RTJ Capitol Hill – Judge Course (and Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail)
September 2022 – The annual boys trip this year took us to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama. Like for our 2021 Big Cedar Lodge trip, the RTJ trip was a pivot. For Big Cedar Lodge, my pro couldn’t work Sand Hills so we abandoned a central Nebraska trip and had to scramble to put together the BCL trip. For here, I didn’t try to get us on a private top 100 club, I simply tried to work Sand Valley in Wisconsin. Even almost nine months in advance, it was booked. So I booked for 2023 (added Erin Hills and gonna try Whistling Straits, too) and booked the RTJ Trail.
The booking process was pretty easy. I said we want to play courses around Birmingham and Montgomery and they took care of tee times and hotels. And compared to BCL and Sand Valley prices, RTJ is a ton more affordable. So the courses they put us on were Ross Bridge, Oxmoor Valley (Ridge), Capitol Hill (Judge) and Cambrian Ridge.
The Renaissance at Ross Bridge is really nice, the Marriott at Capitol Hill is less so but it’s ok for a sleep, shower and shit for a night or two. In Birmingham, we ate at the Renaissance (meh) and had our big dinner at Perry’s Steakhouse (which is a chain but was very good). In Montgomery, the options are very limited and even more so in Prattsville where Capitol Hill is located. We did Firebirds across town (another chain but several levels below Perry’s) and had the Eagles/Vikings Monday night game to watch so just did Hooters down the street in Prattsville the next night. My buddy Erik is a huge Vikings fan so I enjoyed serenading him and the Hooter’s patrons with the Eagles fight song after every Eagles score and the big win. Here’s hoping I kick off the 2023 blog with a write-up on some nice Arizona course in February when I am at the Eagles Super Bowl there.
About a week or so before our trip I got a call and email from the RTJ folks. Apparently someone on the Ross Bridge greens-keeping crew grabbed the wrong bag and instead of applying fertilizer/top dressing, applied poison to the greens. You can read about it here if the news story is still online when you make your way here. Oops.
I give the RTJ team credit though. They called us, moved our times to Oxmoor Valley’s Valley course and discounted the difference in greens fees. Since our tee time at Oxmoor wasn’t until about 1 PM, we asked if we could play Ross Bridge early in the AM and they obliged, only charged us cart fees and we had the course to ourselves. The first four holes were not affected and we thought we pulled off the heist of the century but once we hit the green (brown) on five, we understood the problem. Well, we agreed two-putt max and all loved the course (absolutely a beautiful layout) and played about 13 holes until we had to make our way to Oxmoor Valley (which is about five minutes away).
We flew (and the Florida guys drove) into AL on a Thursday afternoon and went from the airport to a little muni in Birmingham called Highland Park. A nice warm-up. It’s short, hilly and you should post a nice warm-up score here. I birdied the first and last holes and shot an 81 without really playing that well. I won’t go into all of the courses we played and once I post the scrapbook page for 2022, if you want photos, you can go there.
Of the RTJ courses we played, there were mixed rankings among the group. I liked the Judge best but others ranked Cambrian Ridge above it and a few thought it was close between Oxmoor Valley’s Ridge course and the Judge even for second. We all agreed that Ross Bridge would’ve been at or near the top were it not for the greens so will asterisk below. If you’re playing there in 2023 or so, make sure you check because heard they were gonna close anyway to redo the greens. SO MY rankings of the RTJ’s we played:
- The Judge at Capitol Hill
- Oxmoor Valley – Ridge
- Cambrian Ridge
- Oxmoor Valley – Valley
- Ross Bridge (last of the RTJ’s only because of the greens)
- Not an RTJ course but Highland Park is well below all – even Ross Bridge with brown greens
The highlight of the Judge is the first hole – pictured above. All agreed that it is one of the best opening holes of any course anywhere. In fact most rankings of the best opening holes include it – like here. Surprised Pasatiempo is there. Again, as elsewhere noted on this blog, I just don’t get all the love and from my memory of one, it had a driving range net staring at you down the entire left-hand side. I will do a list of my own at some point and a few of the courses I’ve played that are included on the GolfPass list will be on mine as well.
I didn’t keep the scorecard so I don’t remember what I did on each hole though I know I hit my drive down the center on one and then an eight to just shy of the green. Bad chip but a great long putt that just missed and opened with a bogey. I think I got an 88 on the day.
Two is a dogleg with water on the right and a tree dead in the middle of the fairway. It’s only 350 yards from the whites (which we played) but the tree really fucks with you as I hit a nice drive away from the water but was blocked to the green. Three is the first par 3 you come to. It’s the weakest of the threes here – I love the other par threes here and in retrospect love ’em on all the other RTJ courses we played, too. The fours and fives here are great, too. Like #5. This is a great cape hole and the lead photo on the scrapbook. An island par 3 is next – it seems every course on the Trail has a similar three. Then six is one of the most intimidating drives, second shots and approaches. Tough, tough and tough and a watery grave awaits all mishit fades – I parred after three really solid shots. Eighteen is a great, short finisher with a tough approach. In all the Judge is tough but from the right tees, it’s playable. The tips stretch to a ridiculous like 8,000 yards!
So overall, is the Trail a good guys trip? We called it the Redneck Ryder Cup and had a great time. None of the courses here were of the Top 100 variety like our other trips: Cabot, Arcadia Bluffs, Ozarks National. But they were solid and being in or near a major city (Birmingham not Montgomery) gives you options you just don’t have at some of the other outposts. I’d say don’t sell it short. If you haven’t done it yet and have done all of the others, go ahead. But wait until they fix Ross Bridge.
Golf Scrapbook 