior US Open championship or another US Women’s Open… and it could have another PGA, particularly since that major has moved to the month of May. It has heroic shots, decision making, builds to a nice finish, is challenging yet fair, has a good routing, is an easy walk, and has good green complexes. There really is not much missing from this golf course.” Ten courses have been added to our Alabama portfolio so it now extends to a Top 30. The highest new entry from this intake of newcomers arrives at No. 10 and it’s the George Cobb-designed layout at Vestavia Country Club which has recently undergone an extensive renovation by Lester George, who rebuilt more than half the holes, in addition to introducing water hazards and installing a new irrigation system. Vestavia Country Club Selective tree clearance has opened up views, sand hazards have been upgraded using Better Billy Bunker lining, and improved mowing lines have created extra width on fairways. Not only that, the introduction of template classics such as a Redan green on the 13th and a Biarritz green on the 15th has greatly enhanced the playing experience at Vestavia. The biggest upward move is made by the course at Ross Bridge on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, rising three places to No. 11. A recent reviewer had this to say about it: “perhaps the only ‘weakness’ of the course is the somewhat monotonous demand for aerial shots on virtually every hole. Otherwise, with its fabulously manicured facilities, striking terrain, mix of corridors, and terrific all-round amenities, Ross Bridge was a solid, surprising, and bold golf experience.” Ross Bridge Rank/ Click the link to see full details of our latest Alabama Best in State rankings Kentucky The Donald Ross-designed course at Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington became the new No. 1 in the Bluegrass State during our 2018 state shake-up and it remains in the same position now. Originally laid out by Donald Ross in the 1920s, the course has benefitted from Ron Prichard restoring the bunkers, installing several water features, and adding some judicious length in order to ease this Golden age classic into the 21st century. Idle Hour Country Club The most substantial climb in our Kentucky table is made by the 18-hole layout at the University of Louisville Golf Club. A new entry in our chart last time around, it now soars seven spots to No.6. It’s the home club for the university’s men’s and women’s golf teams and it has hosted a number of prestigious competitions in the last few years, including the NCAA Men’s Regional in 2019, the state PGA Championship in 2017, and the Kentucky Women’s Open in 2015. University of Louisville Golf Club In the bottom half of the new chart, two courses with tournament pedigrees leap five places forward: Kearney Hill Golf Links (now at #12) is a Pete Dye/P. B. Dye co-design that held both the national men’s and women’s Amateur Public Links Championships before they were discontinued by the USGA; and the course at Cherry Blossom Golf Club in Georgetown (up to #13) has staged the State Amateur for both male and female golfers on separate occasions since 2014. Click the link to see full details of our latest Kentucky Best in State rankings Mississippi Fallen Oak, Tom Fazio’s 18-hole layout at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino near Biloxi, recaptures the No. 1 spot in the new Mississippi state rankings. Located deep inside the De Soto National Forest, this course is part of the same Las Vegas MGM Mirage setup as Shadow Creek and some contend that, due its natural setting, it’s actually the better of the two Fazio tracks. Fallen Oak Reviewers from a few months ago made comments like: “I highly recommend Fallen Oak; it is fun yet challenging, peaceful and beautiful. Even if some of the terrain changes are not natural, there are plenty of rolling and undulating fairways. The wide fairways, lighter use of trees, and ponds create a spacious feeling on most of the holes... the routing is also quite inventive – moving to all corners of the property. Fazio doesn’t just present the famed ‘look’ where the style outshines the substance. At Fallen Oak there’s plenty of teeth ready to bite so you need to stay on your toes.” There’s only one new entry and it appears at No. 14 in the new chart. Mallard Pointe Golf Course in Sardis, owned and operated by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, is a Bob Cupp design that’s routed around the southern shores of Sardis Lake and the course is complemented by a couple of golf villas, each with 4-bedroom suites, kitchenette and lounge overlooking the sparkling waters of the 58,000-acre lake. Mallard Pointe There’s not much movement in our new state listings as the most impressive advance is a mere 2-position improvement to No. 18 for the course at Timberton Golf Club in Hattiesburg. Mark McCumber set out the fairways here in the early 1990s and this tree-lined parkland course has been used for numerous USGA and PGA qualifying competitions since then. Click the link to see full details of our latest Mississippi Best in State rankings Tennessee The Honors Course retains its position at the top of the tree in the Volunteer State and it’s also firmly ensconced inside the US Top 100, having moved up one place to #75 when we re-ranked the national chart at the end of last year. It was founded in the early 1980s by Coca-Cola bottling heir Jack Lupton with the stated aim of providing a stern test for elite amateur players and the club has hosted top tournaments such as the 1991 US Amateur, the 1994 Curtis Cup, the 2011 US Senior Women’s Amateur and the 2016 US Junior Amateur, with many of the opinion that it’s one of Pete and P.B. Dye’s best designs. The Honors Course We’ve expanded our Tennessee standings to a Top 30 and the leading new entry is the early 1920s William Langford design at Chickasaw Country Club in Memphis, where Byron Nelson’s eleven PGA Tour event winning streak came to an end in 1945. Bill Bergin completed a restoration in 2018, reworking green complexes, bunkers and forward tees, as well as removing trees and converting grasses from bent to Bermuda. Chickasaw Country Club Regular correspondent Richard Smith visited last year and in his verdict was: “the strength of the course lies in the greens and the green complexes and Bill Bergin did a wonderful job of capturing the run offs and slopes that help make Langford courses unique… this is a classic old-style golf course that has been well updated moving forward in the 21st century. If I lived in the area this would be a great course to join as a member.” The most significant positional gain is a modest 3-place move up to No. 13 by the Bob Cupp-designed layout at Council Fire Golf Club, which is named after the decision making forum of the indigenous Cherokee people who originally populated the surrounding landscape. Council Fire converted greens from bent to bermuda in 2012 then Bill Bergin fashioned a new short game area four years later so the club certainly cannot be accused of dragging its heels in the new millennium. Council Fire Golf Club Click the link to see full details of our latest Tennessee Best in State rankings Next up: the seven West North Central Division states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Jim McCann Editor Top 100 Golf Courses