Alabama, “The Heart of Dixie”, reflects the pivotal role Alabama played in defining the history of the South. Montgomery was where the Constitution of the Confederacy was drawn up and it’s the capital of Alabama, but Birmingham – 75 miles further north – is Alabama’s largest city and this was where golf began in the Cotton State.

The Alabama Golf Association has been promoting amateur golf in the state since its early beginnings in 1915. Today the organization serves more than 130 golf clubs, which stretch from the Tennessee state line in the north down to the Gulf of Mexico.

The golfing elder statesman of Alabama is the Country Club of Birmingham, which was formed in 1898. Donald Ross laid out both courses at the Country Club and the East dates back to 1903, but it’s the West course, overhauled by RTJ, that receives the accolades.

Robert Trent Jones designed around 500 US golf courses and the architect has left a trail in Alabama. In fact, Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is the largest golf course construction project ever attempted. It’s a collection of 468 golf holes on 11 different sites across the state and according to the New York Times, the Trail represents “some of the best public golf on earth.”

Anticipated to open in 2023, the new course at Willow Point Golf & Country Club is a Coore & Crenshaw layout situated on Lake Martin, a reservoir constructed in the 1920s by damming the Tallapoosa River. Landscapes Unlimited built the course which will anchor a 1500-acre residential development called The Heritage.

Our Alabama Best In State Rankings were last updated in September 2020. Click the link to read the story.