Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa

Third time to play this course through the years and each time it has been better. I really enjoy the course and each shot produces a new challenge to any golfer. You better have all the shots. If you not under a 10-handicap I would suggest a large move forward! The first hole is a challenge even from the front tee. Second shot usually from a downhill lie to a heavily bunkered elevated green, in fact all greens are well protected.

Even though they experienced a difficult winter, they fared well. Progress is being made with new Zoysia collars around greens and many areas adjacent to fairways and under tall pines is being sodded with Zoysia.

We had an early tee time, second off, and never saw the singe in front of us, not was the group behind us ever close. Therefore our pace-of-play was perfect, about 3 1/2 hours.

Played on a busy Saturday, so busy that the bag drop wasn't manned as they are all running around. Pro shop was also very busy considering players are checking in for 2 different courses at the same time. The pro ended up coming out to help check people in which was nice. Starter on the 1st tee was nice, but he asked us if it was out first time playing, then proceeded to not tell us anything about the course or anything, just handed us a scorecard and drove off basically.

The course layout was neat, over seeded fairways and well groomed greens were a pleasure to play on. There was some bunker reno going on, but didn't affect us too much. We ran into a slow down near the turn, but it opened back up on the back 9. Finished in 4 hours and 30 min.

The course was in excellent condition and the pace of play was fast.

The Good: The Valley course at RTJ Oxmoor Valley is a nice change of pace to the tough, rugged Ridge course. Starting off with a huge downhill tee shot to a wide fairway, golfers can take a deep breath and enjoy the scenery. Good variety of dogleg Par 4's and some great Par 5's, especially on the closing nine. Nice clubhouse supports all 54 holes and includes a dining area and large pro shop. Good practice facility, especially the amphitheater driving range that is a glimmer of what's to come. Really good value with rates under $80 during peak season.

The Bad: Green complexes could be in better shape. Par 3's are forgettable. Carts lack GPS. The clubhouse restaurant closes in the afternoon and doesn't serve dinner. Our golf trip group found this to be a glaring inconvenience.

The Verdict: While not as interesting a design as the Ridge, The Valley course is a more relaxing, fair test of golf for all skill levels. A great "second day" course for those partaking in a golf marathon.

Best Hole: The short Par 5 12th is a great hole that requires a drive over water. Depending on how much of the dogleg is chewed, a "go for broke" approach must avoid water again!

The Good: Oxmoor Valley is one of the first RTJ sites, built around a former US Steel mining area and you can sense the "quarry" feel on the Ridge course. Significant elevation changes and rugged terrain is the course's trademarks, with severely sloped fairways and extreme green undulation. Good course conditions and slick greens. Fun variety of Par 4's, one excellent Par 5 in particular, and a good group of Par 3's. Nice clubhouse supports all 54 holes and includes a dining area and large pro shop. Good practice facility, especially the amphitheater driving range that is a glimmer of what's to come. One of the better value courses I've played in a long time with rates under $80 during peak season.

The Bad: Green complexes could be in better shape. Carts lack GPS and the yardage markers are lacking. The course rarely has an even lie which can be difficult for the high handicapper. The clubhouse restaurant closes in the afternoon and doesn't serve dinner. Our golf trip group found this to be a glaring inconvenience.

The Verdict: The Ridge is the strongest of the two regulation courses at Oxmoor Valley and a unique golf course in the Birmingham area. Fun, very challenging and favors the fade!

Best Hole: The Par 5 3rd is the most demanding hole on the course and is the best of the 54 holes at the Oxmoor Valley complex. Requires three great shots and an approach to a green atop a huge rock cropping.

The Good: Ross Bridge is the flagship golf course of the 11-site Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama and for good reason. It is as impressive in scale of an inland public course as I've played. Fantastic, well-conditioned design has a "poorer" man's Augusta feel with ample, huge fairways and super white sand traps. From the first hole you know you're in for a treat and the design consists of one of the best quartet's of Par 5's I've come across. Great variety in Par 4's and a couple strong Par 3's. Awesome clubhouse includes beautiful dining area, well-stocked pro shop, and expansive banquet and hotel accommodations. Top-notch practice facility and great service/amenities from check-in to the 19th hole. GPS on the carts is a nice bonus. Good value considering the $150 price tag and off-season and twilight rates are great.

The Bad: The green complex conditions were a little disappointing considering the quality of course. The Par 3's are really good but not as memorable as the other holes. Pace of play can be a little bit of an issue.

The Verdict: Ross Bridge is as visually spectacular a course I've played and ranks in my Top 3 golf experiences I've had in my life. A top tier facility in every way. It's a travesty that its not ranked higher by major golf publications.

The Best Hole: The Par 5 1st is one of the best opening holes I've ever played and sets the tone for an unforgettable round.

Awesome course. Best of the RTJ Trail. Fantastic resort as well. You will not be disappointed here. One of the best courses in Alabama.

Very impressed with course condition considering our weather lately.

Bent greens were silky smooth and relatively quick. Fairways were excellent. Some thin areas around a couple greens in collection areas. Bunkers were packed from recent hard rains. Too much sand in faces of bunkers, not enough in bottoms.

One thing I really like that Ross Bridge has done is add a composite set of tees, alternating between the nearly 6,800-yard orange tees and 6,200-yard whites for a 6,500-yard test. That met a need.

For my first time playing, I was disappointed. 1-2 inched of water to put through on greens. On course workers not friendly at all. I hope I have a better experience next time. The starter was only friendly person on course.

This course is beautiful. The conditions were good considering the cool spring we have had. The pace of play was good. Definitely would play this course again.

Was hesitant after a bad experience the previous day at the Ridge Course at Oxmoor Valley, but this course is 180 degrees different. Very player friendly but challenging. The conditions of the course were good for spring. The pace of play was good, as well. Would definitely play here again.

The course condition was really bad...lots of bare spots, ground under repair, mud, and crazy pin placements. We kept paced with the groups ahead, but the foursome behind us pushed us and hit into us. On the par 5's the foursome, then threesome, then us were stacked up...not playing slow. Ranger needed to help with this. Would never play this course again.

Played The Ridge course for the first time. In fact this was my first visit to play one of the RTJ Trail courses but it is my new mission to play all the courses over the next 2 or 3 years.

It was still fairly early in the season so the course was not in perfect condition. That said, the only thing a little below standard were the fairways which were a little thinner than you might expect. A simple lift and place policy took care of that though and it did not deter from my overall experience. The greens were in remarkable condition for this time of year and must be a thing to behold during the Summer.

Beauty abounds on just about every hole, to such an extent that it is difficult to pick out any distinguishing holes worthy of special mention. Each one is characterized by a spectacular view from the tee box. If I was to be really tough in my review, I would add that there were at least a couple of holes where you needed some local knowledge to avoid getting into trouble. On one hole for example, I hit my best drive of the day only to find that the ridge my ball had run over was closely followed by the end of the fairway. This sort of thing and blind tee shots are a pet peeve of mine but of course, this is just a personal preference. It is hard to imagine anyone playing this course leaving with any sort of ill feeling as a result of the overall playing experience.

The only issue I had all day was with the staff. When you first pull up there was an absence of anyone there to tell you where you needed to go and in particular where to put your clubs. Golf carts were lined up in the general area but there was nothing apparent to me in terms of where you should drop off. Then in the clubhouse, I learnt that my 8:10 tee time had been moved forward to 7:50 without any notification. The girl was adamant that I must have booked the earlier time and didn't really alter her position even after I showed her the receipt from my booking online. This meant the 30 minute warm up session I had planned was cut short significantly. Then once you get to the range, there is no signage to tell you that the range balls need to be obtained from a separate building housed by a nice old gentleman who works at an extremely slow pace. After studying his booking sheet for what seemed like and eternity, I was told I was not on the list at all and needed to go back up to the clubhouse. Eventually after explaining my predicament and the need to speed things up, he relented and gave me a basket containing precisely 10 balls! I hate to be a Debbie Downer but if my experience between getting out of the car and the first tee is anything but an rare exception, the club should really look into this. It certainly got the day off to a bad start.

Love the course, staff is friendly and helpful. Played in February 2018 for first time and gladly returned. In February all was brown except the greens while in March the fairways were green and the rough just coming into spring.

The greens are relatively small and sloped, bunkers everywhere and you need a pretty long carry of the tees in about half the shots. We played from the orange tees which are longer than the 6000 yard white tees but shorter than the champion tees.

When not in the bunkers water often comes into play. With that and the challenging greens it's easy to get frustrated here, so either relax and enjoy the course or play somewhere easier.

The valley never doesnt come back to the club house after nine, so either take what you need with you or hope there is a beer cart.

One of the best courses I've ever played in my life

My first time playing any of the RTC courses. Staff in clubhouse and starter were friendly and helpful on course management tips. The course was very challenging but fair. Course and greens were in great shape. Only downside was I tee’d off at 8:30 and didn’t see the beverage cart until I was putting my clubs away on 18.

I had high expectations going into my round at Ross Bridge knowing how expensive it is to play and all. We found a deal where we could play for $65 so we decided to try it out. Although the course is definitely nice, I probably won't go back unless for a special occasion. It is not worth over $100 to play. I'd much rather spend my money at Oxmoor Valley or any of the other RTJ courses.

A couple of friends and I decided to play at Ross Bridge today for the first time, as we figured a course of this caliber would have better than average conditions given the fact that it is the dead of winter now. (12/29/2017)

The staff were excellent, very friendly and helpful. The only issue is that no outside coolers are allowed, yet we only saw the beverage cart one time throughout the round on Hole #2.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed with the playing conditions on the course. I expect a certain amount of damage when playing during the winter, but multiple dying/dead fringes with sod squares/sand spots scattered throughout was unexpected. The greens themselves are wonderful, as long as you don't land on a bad spot or get anywhere close to the fringe. Fairways were mostly green other than muddy spots/holes. Bunkers were unraked and hard as a rock, which is an issue considering the amount on the course.

I enjoyed my round at Ross Bridge, but I didn't find anything special about the experience. Just an average day, not worth the hype or premium rate. I imagine that this course is incredible in the Spring/Summer in full tilt, and I will hopefully be able to give it a much better review then.

This review is for the Valley course.

It has been six months since my last visit and conditions have drastically improved. Greens have bounced back. Fairways had been overseeded but were still a bit thin.

I play this course a couple of times a month and its fun and very challenging. The tee boxes and holes are changed frequently so there's always something a little different every time you play! Holes vary from very hilly to straight shots, Only one hole has a water hazard, but that's ok. Grounds crew works hard to keep leaves off the greens this time of year. You can play a full 18 in 2 hours.