Gunter's Landing Golf Club

I must say that I had a preconceived notion about what to expect at Gunter's Landing, having never played here before. I had read previous reviews on Golf Advisor and thought the course perhaps was propped up by some overzealous locals.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

This makes twice in the span of seven days that I have fallen in love with courses within a two-hour drive that I had previously never laid eyes on.

The first thing you will notice as you pull in is this is not just another rural course trying to be something it is not. The conditioning is well above average.

The second thing you notice is the first two holes across the street, which ooze a common theme throughout the round: massive elevation change. In fact, the tee shot on two is exhilarating!

The collection of par 3s here are among the most difficult I remember playing. The first one, number three, requires a ~160-yard tee shot over water to a peninsula green that slopes severely from back to front. The fifth and 10th holes require downhill 150-155-yard shots to thimble-sized greens over large chasms.

One of my only constructive criticisms of the course lies with the group of par 5s. All are gentle dogleg rights. Though there was some variety in hazard placement, they played very similarly.

There were a good mix of uphill, downhill, long and short par 4s.

The back nine is more scoreable and more scenic, providing views of Lake Guntersville, the Tennessee River and surrounding mountains. The front nine is daunting, showcased by the difficult seventh.

What I find so intriguing about this course is that there is no weakness in your game that you can hide. You must drive the ball accurately, as trouble borders many fairways. Approach shots must find the right parts of greens, as you must be below the hole. Even the deftest of putters will be tested. The Bermuda greens were ultra fast. You must leave yourself below the holes to score well. Most of the greens are large and severely pitched, and putting across them, or downhill will leave you scratching your head. I three-putted three times, and it would've been twice that number if not for some +10-foot saves.

Knowing how to club up and down due to elevation change is a must. Also, grab a free course guide from the pro shop if it is your first time. You will need it to gauge layup points on the par 5s.

The range was modest, but serviceable. They have a really cool two-hole short course practice area.

In conclusion, Gunter's Landing far exceeded my expectations and will put pressure on all facets of your game. If one part is off, even better players will struggle to break 80.

Great course with an awesome layout and beautiful views. This course will test your mettle with several hazards and a lot of elevation variance. Best I've played in Alabama.

If you don’t mind a challenging course, fast greens in perfect condition and tight fairways this is the course for you. It’s in great shape.

Beautiful area and golf course. We all enjoyed the course. It’s a great challenge with beautiful views. Course is in nice shape.

Good course, good layout but don’t play it when it’s cart path only as you’ll need mountaineering gear to get back to your cart after most shots.

Great outing. Only issue: cart on path only for 18 holes.

Great views and very difficult terrain. The greens were immaculate and roughs were difficult, will be back again

Love this course….played it too many times to count. The course let a 5-some out and it slowed the play down to a crawl. Two gentlemen I started play with left at the turn and I joined up with another double on 10. I left at hole 13. 5-some was not interested in letting anyone play through. Never seen this before at Gunters Landing.