FarmLinks at Pursell Farms

My handicap is currently (a very generous) 11.9. Farmlinks recommends players with a 1-5 handicap play the Copperhead tee’s and 7-15 play the whitetail’s. So guess what I did?

I found Farmlinks to be every bit of its 73.0 rating from the Copperhead’s. I shot what was probably my best round in several years, and still couldn’t do any better than an 87. The back nine bit me early and often as I took 3 penalty strokes on the first 5 holes. Other than that, though, I manage bogey golf most of the way with a smattering of pars (I never even seriously challenged for a birdie).

There are plenty of good golf shots to be made on this course and some aww inspiring vista from various tee boxes. I’m not sure anything eclipses the view from the 180 yard 17th tee box, shooting down at a green completely protected in front by a large pond (large enough to appear to be more of a river from the tee box. Even this shot, though, can be made relatively safe if you take enough club as there is a backstop hill to corral any shots that run a little long.

Unless you are playing the Longhorn tee’s (nearly 500 yards longer than the more-than-challenging-enough Copperheads) Farmlinks is reasonable in length (6970 from where I played, 6457 from the tee’s recommended for my handicap) and difficulty. It will challenge you without compromising your outing with undue frustration. With 6 sets of tee’s there is a course for everyone here. This is especially true because most of the greens are not overly protected with the course using distance and angles to add difficulty to the more challenging tee boxes.

While challenging, the thing that really struck me about Farmlinks was its simple beauty. Every hole feels more “crafted” than “designed” and the care and maintenance that is put into the course is obvious at every turn. Course conditions were as close to perfect as I can imagine, and the layout is terrific as well. Going out first was an absolute treat as it felt as though we had the course all to ourselves, and it’s not often you get that feeling on a course this breathtaking.

When people talked to me about Pursell Farms they spoke of being made to feel like a guest, or even family, rather than a patron. After spending a day on the farm, I completely understand where this impression comes from. Various members of the staff made their way over to us at different times while we were there and inquired about our experience at Farmlinks; however, beyond that, they also asked about us. We left Pursell Farms feeling like I had just come from a visit. The course is great, but Farmlinks is more of an “experience” than a round of golf.

We will almost certainly return, probably to stay a few days on the properly itself.

Course is always in immaculate condition. Staff is always personable and accommodating. One of the best public courses in Alabama. Challenging but fair test.

First time playing here and highly recommend it. When people come to town to visit this will be the course I bring them to, to make sure they have a great time, enjoy the round, and be impressed from the drive in to the drive on 18.

Farmlinks is one of my all time favorite courses. I love the layout, it’s in awesome condition and the staff is unbelievably friendly and helpful.

Pristine course, not a blade of grass out of place. For the Course to be in as good of shape as it is in the middle of a heat wave shows me the care they put into it. Top notch practice area with courtesy TP5 balls. The course itself is a good challenge without being overwhelming. Not an easy track by any means, but you are rewarded with scoring opportunities for good shots. Just be smart about the teebox you choose- even the 2nd (Copperhead) plays about 7K yards. Only somewhat downside to my round was I just happened to come on a day where it was path only. Not a knock on the course but I would have planned a different day had I known prior. But if youve never played Pursell youre missing a treat!

The Beat Course in Alabama. The Greens are the softest greens I’ve ever played. The entire facility is first class. The staff are polite and the pro shop is superb. The greens are so soft and played pure and true. I cant give enough praise to this place. It’s A golfers Dream and a little slice of Heaven On Earth! Play FarmLinks! . . .

What a drop.....hole #5, the ball falls like rain drops from heaven......and the view couldn't be better! Excellent course, great condition and lots of fun. It was a long drive to get ere but well worth it!

The course is a hidden gem of golf around Birmingham. It's in the middle of nowhere on a sprawling property, but it was sure worth the drive.
The fairways were in better condition than the greens at Ol' Colony which I played a few days prior. It was well maintained and very playable despite taking on a lot of rain and being cart path only. That said we finished the round in a little over 4 hours.
Wide inviting fairways allow you to swing away from the tees, and if you get a bit sideways, the main penalty is the additional distance. really tough to hit one OB. The par #'s with huge elevation changes are fun, but so are the variety of scoring opportunities on all the other holes.
Great staff, Nice amenities, and perfectly maintained course make this a must play.

My son and I have played many courses but enjoyed our game at Purcell above and beyond any thus far! Every employee from groundskeepers to the cleaning crew we're over the top courteous and friendly! We were paired up with a father son team that are regulars and even they made the game more enjoyable. The course itself was well maintained and a treat to play! We plan to return every chance we get!

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.