Living large in 'bama

By Matt Ginella April 2009

I've been to Birmingham and back, and everything there is big. I stayed at a big resort, played a big golf course, had big portions of food and was issued speeding tickets (not one, but two) by police officers wearing big hats. "What are you doin' down here?" they each asked after they looked at my New York state driver's license. I've since paid two big fines.

But let me tell you more about my trip.

The 15-year-old Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail comprises 11 locations, 26 courses, 468 holes and 100 miles of golf that weaves through the state like veins. The average green fee during the peak fall and spring months is $50. The highest fee at most courses is $64, and the trail is widely considered a collection of the best value golf in the world.

The trail, which is owned and operated by the Retirement Systems of Alabama and founded by Dr. David G. Bronner, is a big reason for the rise in the state's tourism dollars. "When we started the trail 15 years ago, we brought in $1.8 billion a year in tourism," says Bronner. "Today we're up to $9.3 billion a year."

Some golfers travel the trail and others prefer to hunker down in one spot. I felt a need to do the latter. I stayed and played in and around Birmingham because it was easy to get there by plane, and I was familiar with Ross Bridge, the course that hosts a Champions Tour event in May. Although Ross Bridge has the highest green fee on the trail ($148 during peak season), it's cheaper than most ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ courses in the country, and it offers award-winning, four-diamond lodging.

Map By John Burgoyne
* Star listings from 1 to 5 are derived from readers' Best Places To Play ratings.

As I drove through suburbia, past a church, a park and through a new housing development, I came upon a castle. The Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa opened in 2006 with 259 guest rooms (starting at $189 per night), 11 suites ($300 a night), dining options, and a 12,000-square-foot spa. With its dark-wood interior, formal lobby and bar area, efficient service, spacious rooms and high-speed wireless Internet, it's got a sophisticated feel.

And the Renaissance is right on the golf course. You can access the golf shop from the hotel elevator.

Ross Bridge is the third-longest golf course in the world, and my plan was to play from the tips, for no other reason than to say I did. Then I considered the wind, which was blowing about 15 miles per hour, and the temperature, which was 45 degrees in early November, and the number on the scorecard: 8,191 yards. I stuck my first tee in the ground between the orange markers, which played 6,783 yards.