Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa

First the positive : excellent layout and could be a fun ,enjoyable course to play. Beautiful clubhouse and the staff couldn't of been any nicer. Apparently the course was overbooked and our starting time was delayed by 30 minutes. After that the 18 holes took five hours and 30 minutes to complete. We waited on every hole and never received an adequate explanation other than to say they had overbooked. The course itself was in only fair shape with greens having many bare spots around the fringes with weeds , unfixed ball marks, and crabgrass. Fairways were thin in many places. Certainly not a course do $120 plus per round. Played six other Robert Trent Jones courses is on the trail that week and all were in significantly better condition.

Always love playing this course and play it at least once every year as I live in Florida now. It was in great shape this time. This course is always challenging with the elevation changes and undulating greens. The people who work there are always very friendly and make me feel like I am a member there. Absolutely love this course.

For $150 the greens were not in good shape. Crabgrass was on many greens and there was a void at the fringe on all greens. Played the Judge in Prattville the day before for $45 twilight rate. It wad much more enjoyable the Ross Bridge. They should charge about $90 for green fees. Not $150

Beautiful course, in great condition. Some wet spots from rain the night before, but still had a great time. Played one of my best rounds ever. Very friendly staff.

This course is unique. There is tremendous elevation all through the course. 17 of 18 greens are elevated. Course is surrounded by forest and all fairways have valleys and are undulating. It is best to stay on the fairways as the rough is spongy. Your ball will sink and it is difficult to hit it out.

The course was in great condition. The staff was very helpful. I enjoyed the speed of play. A must play if you are in the area.

Solo that was paired with 3-some and had great day on course, overall excellent shape and look forward to playing Valley Course next time I am visiting area.

Many unfixed ball marks on greens, a little bumpy also. Very rough and rutted out areas where you park to walk to green. Need lots of repair work in these areas. Some dirt and sod can fix it.

I recently moved to Alabama and got a platinum membership and trying to play all of the RTJ courses. The Valley course was the biggest disappointment. The course was rough to say the least. Crab grass in the tee boxes and the greens seemed dry and bumpy. The staff were amazing and friendly. The fairways were emaculate maybe the best I've seen yet. Something was off this was the first course I didn't stop to take photos of holes. The pace of play was horrendous. I was a twosome with a female who never played before and was catching twosomes.

This par 3 course having several set of tee boxes. From the purple tees I could use driver on the 225 & 250 yard holes. A lot of elevation changes, and plenty of wild life to enhance the beauty of the Short Course

Second time at Oxmoor Valley, first time on the Ridge Course. Got tee time via Golf now the night before on our way to Dallas. Many elevation changes, side hill lies, with fairly level greens. This course was in perfect condition and should never be one that you walk. Still get a workout with a cart. Even the young man (28 yr old) I played with, did walk, but asked to ride on a number of holes. Scoring improved on the back nine. Worth a stop anytime you are in Birmingham

This review is for the Ridge course. All in all, course was in decent shape and is still worth playing. The problem that the course is currently facing is that it is such a destination that the facility is getting heavy traffic. It's a good problem to have. However, there are so many rounds being played daily on the Ridge, and there has been so much rain lately to soften the bent greens, that the putting surfaces are becoming stressed from the combination of heat, traffic and people who refrain from repairing - or properly repairing - pitch marks. I am a little concerned that players visiting from out of town won't see the best Ridge can be. I agree with past recent reviews as well that the bunkers are in need of a facelift. I believe that bunkers should be hazards, but there is way too much sand in them and they are looking a little ragged.

I have probably not been as warm toward Ross Bridge in past reviews as I should have. Perhaps playing it so often has not allowed me to fully appreciate what a fantastic course this truly is. The fact that this track is not ranked among Golf Magazine's, Golf Digest's or Golfweek's Top 100 public course in America lists is baffling to me, especially since I have observed some that are that have no business being ranked. We have had a lot of rain over the past 10 days, but carts were allowed in fairways. Fairways were a bit thinner than I would expect for a top echelon course, but no big deal. Bent greens were fantastic and have recovered fully from recent aeration.

This is why you don't use the five star rating lightly - so when you do use it it can mean something. This is a five star course. Everything you see right away is top shelf from the large, amphitheater-like grass driving range to the amazing two-tiered putting green. The starter was friendly and helpful. Warned me it was cart path only, and at this course that really means something because the layout is expansive and, shall we say, not at all flat. At #11 we were told the 90 degree rule was now in effect which helped a good deal. Finished in about 4.5 hours.

Course itself is hard to find fault with. Fairways were soggy in some places from recent downpours. Dry areas hadn't been mown in awhile (obvious reasons). Course winds up and down along rolling contours surrounding a lake. #9 and #18 greens are side by side at the near end of the lake, making an awesome spectacle when on either tee box. All the par-3s require some kind of carry to an elevated green, except the last #14 where the tee is the part that is elevated (take one club less). The presence of the lake results in a few greens being pretty close to the water, but only on two of them (#4 and #18) do you actually have a true forced carry over water. But on many occasions you'll have the opportunity for a bad hook or push to put you in the drink.

All in all it shows that the architect was given a great piece of property and resources with which to do a proper job. Even details like the quality of the cart paths, the on-course rest rooms, the frequency of water stations, etc. Everything contributed to the superior golf experience.

If you get a chance to play here, do not miss it.

I had opportunity to play the Ridge 6 times over a 6 day span, starting on the 9th of June. I had qualified from Iowa for the 64-69 age group to be played at the Ridge. This was for the 2017 National Senior Olympics. Overall the course was gorgeous and very scenic to say the least. The greens had been aerified a few days prior but they rolled around a 10, I would guess, and they were no issue.A great putting surface. The greens tore up a bit with pitch marks but you get that from bent grass greens. The staff from top to bottom were excellent for the 6 days I visited. I would agree that shots off line were a challenge to recover and we only played it at 5,700 yards. The pace of play was brutal, but you had no real marshaling by the NSGA who would dictate the pace, not the facility management so they are off the hook on that issue. I based my 5 star rating on Pace of Play based on my 3 rounds prior to tournament. The rule sheet said slow play would not be tolerated over 4:20 rounds, yet the early groups finished in 5:30 hours and it got to 6:30 hrs for the last groups because I was in the last group on the last day. The ONLY negative on this facility are the bunkers. They are well below the standard this facility deserves! When you couple too much sand which is too soft and players who can't rake properly you have a nightmare to play out of regardless if it is tournament play or not. To add to the issue were steep faces to the bunkers which adds to difficulty of raking them properly. As a player, you can not devote the time necessary to rake these properly and still play at a decent pace. The facility is awesome and I would never let those bunkers stop me from coming back but they need to fix them. You could take 70% of the sand out of the bunkers, have great bunkers, and have enough sand for top dressing your greens for the next 2 years, but only if that same sand could be used! :))

We played 4 days on the Trail. Conditions and Oxmoor Valley paled in comparison to Capitol Hill and Ross Bridge. The Valley course had been aerated about 2 weeks ago and still had a lot of sand on the greens, which made them semi-unplayable. The layout of the course is good, but generally needed TLC - bunkers needed raking, etc.

This is a phenomenal course and worth every penny! We just did 4 days on the Trail and saved the best for last. Stunning views, very challenging , and pristine conditions await. Lots of elevation changes and forced carries.

This review is for the Valley course on June 11.

There is no greater standard bearer for the RTJ Trail, and the two Oxmoor Valley courses, than myself. Previous reviews of both courses document that. However, my sub-par experience today was unfortunate. I called around 9 am to secure a tee time. The pro shop attendant asked which course I would like to play. I told her I had no preference but wished to play around 2 pm. She informed me that the earliest she had was 3:20pm on the Valley and that it would be after 4pm before I could get on a Ridge. No problem, Valley was fine. No mention of recent aerification. When I checked into the course that afternoon, again no mention of maintenance. Since I had no preference I would have appreciated knowing, so I could've made an informed decision. I was unaware until I arrived at the first green, and found not aerated, sanded greens - but mushy, sandy surfaces with baked out, sparse wisps of grass. The accompanying pic illustrates the condition, but really doesn't do it justice. Only the last 4 greens were representative of what week-and-a-half post-aerificated greens should be. I am aware that routine maintenance is necessary for courses to remain in pristine shape, as are customary on the Trail. But I had one shot to play golf this week and paid full-price, not a reduced rate, to play on garbage greens. I would have appreciated a heads-up when making the tee time or upon arrival. Therefore, I cannot recommend this course for the next two weeks, as it is borderline un-puttable.

Great value, I know they had a lot of rain recently and was warned that they had punched the greens so I'm sure it would be in great condition normally