RTJ Golf Trail ( Silver Lakes)

[BadPudder]

Sunday I went down to the RTJ golf trail in Aniston, AL to play Silver Lakes (SL) part of the golf trail. It was a 2 hour drive from Chattanooga. When we got there they were a little backed up so the pro offered to let us play the 9 hole par 3 for FREE Man this was the nicest Par-3 I have ever seen with every hole over water and the whites measured about 1300 yards.

There are 3 nines at SL, HeartBreaker, BackBreaker, MindBreaker and I can tell you that the names are very appropriate. The course is freakin long, we played the whites and I am a decently long hitter and it ate my lunch. Narrow fairways, all elevated greens with crazy undulation, plenty of well placed hazards. These courses are for 3-woods and irons form the tee.

Overall a very fun course and take your camera for views but be ready to get a little frustrated becuase it is a hard course and hitting into alot of elevated greens means extra club.

Out of 5
Condition:
Greens: 4
Fairways: 5
Rough: 3 (wet in alot of areas, muddy, fairways great, greens great)
Staff: 5++

 

[Bravo]

Bad:

The complex here in Birmingham (Oxmoor Valley) has an 18 hole Par 3 and two 18 hole championship courses - Ridge and Valley. This is very hilly property like Silver Lakes.

I played the Ridge Course one time and will not play it again. It is target golf, where as you described, you need to tee off with irons or a 3 wood. There are huge changes in elevation and while they are beautiful when you are going down - they are brutal when you are going up. The last hole on one of the nines climbs two hundred feet. Imagine teeing off while looking at a 20 story building and thinking - "Ive got two shots to get to the top". While I am a decent golfer, I truly do not have enough control from the tee to play this course and have Fun...I always say, "let the tourists play it".

The Valley course though (like the name) is in a valley and is very very good. I have played it 10 times or so and it is a delight.

Slated to open in 90 days is another 18 hole championship course which will tip out at 8000 yards - Ross Bridge. Supposedly this course was built for PGA play. According to the staff at Oxmoor Valley - this is supposed to be the best RTJ course of all...I'll let you know about it when I play it in June.

One thing I have always heard about in a positive manner is the staff. Treat you like you are a member of a private club...

 

[BadPudder]

How far are you from Chattanooga, TN?

 

[Bravo]

I am two hours away...one hour from Anniston where you played.

Would you like to get together sometime?

 

[BadPudder]

Sure , let me know when is a good time after Easter, I 'll be in Pinehurst with the In-laws playing golf everyday to keep myself busy, Man I,like the Pinnehurst area. It took me 2 hours to get to Anisston to play Silver Lakes. I am sure the guys I played with would like to come down and try some of the other RTJ courses. Have you played Hampton Cove?

 

[Bravo]

I haven't played Hampton Cove but I have heard great things about it.

Overall, the consensus is the best RTJ complex is outside of Montgomery - about an hour south of Birmingham. One of these courses is the annual home of the Nationwide Tour Championship - held in the Fall..

An interesting thing about our area here is we have the RTJ facility and other public courses which are rated higher or at least equal to the RTJ courses.

Limestone Springs is rated higher by Golf Digest than all of the RTJ courses. It is on I-59, from Chattanooga.

http://www.limestonesprings.com/newpage.asp?id=3&page=12

Also here is a firstclass municipal course we could play...

http://www.ballantraegolf.com/

And a facility that is used for turfgrass research.

http://www.farmlinksgolfclub.com/view.asp?id=4&page=17

 

[Bama Duffer]

Hampton Cove is a nice layout. Not as hilly as you'd expect in North Alabama. Last time I was there, though, the greens were pretty pock-marked. I was told that it's because HC is played by every tourist that comes into the state to play golf due to its location and the greens don't have time to repair themselves. Whatever the reason, it's the only RTJ course I've played where the greens, while not bad per se, drew complaints due to condition. (I've heard lots of complaints about the RTJ greens for other, more golf related, reasons.)

I'll vouch for the facility outside Montgomery. I'm not a country club member, so if I have a home course, this is mine. I play here more than any other course. Like all the RTJ facilities I've played, it's long. It has three 18s, the Senator, the Legislator and the Judge.

The Senator is supposedly a Scottish-links style course. Since I haven't played in Scotland, all I can say is that it is different from most courses around here. Lots of moguls, pot bunkers, and narrow fairways. More target golf. Not as much as the Ridge, but it requires pretty accurate shots. And if you're off the fairway, you can give up your ball. You aren't going to find many in the mid-thigh high rough. This is the course the Nationwide tour plays.

The Legislator is a nice lay-out. But one of my favorite courses anywhere is the Judge. Every hole seems to offer a different challenge and it has some fantastic views. I think the RTJ folks generally use the view from the first tee of the Judge as their signature hole.

I've only played Ballentrae once, a couple of weeks ago, but I enjoyed it even though the weather was horrible. I don't think the temperature got above the mid40's. A cold, foggy, drizzly day. I think we were the only foursome on the course. But I agree that it is a very good course.

And I've heard some great comments about Farmlinks. It's supposed to be a pretty unique experience.

 

[BadPudder]

Would Hampton Cove be worth the 2-hour drive to play it or would we be let down due to the green conditions? Also what is up with the River course and no bunkers?

 

[Bama Duffer]

It's been a couple of years since I played it, so the greens may be in better shape now. And it wasn't like the greens were burned, just pretty obviously over-played. But I don't think you'll be disappointed, regardless. The only think that has disappointed me on any of the Trail courses has been my own play.

We played the Highlands Course, though, so I'm not familiar with the River. I just went to the RTJ web site and it sure says there aren't any bunkers. I didn't even realize that. I understand there's a lot of water running on the River course, so that's probably where the hazards are. I've got a tournament back at Hampton Cove in May and I'll try to check it out then. It'll probably be back on the Highlands, but I'm going to try to get a look at the River.