FarmLinks at Pursell Farms

FarmLinks at Pursell Farms is quite simply, the best value in golf I've ever experienced. From the thoughtfully-designed and approachable course to the warm southern hospitality of the staff, Pursell Farms offers a hugely impressive golf outing for way less than you might expect. I got a Hot Deal for $79 yet I felt more pampered than I have on a course costing thrice as much.

Pursell Farms does the little things that make a big difference: chilled apples for free at the turn, coolers and comfy seats on the golf carts, even GolfLogix-powered green readings for each hole as you approach the putting surface. The staff isn't just friendly, but genuinely helpful, giving you the information you need to start your round off right. The practice facilities are as good as any you'll see, with a great short game green separate from the practice putting green. Range balls? Included of course for you to hit off real grass.

But enough about the small stuff, this course offers some big perks too. Namely, it offers a course that is forgiving off the tee and very much scoreable, but no pushover either. The Hurdzan-Fry design is deliberate in showing you where you can miss and still have a good shot to make par. The greens read relatively easily, just enough slope to see the break on every green and the perfect pace.

The course recently completed a thorough bunker renovation and the result is not only attractive but very playable. Sand is of a nice, heavy consistency and all surfaces are well maintained.

The other big draw is the signature par-3 5th hole, a jaw-dropping spectacle that will truly take your breath away. Other highlights are also par-3s: the 7th and 17th. While a lot of the par-4s run together in my mind, there's no bad holes here and enough variety to warrant plenty of repeat rounds. And at this price, playing here again and again is something every golfer could do, and should.

Played here with my son, his friend, and one of my buddies. The course was absolutely immaculate. Greens were perfect. Fairways looked like a green carpet. This was my 4th time playing and I will be back before the end of the summer.

One of my favorite courses. Usually always in great shape. This time things have changed. The fairway grass was long with lots of weeds (except numbers 16 and 18, the zoysia was perfect) and the usually fast greens were slow and bumpy. The overall condition was not that of a premium course. It needs a lot of work.. Only 30 rounds this day. It seems the inclusion of all of the other amenities on the property (shooting range, lodging, weddings, cottages) has caused the neglect of the main attraction. Because of the past excellence, I will give it another visit to see if things improve. I hope they do, love this course.

This was my fourth time playing Farm Links. I lucked out and got golf now hot deal that day for $25 but would have paid the $95 listed price. We play some new courses on the Robert Trent Jones trail every year but always have to work in a round at Pursell. Beautiful course with wide fairways.

The course layout is beautiful. The fairways are fairly wide open and the greens roll true. Front nine played really slow but fortunately a few groups only played nine and the back played in 2 hours. A great day and looking forward to returning.

Course conditions were ok and the staff were very friendly, but it cost me $200 to play. By comparison I played Ross Bridge the next day for $167. No comparison in the values. I drove an hour from Birmingham to play Farmlinks because of its ranking as the #1 public course in Alabama. It definitely was not worth the drive. The difficulty level of the course was what I would call moderate...wide fairways, mild bunkering...no real wow factor at all. If you happen to be in the neighborhood and can get a rate of less than $75, I would recommend it for play, but don't drive an hour to get there, and don't pay more than $75. I feel that I was taken advantage of. As a single I could not book a tee time online; I had to call the pro shop. I travel a lot and play a lot of top level courses, and I was shocked when they rang up the price. Also, the famous par 3, #5, was a severe pain in the butt. We spent 30-40 minutes on that hole as we waited for two foursomes ahead of us to play it. What a terrible design! Great for photos but extremely poor for keeping play moving. I have seen similar holes that did not delay play the way that one does. All in all a very disappointing and costly experience.

The total experience was a letdown. To charge full price to play 17 holes with tons of course work going on was not ok considering other courses are less and in better shape. Staff was friendly enough. Our cart ran out of gas and had to be switched out after 10 holes. The course runs behind because of the par 3's, they are the best part of the course, but it takes a lot of time for many to play them. we played in 5 hours and 30 min due to a several group back up ahead of us.

It’s winter time and time for course maintenance and that is understood. A few holes are closed for bunker maintenance but no worries, the staff allows you to play a couple other holes to make up for it. The driving range, putting green, and chipping green are in excellent shape and included in the total price to play. Electric carts with GPS are great! Sports bar, formal dining and an Inn if you want to stay the weekend. Too many amenities to mention. Oh yeah, did I mention the bent greens are super fast!!!

Would be nice to know while making reservations that all holes were not open due to course repair. They have been reworking bunkers for awhile and when making a tee time you need to inform us

Old Cliche, you get what you pay for and this was well worth the money. Don’t like paying that much to play but what a splurge for a poor golfer like me.

Great shape considering time of year.
18th was under repair so we played 1 twice.
Bunkers under repair. Will definitely be back to play.
Wonderful staff and layout.

Fantastic course layout and setting. The staff was super welcoming. I really enjoyed my experience and will definitely go back. I was impressed with the course conditions considering it being late January.

I wanted to love this course I really did. Top 10 in the state! But alas it was a let down. The course lacks imagination and felt boring in its layout and design. The first hole looks inviting until you reach the fairway then the flat unappealing approach sets the tone for the rest of the round. Most holes are uninspiring. Fairways that are super wide are all the rage today and farmlinks offers many. Unfortunately the wide fairways here are just that wide fairways. The best designs offer wide fairways that have speed slots, rumpled ground or even some form of deception. Now don’t get me wrong it’s still a nice course but top 10? I think not. I have played many if not most of the RTJ trail courses and all of the offer a better design than Farmlinks. The greens are relatively flat and don’t inspire much creativity. Conditions were great and the location is beautiful with the par 3 holes standing out the most. The best hole on the course was the 7th called the tree swing hole I believe. If only the entire course was as good then top 10 would be justified. As the course is , it is just another new course with great conditions that will wow the uneducated but any real golfer with experience they leave wanting more.

Greens had been aerated which made putting very difficult. Wish we had known that in advance. Will come back but will check condition of Greens before driving 1.5 hours.

When we teed off, the conditions were perfect. Then, we hit No. 15 and the skies emptied on us. We played 15 through a steady drizzle, got a break on 16 and 17, then got drenched on 18. But it was still a great time. My only complaint? Someone playing ahead of us had trouble picking his fee up, leaving drag marks and scuffs all over the greens. And the greens close to the holes were pretty chewed up. I just wish people would learn how to repair a ball mark ...