Gulf Region

The Lakewood Club at The Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, an Autograph Collection Hotel, Point Clear Photo by Michael Clemmer

In the Gulf Region of Alabama, experience the history and nightlife of Mobile or the sugar-white sands and clear, blue waters of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. Mobile’s premier golfing facility is the 54-hole RTJ Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove. The Crossings Course is very hilly, featuring numerous pulpit bunkers, huge cloverleaf bunkers, and undulating greens that demand extreme caution. It’s a shotmakers course that demands accuracy both from the tee and at approach. Additionally, the course played host to the LPGA for many years. The Falls Course features one of the most talked-about holes on the entire Trail - the par-five, 570-yard 10th, featuring a waterfall that cascades just below the contoured green. It isn’t as hilly as the Crossings, but it plays a bit longer from the tips. The 18-hole Short Course at Magnolia Grove is considered one of the most challenging on the entire RTJ Golf Trail. On the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay are two of legendary Alabama architect Earl Stone’s most challenging, yet rewarding layouts. At Rock Creek in Fairhope, you’ll be amazed at the incredible changes in elevation for this part of the state. But as challenging as the layout can be, this course treats the high handicapper with great respect.

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The other Earl Stone course is TimberCreek, located in Daphne, just off Interstate 10. This 27-hole layout offers wide, rolling fairways, carved from a dense forest of magnolias, pines and dogwoods. Also on Mobile’s Eastern Shore, is the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, an RTJ Golf Trail resort division property. It was named sixth on Southern Living’s list of “the South’s Best Resorts.” The resort offers the legendary Lakewood Golf Club to visitors to the Eastern Shore. The two courses at Lakewood, Azalea and Dogwood, meander around spring-fed lakes and are framed by stately magnolia, oaks and dogwoods which have been around for quite some time. Perhaps the signature hole at Lakewood is the 14th on the Azalea course, a par-five with a muchphotographed island green. Steeped in history and located on over 500 secluded acres along Mobile Bay, The Grand Hotel offers superb dining, plus many ways to be pampered. The resort has upheld this grand tradition of Southern hospitality, charm and elegance since 1847 and it’s known as the “Grand Dame” of Southern resorts. Coastal Alabama’s sister towns of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach continue to gain popularity with golfers. The area boasts 171 holes of golf within a 15 mile radius, all of which have re-opened after Hurricane Sally paid a visit last fall. Lodging options include beachfront condos and houses, on-site golf condos, as well as traditional hotels. Located on an extraordinary piece of property directly along the Gulf of Mexico, Kiva Dunes is a masterpiece. This Jerry Pate design is arguably the Gulf Coast’s most spectacular layout. It’s the second best course in Alabama, according to GolfPass reviewers and it’s in Golf Digest’s, GOLF® Magazine’s and Golfweek’s top courses lists, as chosen by their professional raters. The layout boasts large, fast greens, huge bunkers are plentiful and the wind and blustery

Rock Creek Golf Club, Fairhope Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club, Gulf Shores

Gulf Shores Golf Club

conditions that prevail along the Gulf of Mexico can make for a tough test. Kiva Dunes underwent a major renovation recently to improve the playability of the course for the average golfer, while retaining the challenges enjoyed by more experienced golfers. With 36 holes of Arnold Palmer signature golf, Craft Farms certainly shaped the golfing landscape in Gulf Shores. The first Palmer design in the area, Cotton Creek, offers a very unique setting. Featuring gently rolling fairways and large undulating greens, it’s very playable from the forward tees and a true test from the tips. It plays over 7,000 yards from the back. The newer of the two Arnold Palmer designs in Gulf Shores is Cypress Bend at Craft Farms. The layout features sprawling bunkers, top-notch greens and year-round lush, green conditions. Earl Stone’s unique design at Peninsula is a 27-hole masterpiece. This course offers generous, elevated Bermuda greens with very subtle undulations and some of the finest white-sand bunkers and waste areas. The splendid beauty weaves its way through and among stately live oaks, natural cypress vegetation and more than 30 sparkling lakes. It is arguably one of the best-conditioned courses in the Gulf Shores area with pristine and generous landing areas and

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RTJ Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove, Mobile

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wonderfully maintained greens. The historic Gulf Shores Golf Club is a local favorite, and arguably the coast’s best value. And just north of the beaches in Foley is Glenlakes Golf Club with an 18-hole, links-style course and a 9-hole resort-style layout. Both are highly regarded by golfers on the Golf Channel’s GolfPass site. Come to Sweet Home Alabama to experience the world’s original golf trail, sample hilly and coastal designs by some of the game’s most creative designers, and you’ll be guaranteed to play some of the best golf in one of the friendliest places on earth. OFF THE COURSE... Don’t miss the USS Alabama Battleship and the Mardi Gras Museum in Mobile; deep sea fishing along the Gulf Coast; The Wharf entertainment complex in Orange Beach; Gulf Shores’ only brewery, Big Beach; and the new OWA theme park in Foley. Sample the food at Dauphin’s, on the 34th floor of the RSA Building overlooking Mobile Bay or the original Wintzell’s Oyster House in Mobile; do Sunday brunch at Marriott’s Grand Hotel in Point Clear; choose the fresh catch at waterfront spots like Cobalt or Voyagers at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, or sample the offerings at the new Perch at Gulf State Park, the Original Oyster House or Lucy Buffett’s restaurant, Lulu’s in Gulf Shores. Visit www.Alabama.Travel for more information.

Cypress Bend at Craft Farms, Gulf Shores