Golfweek’s Best 2022: Top public and private golf courses in Alabama

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail grabs much of the spotlight for best courses in Alabama, and rightfully so. The Trail operates 26 courses at 11 sites across the state, and eight of the top 10 public-access courses in the Yellowhammer State are on the Trail.

But No. 1? That’s a different story.

FarmLinks at Pursell Farms in Sylacauga grabs the top spot on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play list for Alabama, and alongside Kiva Dunes is one of only two non-Trail courses on the list.

Constructed as a living laboratory of sorts by Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry in 2002, with various types of grasses in use around the property, FarmLinks features one of the prettiest holes in the state. The 210-yard, par-3 fifth plunges 172 feet off the side of a small mountain to a picturesque green, providing views for miles. Most of the other holes feature wide fairways with sometimes hilly terrain before descending into gently rolling landscapes.

VIDEO: Check out two idiots who didn’t know when to come in out of the freezing rain on one of the longest courses in the world.

Golfweek’s Best offers many lists of course rankings, with the list of top public-access courses among the most popular. All the courses on this list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time.

Also popular are the Golfweek’s Best rankings of top private courses in each state, and that list is likewise included below.

MORE COURSES: Best Modern | Best Classic | Top 200 Resort |
Top 200 Residential | Top 100 Best You Can Play

The Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail near Birmingham (Courtesy of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail/Michael Clemmer)

1. Pursell Farms (FarmLinks)
Sylacauga (m)

2. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Capitol Hill Judge)
Prattville (m)

3. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Grand National Lake)
Opelika (m)

4. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Ross Bridge)
Birmingham (m)

5. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Capitol Hill Legislator)
Prattville (m)

6. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Cambrian Ridge Sherling Canyon)
Greenville (m)

7. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Oxmoor Valley Ridge)
Birmingham (m)

8. Kiva Dunes
Gulf Shores (m)

9. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Magnolia Grove Falls)
Mobile (m)

10. Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail (Grand National Links)
Opelika (m)

(m): Modern course, built in or after 1960
(c): Classic course, built before 1960

Shoal Creek during the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)

1. Shoal Creek
Birmingham (T77m)

2. CC of Birmingham (West)
Birmingham (T121c)

3. The Ledges
Huntsville (m)

4. Old Overton
Birmingham (m)

5. Turtle Point Yacht & CC
Killen (m)

The hundreds of members of the Golfweek’s Best ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them based on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce these rankings.