Destination Guides
Golf courses and travel options in the Gulf Shores area of coastal Alabama
SEC football is ordinarily the first thing people think of when it comes to Alabama, not beautiful, sugar-white beaches. But a quick look at a map shows there is a little bit of south Alabama that caresses the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention Mobile Bay. The Gulf Shores area of coastal Alabama has attracted some of the world's most sought after golf architects to utilize the sandy terrain and seaside beauty in developing a top Gulf Coast golf destination. Plus, a moderate climate makes it possible to hit the fairways of Gulf Shores' best golf courses year round.
"We have felt like golf in the Gulf Shores area has been a secret, but we feel like we stack up against golf destinations anywhere," said the president of the Gulf Shores Golf Association, Mark Stillings.
Kiva Dunes is clearly the crown jewel, a nationally acclaimed course designed by Jerry Pate. It's among the top-rated courses in Alabama, unfolding through sand dunes, lakes and natural wetlands.
Bordered on the north by Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, the course is routed with the near-constant gulf breezes in mind, as few holes have crosswinds. "Routing is so important in any design," Pate told TravelGolf.com. "I tried to make Kiva Dunes a golf course that not only gave you a lot of options, but one that tested all the shots."
Cypress Bend is the newest course at Craft Farms Coastal Resort, designed by Arnold Palmer. Golf Digest previously ranked it the "No. 1 most playable new course in the U.S." Its big brother is Cotton Creek: 6,484 challenging yards of lakes and bunkers.
Cotton Creek is another Arnold Palmer design. It's over-seeded in the winter, ensuring a lush look and feel. It boasts rolling fairways and large, undulating greens, as well as plenty of risk/reward opportunities.
Soldiers Creek is owned and operated by the Woerner family, located at the Woerner Preserve. Designed by Scott Clark, it opened in 2001.
The Woerners are in the sports turf business, so they know their grasses. The course has spacious, rolling fairways and is surrounded by trees and wetlands - including the headwaters of Soldiers Creek - with plenty of wildlife. The greens are TifEagle, a rarity for Alabama courses.
Timbercreek is a 27-hole complex architect Earl Stone carved from a forest of dogwoods, pines and magnolia trees. Measuring just over 7,000 yards, it boasts elevation changes, wetland preserves and a lot of wildlife. It's a solid round of golf for the average duffer. "Players can thank their lucky stars that there is still an architect who doesn't mind you shooting some pars on his course," Jason Scott wrote for TravelGolf.com.
Lost Key Golf Club is yet another Palmer design. It's on the barrier island of Perdido Key, which falls on the Florida-Alabama border. It isn't overly long at 6,810 yards, but it's nevertheless a ball buster: It's slope rating is 144.
Rock Creek sits on some of Baldwin County's highest elevations, overlooking freshwater wetlands and the Rock Creek basin. Tall pines and hardwoods line nearly every fairway of this Earl Stone design.
Stone is a believer that golf courses should be designed for 18-handicappers. Rock Creek goes a little beyond that, with several holes featuring tough water carries.
"Rock Creek ... has a fun, forgiving side to please the bad swing in all of us, yet the teeth to challenge anybody on their best day," Scott wrote in another review.
Peninsula Golf & Racquet Club is 27 holes on Mobile Bay, on a secluded 820 acres sandwiched between the Bon Secour Wildlife Preserve. Designed by Earl Stone, the Lakes, Marsh and Cypress courses meander through live oak, cypress and natural vegetation, with more than 30 lakes. Watch out for the large, white-sand bunkers.
Glen Lakes Golf Club is another 27-hole facility many consider among the better value plays in the area. The "links-style" layout features spacious fairways bordered by mounds and large, undulating greens. Glenlakes is very playable at 6,938 yards with a slope of 126.
Gulf Shores hotels and lodging
Gulf Shores has plenty of accommodation options. Depending on your taste and budget, you have a choice of hotels and motels, inns, resorts, bed and breakfasts, beach houses and even RV and camping facilities.
If you go
For more information on Alabama Gulf coast golf packages, call (866) 395-4607.
Latest Alabama articles & reviews
Kiva Dunes Golf Course is a seaside course you'll never forget in Gulf Shores, Alabama
Kiva Dunes Golf Course is the type of course you travel to play, the kind of showpiece that is a great impetus to come to the Alabama Gulf Shores and discover the other outstanding golf courses and 32 miles of beaches with white sand that looks like its special ordered from a postcard.
... full article »Kiva Dunes Golf Course in Gulf Shores, Alabama
Kiva Dunes Golf Course doesn't do anything typical. It's not your average resort course. Certainly not one you expect to see in Alabama. It's a seaside links-style design that's between both the Gulf of Mexico and Mobile Bay. Located in the Alabama Gulf Shores, Kiva Dunes is one of the more relaxed golf escapes you'll ever find.
... full article »Lakewood Golf Club In Point Clear, Ala.: Tee off among the Civil War ghosts
The two courses at the Lakewood Golf Club sit right across the street, and are part of, the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Ala. A little cemetery lays near the 18th tee box on the Azalea course. In it, lay the remains of 300 Confederate soldiers wounded in the Battle of Vicksburg. It puts that drive you shanked on No. 18 into perspective.
... full article »TimberCreek Golf Club in Mobile, Ala., a course to soothe your golfing nightmares
TimberCreek Golf Club outside of Mobile is one of those Alabama golf courses where the wind always seems to be at your back and all your tee shots are downhill. That isn't to say it's a ridiculously easy course, but it is a good antidote in the Mobile area after you've played Magnolia Grove's tough layouts, for example.
... full article »Golf Podcast: There's life after Hurricane Katrina in Mobile, Ala.
The golf courses in the historic city of Mobile, Ala., have completely recovered from Hurricane Katrina. Lakewood Golf Club, Magnolia Grove, Azalea City, Rock Creek Golf Club and Timbercreek Golf Club each offer Gulf Coast golfers a mix of challenge and playability.
... full article »There's life after Katrina for golfers in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Ala. took a hard right hand from Katrina. The good news is that the city has pretty much completely recovered from the storm, and business has returned to normal. All this is great news for golfers, who have known for years Mobile has a number of excellent golf courses.
... full article »Rock Creek Golf Club in Mobile, Alabama
You feel like you might be in the Carolinas the first few holes at the Rock Creek Golf Club in Mobile, Ala., before it flattens out a bit as you reach the middle stretch of the front nine. There are some interesting holes, but never anything too overwhelming. Aside from the elevation, Rock Creek smiles at you and says, "go low."
... full article »Elevate your game (and lower your score) at Alabama's hilly Rock Creek
You don't expect mountains this close to New Orleans, or to the beach, or to the bay. Well, not mountains, exactly. But these here hills in lower Alabama make for a nice surprise at Rock Creek Golf Club near Mobile.
... full article »RTJ Trail's Magnolia Grove, Crossings course, in Mobile, Alabama
The two courses at Magnolia Grove, part of the Robert Trent Jones Trail system, are as scenic as they can be challenging. The LPGA plays here, on the easier of the two courses, the Crossings. That's mainly because of logistical reasons, though, not because it's easier. The Falls is generally regarded as the more difficult course, in that has more forced carries. Both courses have deservedly received high praise.
... full article »Azalea City Golf Course in Mobile, Alabama
The conditioning at Azalea City in Mobile, Ala. rivals that of a resort course, or a country club course, or even an upscale semi-private course. The fairways are luscious and green, even after a warm winter, the greens are in impeccable shape and even the tee boxes look good. The conditioning is especially impressive when you consider it's a muni that caters to the masses - about 55,000 rounds a year on average.
... full article »
