Ross Bridge (RTJGT)

Guest (cart included), played on Monday, June 2022 at 12:00 PM

Birmingham Alabama has a lot of options for golfers, both residents, and visitors. There are nearly 40 public, private and municipal courses within a 20-mile radius of downtown Birmingham, including the infamous Shoal Creek Club, designed by Jack Nicklaus which has hosted a couple of PGA Championships, as well as several courses accessible to the public. Arguably, none are as fine as Ross Bridge and the two championship courses at Oxmoor Valley.

Ross Bridge and Oxmoor Valley are part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, the largest golf course construction project ever attempted. The trail was the brainchild of Dr. David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama whose “build it and they will come” mentality paid off.

The RTJ Golf Trail consists of 469 holes of championship golf on 26 golf courses at 11 sites across the state of Alabama. Some sites have multiple 18-hole layouts, others offer several 9-hole courses. Some are executive-length courses, some will make the best golfers in the world cringe. Some are affiliated with neighboring hotels, some are stand-alone. But one thing they all have in common is that they were designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr and use the natural topography of the land. Whether you’re playing one of the many championship layouts or a “short course,” all are immaculately maintained!

Over the years I have had the opportunity to play several of the RTJ Trail courses and ultimately my goal is to play them all. Ross Bridge is my favorite and has been for many years. From the back (Black) tees, Ross Bridge plays 8,191 yards and is one of the longest golf courses in the world; thankfully there is more than one set of tees. In fact, there are 5 sets of tees offering several manageable distances: Purple (7,446), Orange (6,783), White (6,200), and Teal (5,312). It was cart path only the day we played so we opted for White, not that perfect weather would have made any difference!

The first two holes can either make your day or have you looking for the beverage cart early in the round. Ross Bridge starts you off with one of my favorite holes. The Par 5, 1st hole plays 511 yards and is handicapped #3 for men and #1 for women. The large pond that comes into play on your layup and approach shots creates somewhat of a double dogleg and makes you choose between carrying your layup shot over the water or laying up short of it. Either way, you’re looking at an uphill/blind approach shot into an elevated green guarded in front by two large, cavernous bunkers.

After your uphill climb from the first green to the second tee box, you’ll be happy to know that the 2nd hole is significantly downhill and, from the White tees, Number 2 plays a mere 322 yards. It’s a dogleg left with trees and sand at the corner of the dogleg that can be carried with a good drive. Most players opt for something less than a driver off the tee and play their shot slightly right of the left-hand fairway bunker. It’s a safe strategy unless you hit it too far and go through the fairway. Success off the tee will leave a short pitch into one of Ross Bridge’s smallest greens guarded on the right by sand and left and long by that pond you dealt with on the first hole. Pars or better on both of these holes will have your day off to a great start.

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail offers some incredible Stay & Play packages. The Renaissance Ross Bridge offers golfers the chance to relax in the style and comfort associated with the Renaissance Hotel group. Each room and suite is equipped with elegant furnishings, luxurious bedding, and a private balcony that offers astonishing views of Alabama’s hilly countryside. Whether you’re looking for breakfast, dinner, or something in between, you have several dining venues on the property to choose from including Brock's, The Clubhouse Restaurant, and JT's Lounge. Other hotel amenities include a 24-hour fitness center and indoor and outdoor swimming pools. There is also a full-service spa to help you rejuvenate after tackling those monster links.

For more information on these or any of the other amazing properties along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, visit them online

$126 (cart included), played on Friday, May 2019 at 7:00 AM

Ross Bridge is the signature course on the Robert Trent Jones Trail. It is more expensive at around $140 when compared to around $85 for other Trail courses. It is worth it, Yes! This is an amazing site as they seemed to have purchase twice the amount of land that is normally needed to build a golf course. Every hole is immense with wide fairways and lots of room around the entire hole. The vistas are impressive with views of huge lakes, rolling fairways, and the dense trees around the perimeter of the site. The course was in perfect shape with fast and very smooth greens, perfect bunkers, and bermuda fairways that were pure like putting greens. The staff is great too! We made this our final round of our 9 round Trail experience and what a great way to end the trip. Note: the back tees can stretch to about 8,000 yards so take a good look at the scorecard before choosing tee boxes. We picked orange at 6800 yards or so and that was very enjoyable. (This is the one RTJ Trail site with only one course but the Oxmoor Valley site is only a mile away with two 36 hole excellent layouts)

$76 (cart included), played on Thursday, August 2016 at 8:09 PM

LOVE. THIS. COURSE. The Staff are the nicest and truly want to be of help. Nice touch having an ambassador bring chilled towels a couple of times per side since it was in the mid 90's. I played this course twice in Aug and just love the layout. Challenging hills and pretty. Course is in great shape except a few greens had some burnt spots but rolled fast. I played the best round of my life there last week so that score card (77) is being saved! I will be back for sure! Love the hotel too!

$56 (cart included), played on Tuesday, March 2012 at 10am

One of the better RJ courses. We were treated like we just entered a private club. Great experience and value.

$101 (cart included), played on Friday, May 2012 at 6am

We travel every year to play this course and stay at the Ross Bridge resort. Best course around and great accommodations. 25 minutes to the Birmingham airport and nightlife. 2 other RTJ courses within 5 minutes. 3 others within 1 hours drive. Great golf trip destination.

$126 (cart included), played on Sunday, April 2011 at 10am

Great course but not worth the price difference over the other RTJ courses. The staff was ok, but not nearly as excellent as other Trail courses. We have played all the trail courses except for Lakewood and had saved this for last. Great course, fun to play, but I would not pay for this one again. Too many others that are great at a better price. I am glad I played, but is a one time affair.

$126 (cart included), played on Sunday, April 2011 at 10am

Great course but not worth the price difference over the other RTJ courses. The staff was ok, but not nearly as excellent as other Trail courses. We have played all the trail courses except for Lakewood and had saved this for last. Great course, fun to play, but I would not pay for this one again. Too many others that are great at a better price. I am glad I played, but is a one time affair.

Do Not Recall (cart included), played on Saturday, April 2011 at 6am

Played as part of 3-day golf trip as part of group, so do not know the specific price for this course. I am confident it is toward the upper end of the ranges from which one can choose. We played this course twice on Saturday, and enjoyed it both times. Very enjoyable layout, looks like it is wide open, but there are plenty of ways to get in trouble if your shot is off line (or short, on par 3s). I would definitely recommend this as one of the best on the RTJ Trail courses, and there are some outstanding courses included there. This is the second trip our group has taken to play RTJ Trail courses, and I suspect it will not be the last.

$76 (cart included), played on Friday, March 2009 at noon

AWESOME....will play again in near future. This course will be in excellent shape by the time the Regions Senior tournament arrives in town.

$101 (cart included), played on Wednesday, April 2008 at 10am

This course is one of the best on the Robert Trent Jones Trail. Although this course is priced higher than the rest on the Trail, it is definitely a treat to play. It is a big feeling course, but doesn't play excessively long. There are over 8 mi of cart path, soit takes a while to get around all 18 holes. Beautiful views around the lake.