The Capstone Club (Larry Lambrecht)

This past spring, I made my annual spring golf trip with some high school friends. We visited Birmingham, AL, where one of us was living for the year. We played four courses and this video has a little footage from each. They are listed in the order in which I recommend playing them- W.S.

• The Capstone Club

Designed by Gil Hanse and located north of Birmingham and near Tuscaloosa, this course is a great example of affordable public golf that does not feel the need to dumb itself down to meet the market. This course was far and away the best in the area that we played. It is well routed over a difficult piece of ground and the result is a collection of exciting and unique holes that blend harmoniously into their natural surrounds. The course is not without its faults, especially the downhill par four fifth, which is a horrible ski slope of a hole. When we played in April the course was playing firm and fast and the greens were rolling true

[vimeo width="600" height="320"]http://www.vimeo.com/1968799[/vimeo]

• Farm Links
  

  The ridiculous fifth

This Hurdzan/Fry course featured a number of solid holes. Located about 45 minutes outside the city the course serves as laboratory for various agronomic experiments. Various holes have test plots, but they do not get in the way of the golf. The greens are consistent throughout. For anyone with any interest in turf grass, it is worth a trip out Farm Links to check out what they are doing. The course itself fails because of a poor routing that was too concerned with creating views and drop shot par threes (the “signature” drop-shot fifth is a joke of a hole). This course is not walkable, but it easily could have been. That being said, it is a great place to ride around in buggies if you are hungover from a night out in Birmingham. The shaping is solid and the course ties in very well.

• Ross Bridge (RTJ Trail)

The flagship course of the RTJ Trail in this part of the state is a vapid piece of golf fluff. Replete with GPS in the carts that keep you up to date with sports scores (YEAH!), the course is overpriced and overworked. The large bunkers are mostly pushed to the side of the holes and don’t affect play except for the poor golfer who miss hits a shot. While in good shape, this course was entirely unmemorable.

• Oxmoor Valley-Ridge (RTJ Trail)

The original trail stop in Birmingham and one of the first in the state, this course illustrates the type of architecture so prevalent in ’90’s. This course is routed over a steep and difficult site and little effort was made to work with the land. Already rife with steep slopes, the course features elevated push up greens. The end result is a slightly off-line approach that can be repelled extremely far away from the green. Bring your lob wedge.

If in Birmingham, do not pass up the opportunity to go to the Highlands Bar and Grill in Five Points. Combining local ingrediants with a Southern take on French food, this highly touted restarant delivers on the hype. The warm and vibrant atmosphere matches the food and the bar is stocked with the best of the South.