The Loblolly nine, with its gently rolling fairways, cathedral-like pines, and water-fronted greens, exudes a stately, Augusta-like quality.

The Canyon nine, carved from former hunting grounds where deer blinds remain nailed to the hardwood, is a thrilling stretch of target-style golf beginning with the first hole, a 501 yard par four that drops 200 feet from tee to fairway.

The Sherling nine may be the best nine on the entire trail. Drama takes center stage at Sherling's ninth hole which marches straight uphill past a deep ravine strewn with ochre boulders to a lolling tongue of a double green shared with the ninth on the Canyon nine. Above this green is a clubhouse set atop the highest point in Butler county, its verandah serving up expansive 30-mile views of Southern forest land.

The Short Course is a marvelous collection of par three holes laid out beautifully between the ridge and Sherling lake.

The Senator is a traditional Scottish-style layout. Over 150 pot-hole bunkers are situated throughout the 18 holes, and mounds 20 to 40 feet in height engulf the landscape, cleverly hiding the cart path or any other hole from the fairway. The Senator's bent-grass greens provide exceptional conditions every month of the year. The Senator is also home to the LPGA's Navistar Classic.

The other two championship courses are very different in appearance. The Legislator, a more traditional course, plays in and out of pine trees along a bluff. The view riding down the "Sky Bridge" for six holes laid out in a native cypress swamp will impress as you are led back up the bluff to finish the course at the spectacular clubhouse.

The Judge plays alongside the 200 acre glistening backwaters of the Alabama River. The first tee lies 200 feet above the fairway overlooking the Alabama River and the skyline of Montgomery. With 14 holes adjoining the water and a stunning bulkhead island green, the Judge is described as simply magnificent and provides some of the most spectacular scenery and golf holes in the world.

Grand National, by all reports, was the single greatest site for a golf complex Robert Trent Jones, Sr. had ever seen. Built on Lake Saugahatchee, 32 of the 54 holes drape along its filigreed shores. The cornerstone of the complex is the Links Course, which is without a single weakness. The par-four 18th might be the strongest finishing hole on the Trail. The drive must carry a corner of the lake, while the approach is played to a shallow pedestal green shored up by boulders.

With 12 holes hugging the shore, Grand National's Lake Course is every bit as scenic as the Links. Not only is the quartet of par threes as good as any in the nation, the 230-yard, island green 15th may be the single prettiest hole on the Trail.

The Short Course is a thing of beauty, with more than half the holes touching the lake. This 18-hole course of one-shotters might be the finest anywhere on the planet, according to some golf writers.

At the northern terminus of the Trail in Huntsville is Hampton Cove, a 54-hole facility with terrain that drastically changes from one side of the property to the other. The Highlands Course, which emulates a Scottish Links, is one of the gems of the Trail. Thousands of Japanese black pines, oaks, dogwoods, and crepe myrtles have been planted to enhance such features as an old mule barn beside the fifth hole. Completely opposite is the River Course, the only Robert Trent Jones layout without a single bunker. The River Course is laid out on former soybean fields in the flood plain of the Flint River. The River is a throwback to the way courses were built long ago - the dirt was merely pushed up to create the greens and tees, leaving all else, including massive oak trees, as is. The enormous black oak behind the 18th green is reputed to be the third oldest in the state at 250 years. The Short Course at Hampton Cove is very open and links-like, with water in play on 11 holes and a large double green accommodating the 10th and 17th greens

Located in the southeast corner of Alabama, Highland Oaks features some of the longest and most classically designed holes on the Trail. Highlands, the core nine, is relatively open, with several lakes in play. The peninsula green at the par 3 sixth has an elusive, beckoning quality.

Marshwood has been made famous (or notorious) by its behemoth par 5 sixth, which stretches to 701 yards from the tips. The 422 yard par 4 ninth, a left to right dogleg, is arguably the best hole at the site and has a tilted green elevated above a swathe of wetlands.

The Magnolia nine is well named: specimen magnolia trees dot the higher ground, which is reached via a 1,000 foot long wooden bridge spanning a marsh filled with lichen-dappled trees. The feature hole is the ninth, a 451 yard par 4 that brings you back to the clubhouse and is guarded by a large pond.

The nine-hole Short Course, has demanding bunker placements, three water holes and possibly the best putting Bermuda greens in the South.

The property at Magnolia Grove includes creeks, marshland, and lakes, with each of the 54 holes carded from a thick forest of hardwood and pine.
The main tract is The Falls, which is characterized by large, liberally contoured greens and massive, cloverleaf bunkers. On the 10th, a 570 yard par 5 and possibly the best strategic hole on the course, a waterfall cascades across stair steps just beneath a contoured green that falls eight feet from front to back.

The Crossings, which doubles across railroad tracks is a shotmaker's layout. It occupies hillier terrain than the Falls, with several pulpit greens elevated well above fairway levels. The Crossings is also home to the LPGA's Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions.

Most of the holes on the Short Course, recently named the best par 3 course in America, call for forced carries over marsh to liberally sloped, bulk headed greens and are equal to any of the one-shotters on the full-length courses.

Sculpted from the peaks and valleys of the Appalachians, Oxmoor Valley offers scenic forests, numerous creeks and challenging elevation changes.
The Ridge Course, with its rolling fairways, heavy tree cover and precipitous 150-foot elevation changes, is incredibly photogenic. As a reminder of the site's former use as mining land, the green at the par 5 twelfth is buttressed by a shelf of exposed shale rock.
The Valley Course is dotted with picturesque lakes and stretches two miles downrange along a slender valley. The 18th hole, a 441 yard par 4, nicknamed "The Assassin," rises to a dramatic finish at the signature clubhouse just behind the green.
The Short Course at Oxmoor Valley is a delightful collection of 18 pure one-shotters which offer sever elevation changes and almost every hole playing downhill. The Short Course is listed by Golf Digest's Places to Play as one of the nation's Great Value courses.

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Ross Bridge is just two miles from the existing 54-hole complex at Oxmoor Valley in Birmingham, but it is light years away from the expected or ordinary. A big, muscle-bound course, its 18 holes sprawling over 330 acres and stretching almost 8,200 yards from the back tees, Ross Bridge is big and brawny, yet inviting to golfers of all skill levels.

The course meanders through indigenous landscape and around the 262-room Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa. Designed for tournament play, Ross Bridge is symbolic of an old parkland style course. Ten holes play along the banks of two man-made lakes connected by a spectacular waterfall dropping 80 feet between the ninth and eighteenth greens. A gristmill added to the waterfall reflects the history of this old mining site. The beauty and challenge of each hole leads many to believe there is not one signature hole but possibly eighteen.

Like many other Trail courses, the par three holes are incredible. Considerable elevation change combines with water or other natural obstructions to get your attention. Large putting surfaces provide many tempting pin locations that will test one's approach shots as well as their touch with the flat stick. But do not misunderstand the other holes are just as good.

Set on rolling terrain at the edge of Talladega National Forest between Anniston and Gadsden is Silver Lakes, home to some of the most scenic golf you can find. The Heartbreaker nine is dubbed by many as the most challenging nine on the Trail from the championship tees. Consider the eighth hole, a par 3 that plays over 200 yards across water and uphill to the green, or the 450 yard par 4 ninth with water rippling down the entire left side of the hole. The beauty of Silver Lakes is the multiple tee selections (up to 12 on some holes).
The Backbreaker nine is a photographer's dream, boasting beautiful views of the Appalachian foothills from its elevated tees. The par 5 seventh, a 623 yard thriller (466 from the novice tees), brings water into play not once, but twice.
The Mindbreaker, although a tad easier than the other two, demands shot-making at its finest.
The Short Course at Silver Lakes is arguably the most demanding collection of one-shotters on the Trail. There's water in play on seven of the holes, including a 12-foot cascade beside the sixth green.

The Shoals lies between the Wheeler and Wilson dams on the Tennessee River. Wheeler Dam is named in honor of General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler - the only Confederate General to attain the same rank later in the United States Army. General Wheeler's intense desire to show that Southerners could be counted on as citizens of the U.S. prompted him to volunteer, at age 62, for service in the Spanish-American War. The east championship course at The Shoals is named after General Wheeler. Fighting Joe was the first Trail course to break 8,000 yards, measuring 8,092 yards from the Black tees. It's long, really long, and this links style course is simply good straight-forward golf. Some say the spectacular 17th hole is the signature hole on the course, but the 18th green overlooking Wilson Lake on the Tennessee River will distract you with its beauty, if not its treachery. The second course, The Schoolmaster (named for President Woodrow Wilson who was responsible for getting Wilson Dam built on the Tennessee River and who was known as "The Schoolmaster of Politics"), may be tougher than Fighting Joe. This tree lined course is traditional golf with every hole keeping with the natural topography along the Tennessee River. It's wooded, rolling, and spectacular.