Mountain Brook Club

The Mountain Brook Club is a very-private Birmingham-area establishment that traces its lineage back to Donald Ross. Although both George Cobb and John LaFoy came through to make renovations across the years, more recent work from Brian Silva has brought it back to its roots...however nontraditional those roots may be.

Even under Ross’s watch, it would have been very atypical for his repertoire. Although he was no stranger to fitting courses onto tight parcels (the current course extends to around 125 acres), the title brook that runs longways through the property creates a number of unusual holes.

For example, the 250-yard par four at No. 12 sounds like child’s play for the strong player. The green’s awkward placement along the creek requires a consummate fade to stick the landing area however, therefore most players will settle for a very short lay-up from the tee.

The hole preceding it tells a similar story. Just 485 yards from the back, players must flirt with the creek as it wanders down the left. Then the question becomes whether to play over the creek to the lay-up area...or cross the creek twice on the way to another precipitously-perched putting area.