March 2021 Ohio Golf Journal

Alabama’s largest city, Birmingham is home to two RTJ Golf Trail sites (Ross Bridge and Oxmoor Valley) and the state’s most luxurious golf resort at Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa, plus the Barber Vintage Motor Sports Museum, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, James Beard Award winning/nominated chefs and restaurants, four craft breweries and exciting nightlife options that only a city this size can offer. You can choose to stay on-site at Ross Bridge, at a historic downtown hotel, a boutique inn or any number of convenient branded hotels. The sister cities of Auburn-Opelika combine to create the coolest college town and one of the most intriguing small towns in the South. It’s also home to Robert Trent Jones’ favorite location on his trail. The RTJ Golf Trail at Grand National boast 54 holes of scenic and challenging golf along a gleaming lake. These two small towns have an abundance of great eateries too, plus the Red Clay Brewery and the award-winning John Emerald Distilling Company are located in historic downtown Opelika. Your overnight choices include the on-site Marriott Golf Resort & Spa at Grand National, the on-campus Auburn University Hotel and a bunch of hotels and B&Bs scattered around. Once called the Paris of the South, Mobile has long been the cultural center of t he Gulf Coast and you’ll find an authentic experience like nowhere else in the southern U.S. As the birthplace of America’s original Mardi Gras, a good time is easy to find in this port city. Attractions include the USS Alabama Battleship, Bellingrath Gardens & Home, riverboat dinner cruises, the Dauphin Street entertainment district and a couple of craft breweries. Not only is the RTJ Golf Trail’s most southern stop, the 54-hole Magnolia Grove, in Mobile, but there are several other challenging courses to keep you in town a bit longer. And choosing to stay longer will be easier when you stay at either the historic Renaissance Battle House Hotel & Spa or the Renaissance Riverview Plaza, both part of the RTJ Golf Trail collection of hotels and resorts. Ohio Golf Journal