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4.4
122 Reviews (122)
5 Stars
55
4 Stars
44
3 Stars
16
2 Stars
4
1 Stars
3
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.0
Layout
4.6
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.6
Amenities
4.5
85.6%
Recommend this course
104 out of 122 reviews
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About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 54
Length 3360 yards
Slope 130
Rating 74.6

Course Details

Year Built 1992
Golf Season Year round
Architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1992) Roger Rulewich (1992)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - $11
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Accepted
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Proper golf attire required.

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Alabama (2021 #17)

Reviews

4.4
122 Reviews (122)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 9
Patio Dining 6
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 21
Forced Carries 17
Bunkers 15
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 18
Playing Multiple Courses 17
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 13
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 12
In the 'Burbs 11
Worth the Drive 9

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 310
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Birmingham Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Greens are atrocious

This review is for the Valley course on June 11.

There is no greater standard bearer for the RTJ Trail, and the two Oxmoor Valley courses, than myself. Previous reviews of both courses document that. However, my sub-par experience today was unfortunate. I called around 9 am to secure a tee time. The pro shop attendant asked which course I would like to play. I told her I had no preference but wished to play around 2 pm. She informed me that the earliest she had was 3:20pm on the Valley and that it would be after 4pm before I could get on a Ridge. No problem, Valley was fine. No mention of recent aerification. When I checked into the course that afternoon, again no mention of maintenance. Since I had no preference I would have appreciated knowing, so I could've made an informed decision. I was unaware until I arrived at the first green, and found not aerated, sanded greens - but mushy, sandy surfaces with baked out, sparse wisps of grass. The accompanying pic illustrates the condition, but really doesn't do it justice. Only the last 4 greens were representative of what week-and-a-half post-aerificated greens should be. I am aware that routine maintenance is necessary for courses to remain in pristine shape, as are customary on the Trail. But I had one shot to play golf this week and paid full-price, not a reduced rate, to play on garbage greens. I would have appreciated a heads-up when making the tee time or upon arrival. Therefore, I cannot recommend this course for the next two weeks, as it is borderline un-puttable.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
e0acaad0-ec1b-5e2d-bba4-cc80729af06c
Commented on 07/20/2017

Larry, I don't disagree with your comment about the bunkers. I do think they are a bit fluffier than they should be.

e6640ab6-9acf-5a98-9fa3-21c89d1925eb
Commented on 07/19/2017

Hey Brandon...I had been at Oxmoor playing the Ridge during National Sr. Games at the same time you played the Valley...actually that Sunday the courses were packed with players playing their "official practice round" and event started next day. There were many players that were fuming concerning the green conditions at the Valley. They were really upset, but luckily I was playing the Ridge which greens had been subjected to some aerification work earlier but they rolled very well-no issues. MY question to you is your opinion of the bunkers at the Ridge-I felt they were awful with too much sand and possibly the wrong texture. The quality of the bunkers just sucked in comparison to rest of facility. What are your thoughts since you have played at this facility numerous times.

Played On
Reviews 22
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

National Senior Olympics Event

I had opportunity to play the Ridge 6 times over a 6 day span, starting on the 9th of June. I had qualified from Iowa for the 64-69 age group to be played at the Ridge. This was for the 2017 National Senior Olympics. Overall the course was gorgeous and very scenic to say the least. The greens had been aerified a few days prior but they rolled around a 10, I would guess, and they were no issue.A great putting surface. The greens tore up a bit with pitch marks but you get that from bent grass greens. The staff from top to bottom were excellent for the 6 days I visited. I would agree that shots off line were a challenge to recover and we only played it at 5,700 yards. The pace of play was brutal, but you had no real marshaling by the NSGA who would dictate the pace, not the facility management so they are off the hook on that issue. I based my 5 star rating on Pace of Play based on my 3 rounds prior to tournament. The rule sheet said slow play would not be tolerated over 4:20 rounds, yet the early groups finished in 5:30 hours and it got to 6:30 hrs for the last groups because I was in the last group on the last day. The ONLY negative on this facility are the bunkers. They are well below the standard this facility deserves! When you couple too much sand which is too soft and players who can't rake properly you have a nightmare to play out of regardless if it is tournament play or not. To add to the issue were steep faces to the bunkers which adds to difficulty of raking them properly. As a player, you can not devote the time necessary to rake these properly and still play at a decent pace. The facility is awesome and I would never let those bunkers stop me from coming back but they need to fix them. You could take 70% of the sand out of the bunkers, have great bunkers, and have enough sand for top dressing your greens for the next 2 years, but only if that same sand could be used! :))

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great value, I know they had a lot of rain recently and was warned that they had punched the greens so I'm sure it would be in great condition normally

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Wet weather
Used cart

Very enjoyable

Excellent condition. All pricing food beverage merchandise very reasonable. Played The Ridge course. Very hilly. Even with cart I was exhausted at the end. Good bent grass greens with zoysia collars. Staff excellent. Second RTJ Trail course I played. If all the others are like them, they are a great golf value.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Course Conditions Not Up to Par

We played 4 days on the Trail. Conditions and Oxmoor Valley paled in comparison to Capitol Hill and Ross Bridge. The Valley course had been aerated about 2 weeks ago and still had a lot of sand on the greens, which made them semi-unplayable. The layout of the course is good, but generally needed TLC - bunkers needed raking, etc.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Excelent and challenging

This was a great course to play. Some challenging tee shots to narrow fairways; a lot of elevated greens and unexpected harazds. The drop to the left on 18 caught my five iron layup by surprise and cost me two shots.
The course is so long that you can play at peace, even when full.
Overall pleasant experience.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 16
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 310
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Birmingham Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Place looks great

Ridge is in excellent shape. Bent greens were good. The greenskeeping staff has done an admirable job of keeping them smooth. Not as many pitch marks as normal. Fairways were top notch. I would like to see the tee boxes be a little better, especially No. 2. Otherwise, place is as good as I've seen it.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
e6640ab6-9acf-5a98-9fa3-21c89d1925eb
Commented on 05/17/2017

Thanks, Brandon....I have to play a medal event there later this summer and I was wondering what their general competition rule policy was in regard to the tree lines......I'm guessing then that there are no red stakes except obvious lateral water hazards?

e0acaad0-ec1b-5e2d-bba4-cc80729af06c
Commented on 05/17/2017

Pedal, depends on whether you want to play by the book or not. All hazards are played as laterals as there is no OB on the course. There are some thick places in the trees on several holes, but more often than not it is open enough to be able to locate balls in my opinion. The toughest time of year is in the fall when leaves hide everything.

e6640ab6-9acf-5a98-9fa3-21c89d1925eb
Commented on 05/15/2017

Does the Ridge at Oxmoor Valley play it's tree line fairways as lateral hazards to speed play or are you able to find the ball in the trees? I'm playing there this summer and am wondering how the rules will be laid out for the Ridge.

Thanks,

Larry C

Played On
Reviews 310
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Birmingham Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Staff goes extra mile

This review is for the Valley course. First things first: the course is in excellent shape. Fairways are lush and balls are rolling out. Greens are tremendous, as usual. See my previous reviews on this track for more in-depth course analysis. I want this review, however, to focus on the customer service I witnessed by the Trail staff. I was paired with two players from upstate New York who had booked a package. They had played the Ridge course in the morning, then had lunch in the grill before joining me on the Valley course in the afternoon. When we arrived at our tee shots in the first fairway, the duo discovered that their range finder was missing from one of the bags and almost all of their balls had been stolen while the cart was left unattended near the clubhouse. A marshal soon came by and was made aware of what happened. He immediately went to check the video to see if they could make out the culprit. A couple of holes later, the marshal returned and unfortunately the cart had been parked just out of the camera's view. He apologized and went on his way. A few holes later, the marshal returned with a dozen brand new balls for each player and informed the man who lost his range finder that they would replace it at cost if he so desired. The marshal returned periodically to make sure these guys didn't need anything and were having a good time. I thought that was a very classy move. The course's staff could have easily apologized for the incident and left it at that. But, they did what they could to ease the unpleasantness brought on by the situation. It made me proud that we have such an incredible golf attraction in our state, and glad that we have tremendous people working at the sites making sure that the many out-of-state visitors enjoy their visit and want to come back. Well done.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great layout

Great course, difficulty in the wind. Had a storm come through the night before and although I played at 2:30, the traps were not attended to.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Wow

First time playing this RTJ course. Beautiful holes, great greens, and challenging especially for someone just getting back into playing but it was enjoyable. The staff were very friendly and extremely helpful!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
First Time Playing

This is a beautiful course in great condition at time of play. Greens were very smooth and manicured. Fairways well maintained. What I did not like was the drastic elevation changes and blind tee shots on every hole. It was very "gimicky" style golf which does not set up to my eye well. Just my personal opinion but as I stated, the course is in very good shape and very scenic views on every hole.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 78
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

wishlist gratified

I visit Alabama often, but my golfer family members advised against playing RTJ courses as too hard. I'm only an intermediate golfer, don't have a handicap yet, but I LOVED this course.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Awesome

Absolutely awesome day on the course with my son!!!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 310
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Birmingham Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Bunkers need some work

As I've stated in previous reviews of the courses at Oxmoor Valley, one's preference tends to lie in whether you like putting on Bent greens (Ridge) or Bermuda (Valley). I've played both numerous times and both are excellent values. Most players I've talked to seem to lean toward the Ridge. I actually find myself vacillating between which I like best. I've long held the unpopular opinion that the Valley actually had more interesting holes, so recently I considered each course head to head hole by hole, and in my mind the Ridge wins out 10-8. Today I am reviewing the Valley course. Having played the Ridge two days prior, the course is drying out well, thanks largely to heavy winds. Was still CPO though, and all Trail courses are not ideally suited for this anomaly. Club selection is always at a premium on the Trail courses, due to the target-golf nature of the green complexes, but 20+ mph winds complicated that even further. Two things stood out to me as far as the course today: 1. The Valley's Tif-Eagle Bermuda greens, normally outstanding, were what I can best describe as "mossy." They rolled decent, but seemed spongy. I would imagine this is maybe a result of all the water they've taken on in recent weeks. 2. The bunkers have way too much sand in them. I am of the belief that bunkers should be true hazards, but three times I found myself in traps today - two flew into the bunker, one rolled back into a trap - and both instances of flying into the traps left me with buried lies. While this should happen occasionally, it was easy to ascertain that this occurred because of the amount of sand in traps. My playing partner also had this happen on the one occasion he found a trap. Still, this is an excellent track with excellent holes, chock full of shot value and scenic value. Having played both courses in the past 3 days, I would say play the Ridge right now if you have to choose.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
e0acaad0-ec1b-5e2d-bba4-cc80729af06c
Commented on 02/01/2017

Correction: I incorrectly stated that the Valley Course's greens are TifEagle. They are actually TifDwarf Bermuda.

Played On
Reviews 310
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Birmingham Advisor
Top 10 Contributor
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Damp, but same ole roller coaster ride

Course had taken on a lot of rain the past week, so it was super soggy, meaning it played long and was cart-path only. CPO on this course is brutal, but can't blame the course for that - beyond its control. Greens were excellent. Only the heavy rains made them a touch slower than normal, but they were immaculately cared for. These greens usually wear unrepaired or misrepaired pitch marks like a badge of honor, but the staff has done a great job in making them disappear. the rough is dormant so it is basically a non-issue. Collection areas were soggy, as to be expected. Sand was a bit inconsistent - too fluffy in some bunkers, while excellent in others. Again, I will chalk this up to the wet weather. All in all, another fantastic experience at this roller-coaster track.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
e0acaad0-ec1b-5e2d-bba4-cc80729af06c
Commented on 10/24/2017

Yeah, BT, Max and and I were able to talk extensively back in February through direct messaging and have became IG acquaintances. He and some buddies came down and played several of the Trail courses and had a good time. It's starting to go dormant again! That time of year!

d184b637-9e39-516d-b298-c2dcbdea3c79
Commented on 10/24/2017

Appears to be dormant grass in the rough (given the review is from January) and overseeded greens and fairways.

Default User Avatar
Commented on 02/23/2017

Brandon - Appreciate your insights into all the RTJ trail courses.

Question: What's the deal with all the brunt grass on these tracks? Is that a seasonal thing or is AL pension fund cutting some costs?

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Golf Packages

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail – Best of Birmingham Package

FROM $237 (USD)
BIRMINGHAM, AL | Enjoy 4 nights' accommodations at the Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa and 3 rounds of golf at Ross Bridge Golf Club and Oxmoor Valley Golf Club - Ridge & Valley Courses.

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TAMPA, FL | Enjoy 2 nights' accommodations at Saddlebrook Resort and 3 rounds of golf at Saddlebrook Resort - Palmer or Saddlebrook Courses. Includes Preferred Golfer experience.

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FROM $167 (USD)
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Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail – Gadsden Golf Around Package

FROM $197 (USD)
GADSDEN, AL | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at the Hampton Inn - Gadsden and 3 rounds of golf at Silver Lakes Golf Club - Championship & Short Courses.

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail - Capitol Hill Stay & Play Package

FROM $217 (USD)
MONTGOMERY, AL | Enjoy 4 nights' accommodations at the Montgomery Marriott Prattville Hotel at Capitol Hill and 3 rounds of golf at Capitol Hill Golf Club - Senator, Legislator, & Judge Courses.
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