The Loop

Deal of the Week: Only football teams don't want to visit Alabama in the winter

December 05, 2014

The Robert Trent Jones Trail's marketing conceit is straightforward: Promote the collection of 11 RTJ-designed courses owned in the state by Retirement Systems of Alabama and generate visits from golfers from both within and beyond the region.

The quality of golf along the Trail is uniformly good, and you won't go wrong booking a time at any of them. But some have better deals than others over winter, when temperatures are in the high 50s and low 60s. Ross Bridge is conveniently located just outside Birmingham, and it has a 260-room Renaissance resort attached to it.

Considering the course runs 8,100 yards from the tips, its Ketel One winter package is apropos. From now until Dec. 31, you can get two rounds of golf, a room at the resort, a gift bag filled with apparel and balls and vouchers for two Ketel One drinks for rates starting at $380.

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Save the vodka for the bonkers ninth hole, a roller-coaster 518-yard par-4 from the tips that's protected by a lake, a waterfall and a fairway bunker magnetized to attract ProV1s. The Champions Tour last played an event here in 2010, and some of the older guys are just now finishing up on 18.

If you're looking to make a weekend out of it (assuming you still have balls left), fellow Trail member Oxmoor Valley is next door in Birmingham, and it has two championship courses of its own--the Ridge and Valley--built on mountainous former U.S. Steel property. You can book an unlimited play winter day rate of $77 at either course through February 8.