Alabama

My Town: Stewart Cink

A former major champion offers some reasons to consider North Alabama for your next golf trip

The Schoolmaster works its way through the topography of the Tennessee Valley.

Stewart Cink

Golf r�sum�: Turned pro in 1995; earned PGA Tour card in 1996 after winning Nationwide Tour player of the year honors; six-time PGA Tour winner.
Major factor: His playoff victory over Tom Watson at the 2009 British Open was Cink's ninth top-10 finish in a major.
Tweet, tweet: Cink ranks among the most popular golfers on Twitter with more than 1.2 million followers.

CINK'S FAVORITES

Dining:

I'm a BBQ guy, and where I grew up, they specialized in BBQ county by county, varying by local tastes. One of the most famous places is Big Bob Gibson's in Decatur. It's legendary in Alabama...Downtown in Florence is Trowbridges Ice Cream and Sandwich bar. It's been there since I was a kid. It has the quintessential shakes and chilidogs. It's such a soda shop. They've built plenty of Cracker Barrels in the area, but this has stood the test of time.

Music:
The Shoals area isn't too far from Memphis (about a three-hour drive), so jazz is big around there. Each July, the W.C. Handy Music Festival is held in Florence. It's named for the famed jazz musician who is from the town.

By Tim Rosaforte

Photo by Michael Clemmer

November 1, 2010

Stewart Cink left the shoals of North Alabama for Georgia Tech in the 1990s and never moved back, making his home in Atlanta and raising his family at the TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga. That doesn't mean the 2009 British Open champion forgot where he came from -- or what to do when he returns.

With fond memories of his youth, the 37-year-old recalls the area's rustic atmosphere while serving as tour guide for a homecoming that includes two 8,000-yard courses on the Tennessee River, the best barbeque in the South, a music festival and a historic dam, along with a day trip to Huntsville for a fascinating look at traveling to space.

COURSES
There are two courses that recently opened that are affordable and the newest members of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail -- The Shoals. One's called Fighting Joe, named after Joseph Wheeler, the only Confederate general to attain the same rank in the post-war U.S. army. It's more of a links-style layout compared to the other course, the Schoolmaster, which was the nickname for President Woodrow Wilson, who helped get the nearby Wilson Dam built. The Schoolmaster works its way through the topography of the Tennessee Valley. Both are big courses, although the yardages from the tips (8,092 and 7,971 yards, respectively) are a little bit of a gimmick. Still, both are very nice.

I grew up playing Florence G&CC, which closed after 83 years last Dec. 31. Now, the best private club to play is Turtle Point Yacht and CC in Killen. It's where I have my charity tournament, the Healing Place Charity Championship. If you're around in June, you can sign up. It sells out a month in advance, but if you enter as a single early enough, well make room.

WHERE TO STAY
It's hard to beat the Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa in Florence. It was built in the last 10 years and ranks among the top 10 Marriott spas in North America. Plus there's lots for kids to do.

DON'T MISS
Right beside the Marriott is the Wilson Dam, which is an old TVA project. They have a tour that gives the history of hydroelectric power...About a 90-minute drive away in Huntsville is the National Space and Rocket Center. Kids take field trips there; even the Atlanta kids go. We lived there through kindergarten, and I could see the rockets from my backyard. It's cool for kids to go and experience anti-gravity and see the old Saturn rockets and how massive they were.

Big Bob Gibson's (left, courtesy of restaurant) in Decatur is legendary in Alabama. Marriott Shoals Hotel + Spa (right, courtesy of hotel) in Florence ranks among the top 10 Marriott spas in North America.