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4.7
70 Reviews (70)
5 Stars
48
4 Stars
16
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
1
Conditions
4.9
Value
4.6
Layout
5.0
Friendliness
5.0
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.8
98.9%
Recommend this course
64 out of 70 reviews
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Average Rating
Avg Rating
0
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
0
Value
0
Layout
0
Friendliness
0
Pace
0
Amenities
0
0%
Recommend this course
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
1 Reviews (1)
5 Stars
0
4 Stars
1
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
5.0
Value
5.0
Layout
5.0
Pace
2.0
Amenities
1.0
StaffFriendliness
5.0
100.0%
Recommend this course
1 out of 1 reviews
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About

Holes 18
Type Public
Style Links
Par 72
Length 7311 yards
Slope 142
Rating 75.2

Course Details

Year Built 1993
Golf Season Year round
Architect Robert Trent Jones, Sr. (1993) Roger Rulewich (1993)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - $20
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

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

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Bar, Snacks, Grill

Available Facilities

Spa

Accolades

Reviews

4.7
70 Reviews (70)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 7
Course Challenges Include:
Undulating Greens 10
Bunkers 9
Elevation Changes 9
This course/club is great for:
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 9
Advanced Golfers 8
Group Getaways 8
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 8

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 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great golf and better views

The Lakes course was in great shape! The staff was very helpful with pairing me with some better players. We were allowed to play from the tips without slowing down the groups behind us. The course has some amazing views and I had plenty of time to relax and enjoy them. Overall I had a great experience and will be telling all my friends that this is a must play. Not he only recommendation I would make for people playing the course for the first time, buy one of the yardage books for $8 in the pro shop. It was a stroke saver!!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Great Experience

Overall the course is beautiful and in great shape. The par 3 course was a fun challenge and I look forward to going back to play the regulation courses. Range was nice too. Student discount a plus.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Beautiful but challenging.

The course is in great condition but one of the most challenging courses around. The greens were super fast.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

This place is great

A superb course in design and playability. Well maintained and ready for the Barbasol Open in July 2015. I can't believe how many whiny people there are in golf these days. Driving range is closed for 2 hours. Slow play when I booked my tee time at 1:30. Call the whambulance. The RTJ Golf Trail is the best value in golf in the USA.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Disappointed

We had high hopes for playing the links course earlier this week; unfortunately, those were not realized!
First, the good things: The course is beautiful and in great shape! Facilities are nice and the cart service was friendly and adequate. Jim, one of the marshals on the course, stood out and was responsible for salvaging our day. Thank you, Jim!
Now, the other things: Our tee time was at 1:30. We arrived a few minutes after noon and the place is packed! We check in and are greeted with a semi- warm response. We ask for some range balls as we arrived in plenty of time to warm up and are informed that the driving range is closed in the middle of the day on Tuesdays… We are disappointed because that offers us no chance to work the kinks out after driving 3 hours to get to Opelika. The person checking us in barely offered us a smile. Not what I expect from a pro shop employee at an expensive golf course (or any golf course for that matter). Oh well, we go to the bar and have one beer, them mosey down to the putting green which is nice. The views are beautiful. We go to the 1st hole we find out that there are two outings being played that day (a Tuesday). Unfortunately, our tee time placed us directly behind one of those outings. The starter hopes that we are not in a hurry as it is going to be a long afternoon. He is right. Two hours later, we are on the fifth hole, after having to wait for every shot. We are about to quit because the pace is so slow. That’s when Jim shows up and asks if we would like to move ahead of this outing, play the course out of order but not have to wait! Yes! We skip ahead and play #15-18, then drive to #6 and catch up with the group again on #12. The outing had not completed 12 holes in over 4.5 hours. We quit playing at that point, but at least got to play 15 holes (thanks to Jim). The pro shop should not schedule tee times that close to an outing!
Even if the pace had not been so painfully slow, I did not really enjoy playing the course. It is very hilly and the majority of approach shots are severely uphill, leaving you with a blind approach. The greens are large with several levels and in good shape but often surrounded by large mounds so missing the green by 5 yards might result in a 30 yard pitch after the ball bounces hard away from the greens. The course plays very long, even from the white tees!
After we quit and passed the outing in front of us, we were surrounded by a group of guys waiting on us to finish. Almost before we can stop the cart, a young man is behind us placing our head covers on clubs, etc. Please let us get our, keys, wallets etc. out of our bags without having to reach around you! I hate when that happens! He never said hello, asked about our round, or anything. The only thing he said was when he asked if we wanted to carry our bags to our car or if he should leave them at the bag drop. We tipped him and got the car, only to find that he had not even bothered to clean our irons. Wow!
Overall, a big disappointment! Things seemed to be more about getting our money than us enjoying our experience. This was my first time at one of the R.T. Jones trail courses. Not sure I will ever try another.

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
1.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Bad Experience at Grand National

We booked an early afternoon t-time on a Tuesday. We arrived early to have time for lunch and practice range. We were informed that the driving range was close on Tuesday from Noon-2pm (our t-time was 1:30). We also became aware there was a large group outing. In fact there were two large groups our t-time followed one of them on the Links Course. A twosome following a scramble event is miserable. The only positive experience of the entire day was when the starter (Jim) came and found us finishing the 4th hole (1.5 hours into our round!!). He offered to take us to a hole on back nine that would place us in front of the group and we could circle back around and hopefully complete 18 before dark. It worked great until we caught up with the group again when we circled back around and were only able to finish 15 holes. What made this disappointing day worse was the poor customer service and bad attitude of all staff members with whom we interacted except for the starter (Jim). From check-in (being informed about the closed driving range and oh, by the way, you're behind a group outing) to our lunch in the grill, to our unloading our bags at the end, no one exhibited friendly or customer service oriented attitudes. It is a great course, but based on the poor customer service, I would not go back and do not recommend Grand National to any of my golfing friends.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
2.0
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Pace of play is not a priority

Fine course, complex, and lodging close-by (Marriott) as you would come to expect from any RTJ trail facility. Pace of play ruined our experience last weekend. It was a problem in each of the 3 rounds we played. Each was a 5.5 hour experience. Usually stacked groups on every tee box. Very little to no marshal involvement. When we did see a marshal in our final round they told us the pace of play issues were caused by a large group of 20. They could not ask them to speed up or skip a hole because they had been there since Thursday and had spent a lot of money. Not what you would expect from a resort course. Very disappointing.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

A nice course

Challenging course though not a true links layout. The greens were excellent the fairways had been punched earlier in the week so they were not a their peak. Lots of bunkers, tough undulating greens. First time playing adds 7-10 strokes.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great Day

Really was impressed with the facilities, friendliness of the staff and outstanding course conditions. Thank you for the beautiful day.

Dale

ps: See you again next year!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great experience

Like other RTJ Trail courses, this one is an excellent value and was in great shape. The greens had been top-dressed following an aerification, but needle times were used and they rolled true and not too slow. I had 28 putts. Every hole has unique features. 8 holes border or cross inlets on the huge lake, and there's water on two more, a small pond alongside the double green for 1 and 7. The 15th and 16th holes are worthy of a "signature" label, but I like the 12th, a risk-reward par 5 along the lake. If you want to go for the green in two, you have to hit over more water and aim at some fairway bunkers. The 15th is an "island" green par 3 much like 17 at TPC Sawgrass, but it's 230 from the tips and the green is wide and shallow like the 12th at Augusta. 16 is a short dogleg par 4 with the lake in the dogleg, another risk-reward hole for big hitters. Nice clubhouse and pro shop, friendly staff, beautiful natural surroundings.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Will definitely return!

Friendly and helpful staff. I had a tee time or 8:30 but they advised going a half hour earlier to play by myself for speed. I am a speed player anyway. I finished in just over 3 hours. I took my time and enjoyed the beautiful scenery today. The fairways were well groomed and soft dirt so divots were easy to take. Two buckets of sand on the new carts was well used. The greens held shots well and the flag locations at position 3 today were very accessible, yet hidden conveniently behind a lot of hazards. They say these greens are like fortress', But RTJ seems to leave a drawbridge down for the player if they are willing to sacrifice going for the stick every time. The Bermuda rough around the green was like velcro. Although it was cut short, putting out of it was still nasty. Chipping provided better results.Would definitely recommend and will return.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

Beautiful layout

The fairways were over seeded, greens were in great condition, and all traps had fine sand & consistent. I've played many courses throughout the southeast and would rate it at or near the top of my list. I look forward to playing other RTJ Golf Trail courses in Alabama.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 38
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Great Course will come back during the summer

Played during Thanksgiving vacation week in Nov 2013.
Course took 4hrs to navigate on a very lite day.
Course definitely will take a few rounds to learn how certain holes have to be played relative to lay-ups and placement of approach shots. Course fairways were overseeded (rare for this area) Definitely plan to schedule a visit back in the spring when the course is in summer condition.

For course in winter kill shape, it was still in better shape than a lot of courses I play during the summer.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

The RTJ (Grand National course) is a great course for all level golfers.

Really enjoyed my weekend of golf at RTJ Grand National courses. Looking forward to returning to the course. The staff was extremely friendly and the course was in great condition. A Golfer's paradise!

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

excellent

very scenic and challenging one of the best courses i have played

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Got rained out and they hooked us up with a rain check. As always, one of the nicest courses to play in the SE.

Great course! Friendly staff. Awesome facilities. One of the best public courses in the SE.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 12
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Smell the coffee

Many places on this property to remember why we play the game! One more rjt masterpiece

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Starter with local knowledge, excellent greens

The Lake course was uncrowded, even for Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. My wife and I finished in under 4 hours, even with waiting on groups in front of us on the last three holes. Having never played the course, the starter was very helpful with pointing out a few "be careful" spots around the course. Practice facility is very nice, but a long cart drive from the clubhouse. We will definitely go back to try out the Links course.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 24
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Amazing how they do it

It is amazing how they offer these pristine courses and country club service at these prices. This facility is beautiful, and expertly maintained. Everything is close to perfect, and the staff treat everyone like honored guests.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 18
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Great Course, Great Price, Great Time

Played the Links Course on a weekday, by myself, did not hurry, 2 groups let me play through, finished in approx 3 hours. Fairways were generous, greens moderate speed and generally not flat, some with 2 levels. Would definitely play again.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
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Golf Packages

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail – Grand National Stay & Play Package

FROM $217 (USD)
OPELIKA, AL | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort & Spa at Grand National and 3 rounds of golf at Grand National Golf Club - Lakes, Links, & 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.

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail – Greenville Golf Around Package

FROM $197 (USD)
GREENVILLE, AL | Enjoy 3 nights' accommodations at the Holiday Inn Express - Greenville and 2 rounds of golf at Cambrian Ridge Golf Club.

Saddlebrook Preferred Golfer Experience Package

FROM $217 (USD)
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.

Saddlebrook Value Golfer Experience Package

FROM $167 (USD)
TAMPA, FL | Enjoy 2 nights' accommodations at Saddlebrook Resort and 2 rounds of golf at Saddlebrook Resort - Palmer or Saddlebrook Courses. Includes Value Golfer experience.
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