Grab your clubs

When the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail came calling to the Shoals, it added the crown jewels to an already excellent array of public and semi-private golf courses in the area.

Some people might say that the 36-hole RTJ Golf Trail facility in Ford City is the filet mignon of local golf.

Others, like Blackberry Trail head professional Joel Gafford, have another way of putting it.

“It’s the Cadillac,” he said. “It’s the show dog around these parts.”

It certainly is. When it opened in late 2004, the Fighting Joe course was named one of the best new affordable public course in the country.

The Schoolmaster, which opened a year later, also has played to rave reviews.

But, as Gafford points out, there’s plenty of bang for a golfer’s buck throughout the Shoals – including south Tennessee and some of the surrounding Alabama counties.

“For where we are located, there is plenty of good golf,” he said. “After the Trent Jones courses, you’ve got us, Joe Wheeler, Cypress Lakes. And the Bear Trace course at Clifton (Tenn.) is as good of a course as you will find anywhere. It’s great for golfers to have that kind of selection. It all depends on how much you’re willing to spend.”

Even the acclaimed RTJ Golf Trail courses aren’t out of reach of the resident golfer or the frequent or occasional Shoals visitor.

Fighting Joe, the links-style RTJ offering that is among the longest courses in the world at 8,092 yards, was named by Travel and Leisure magazine as among the top 10 best new public facilities in 2004, and also was rated No. 8 in the top 10 new public courses.

In 2006, Golf Digest listed it at No. 4 among the new public facilities. The course isn’t just good, it’s tough, too. At least that’s what Golf Digest had to say in early 2007, when it tapped Fighting Joe at No. 27 on its top 50 list of America’s toughest courses. Two other RTJ properties – the Backbreaker-Heartbraker loop – and the Champions Tour host site at Ross Bridge – are also in the Top 50 at Nos. 22 and 39 respectively.

Golf Digest described Fighting Joe this way: Another Trent Jones killer, named for (Gen. Joe Wheeler, the only Confederate general to attain the same rank later in the U.S. Army. Good thing the ninth hole (a par 3 over water) doesn’t return to the clubhouse, because many golfers would probably surrender at the turn. Fighting Joe always wins.

Equally as impressive as the ninth hole, is the stunning finishing hole – a picture postcard par 3 that plays over a ravine with a stunning view of Wilson Lake.

“We want golfers to remember the quality of the Trail courses and their experience in Alabama,” said Robert Bronner, whose vision and position as chairman and CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama helped put the plan for the RTJ Golf Trail in motion.

“Robert Trent Jones came out of retirement to design these courses and his courses remain some of the best in the world,” Bronner said.

Schoolmaster – named for President Woodrow Wilson, who was instrumental in the construction of nearby Wilson Dam, is a more traditional layout than the links-style Fighting Joe, but equally impressive. Cut from the native hardwoods, Schoolmaster’s most picturesque hole is No. 14 – a downhill par 4 with a large lake that runs the entire length of the right side of the hole and forest to the left.

Each county in Northwest Alabama has more than its share of good golf, however.

Private courses include Turtle Point, a spectacular Robert Trent Jones design on Wilson Lake that has hosted events such as the SEC Golf Championship and the Alabama State Amateur, and Florence Country Club, where PGA Tour professional Stewart Cink got his start. Tennessee Valley Country Club is a nine-hole layout in Tuscumbia.

On the public-access and semi-private side, Lauderdale County features Blackberry Trail, which is a fun layout that is owned by the city of Florence. Located just minutes from downtown Florence, Blackberry Trail is walker-friendly but challenging with water that comes into play on nine of its 18 holes.

The course at Joe Wheeler State Park is a treat – a tough layout that plays to 7,000-plus yards – in that it’s not uncommon to walk up on a tee box and spot a herd of deer grazing in the fairway or watching the action from the tree-lined fairways.

The Golf Club, a user-friendly short layout in Anderson, completes the Lauderdale County public offerings.

Muscle Shoals is home to Cypress Lakes, a semi-private club that has hosted Tear Drop and Futures tour events. Known for its large bent grass greens, Cypress Lakes requires accurate tee shots and precision wedge play. No. 7, a 200-yard par 3 to an island green, remains one of the scariest tee shots in the Shoals.

The fairways at Twin Pines Country Club, located just south of the Quad Cities in Littleville, are flanked with pine trees. The short, straightforward layout makes it possible to shoot a low score. Stray from the fairway, however, and watch your score soar.

There’s more than meets the eye at the Redmont Country Club, a semi-private course in Red Bay, an excellent offering in a rural area, while Spring Park, a 9-hole course owned by Tuscumbia, is an enjoyable place to play.

A variety of courses are located within a short drive of the Quad Cities. The best is Ross Creek Landing in Clifton, Tenn. An hour’s drive north into Tennessee, Ross Creek Landing is a Jack Nicklaus design that is considered the gem of the Bear Trace courses that are part of the Tennessee State Parks system. Ross Creek Landing has perhaps the toughest finishing stretch of holes in the area, concluding with the 460-yard monster par 4.

A little closer to home is Clax Branch, a quirky 18-hole course in Loretto, Tenn., that features excellent greens.

Two public courses in Lawrence County are worth the 30-minute drive from the Shoals. Deer Run (Moulton) and Valley Landing (Courtland) are both solid and fun tests for players of all skill levels.