Gulf Shores AL Golf Weekend

Golf Digest 3/09

CyberGolf.com

Golf Magazine

Where's Matty G.?

Golf Digest
I recently received this e-mail from Craig Watson of Skippack, Penn.:
Our group is traveling down to Gulf Shores, Ala. at the end of March and we have an empty golf day. We would love your input on where to play. Can you give us some of the top courses?

Craig,
I'm actually just back from Gulf Shores. I Ambushed a group of 89 guys on their 40th annual buddies trip--The Bratton Brothers Invitational. Here's their website. It's one of the better buddies trip sites I've seen. Look for more about their story in the June issue of Golf Digest. The BBI played Kiva Dunes, Peninsula Golf Club and the Golf Club of The Wharf. (The practice round at Marcus Pointe was optional.)

A few of the guys with higher handicaps felt Kiva Dunes, especially when the wind was blowing, was too hard but they agreed it was in great shape. The lower handicappers liked the challenge.

The Peninsula Golf Club got high marks from all skill levels. Peninsula has 27 holes, which were also in good condition, and Todd Edwards and his staff were a key ingredient to yet another successful Ambush (No. 13). Thank you, Todd. (And thank you beverage cart Tammy for showing off your heart and chili pepper tattoo. The specific body quadrant to be kept under wraps, but I'd rate the location PG--as in, pretty good.

I left the Bratton Brothers Invitational as they teed off at The Wharf, which used to be the Gulf Shores Golf Club. Built in the 60's, The Wharf was the first course in Gulf Shores. It was closed and completely renovated in 2005. It's had stints as a private course, but as of January, it's open to the public again. A trend we'll be seeing a lot more of I'm sure.

A few of the guys who came in early voted "No" on Marcus Pointe. And that was after they played it.

Note to self (and reader): When you go to Gulf Shores in March, be sure to bring bug spray or pack pants and long-sleeve shirts. The Noseeums, the maddening miniature gnats with a bloodthirsty bite, struck again. I'll aggressively be scratching my way through the next two weeks. I hate Noseeums more than I hate canceled flights, doing my expenses, the Yankees and eggplant.

On a social note of service . . .The Bratton Brothers brought me to the Flora-Bama last Saturday night. The Flora-Bama is a delightful little dump of a venue, the tramp-stamp on the lower back of the "Redneck Riviera" if you will, that's been located on the border of Florida and Alabama since 1964. If it looks like it's been knocked down, dragged out and left for dead, it's because it has. Several times. Hurricane Ivan was the Flora-Bama's latest sparring partner. The current owners, Joe Gilchrist and Pat McClellan, have taped the place up and tied it together with big ol' braziers from a clientele with exhibitionist tendencies. It features multiple rooms with as many as four bands playing at the same time. Order a Bushwacker, the local frozen drink, and take a seat with your back to the wall if you know what's good for you. As one guide explained to me, "It's a bar scene out of Star Wars." I'd argue it's more terrestrial than that.

And if this kind of thing floats your boat--or heaves your fish--get to the beach right next to the Flora-Bama in the last full weekend of April to catch the Annual Interstate Mullet Toss. It's exactly what you think it might be: Marinated, sun-drenched rednecks wearing next to nothing tossing fish over 150 feet from one state to another. Thousands of people come from all over for gridlock traffic, an unlimited supply of Bushwackers and countless acts of drunken debauchery.

It's not all bad at the Flora-Bama. They attract some great bands and I should mention that proceeds from the Mullet Toss go to local charities and youth organizations. Which begs the question: What's better than a group of fish-tossin' rednecks with big hearts?

--Matty G.

Alabama's Gulf Shores - A Different Destination
By: Blaine Newnham, CyberGolf.com

A different destination? With all the attention appropriately given the Robert Trent Jones Alabama Golf Trail, the Yellowhammer State might not sound that different.

But it can be. I'm talking about the Gulf Shores, the southern tip of Alabama where it kisses the Gulf of Mexico and sidles up to the panhandle of Florida. Here on 32 miles of coast, there are hurricane-surviving condos, sugary stretches of beach, boiled shrimp, fried okra, a few recalcitrant rednecks and a dozen friendly and varied golf courses.

They tout the area (www.golfgulfshores.com) as a "whole-in-one" destination. In this case, the ad campaign is valid. Unlike the Alabama Trail, where courses are a couple of hours apart and nights are spent in hotels, the Gulf Shores are self-contained; all its courses within 45 minutes of each other, all of which makes staying in a beach condo not only delightful, but convenient.

I was there in August and not sure if I'd survive the trip as well as the temperature.

From Seattle, it took about as long as driving to Bandon Dunes, about an eight-hour trip. I flew to Atlanta and then to Pensacola. It was hot, in the low-90s, but we religiously replenished our fluids, draped a mango-scented ice-water-dipped towel over our heads and did just fine.

The two things I feared most, bugs and grainy, Bermuda greens were thankfully missing. The golf was good, the bugs gone. (It might be worth noting that a water moccasin slithered by during one round, and I learned no golf ball was worth going in the deep rough. But, then, this is the Southeast.)

I thought our first stop, Lost Key Golf Club (www.lostkey.com) - just over the border in Florida - would be typical of the Gulf Shores courses, an Arnold Palmer design through swamps and lagoons that reminded one of target golf in Arizona. But there is no typical golf course in the south of Alabama. That's the point. Rock Creek Golf Club (www.rockcreekgolf.com) in Fairhope, near Mobile, weaves through rolling hills - real hills.

It struck me that the courses were designed for fun, if not fame. Many of them are the work of Earl Stone, a Southeast golf architect who understands that golf should be less about a designer's ego and more about an 18-handicapper's enjoyment.

"No forced carries if I can help it," said Stone. "I was once a single-digit player but I try to envision each hole the way an 18-handicapper would. Then I build a couple of tees back in the woods for the big boys."

It is all about playability, of allowing golfers to get around the course quicker and with fewer strokes and lost balls. Stone's courses generally have a slope of less than 120 from the white - or everyman's - tees. He's never won any awards for his courses, but he has won an astute following.

Gulf Shores courses are all of high quality. They have the look of half-resort, half-country club, and are operated that way. The rack rate - $50-$99 - is slightly higher than the Alabama Trail, but still well below Arizona and Hawaii.

The piece de resistance is Kiva Dunes (www.kivadunes.com) in the town of Gulf Shores. Voted at one time the top course in Alabama, the Jerry Pate design looks and feels linksy, especially when the coastal winds blow. It recently reopened after all its greens were replaced with a new hybrid grass that plays more like bent than Bermuda.

Besides Stone's work at Peninsula Golf & Racket Club (www.peninsulagolfclub.com) in Gulf Shores, and Timber Creek Golf Club in Daphne (www.golftimbercreek.com ), he did the splendid Rock Creek, which has a hole with a bulkhead behind, not in front of it, producing some interesting shots.

Palmer's design group did the two courses at Craft Farms Golf Resort (www.craftfarms.com), which led the way to golf in these parts, replacing what had been a gladiola farm. Jay Morrish, and his son, Carter, did a remake of the Wharf Golf Resort (www.thewharfal.com) in Orange Beach, which I enjoyed very much. Glenlakes Golf Club (www.glenlakesgolf.com) in Foley, and Soldiers Creek Golf Course (www.soldierscreekgolf.com) in Elberta, offer additional quality in the area with even lower green fees.

For this spring, www.Golfgulfshores.com is pushing customized stay-and-play packages. Cram a bunch of guys in a condo and you can pay as little as $75 a day to play and stay. Fully-occupied condos tend not only to be more economical than hotels, but also provide a common area for having breakfast, playing cards or reliving the events of the day.

Simply, the Gulf area is more attractive that you might think as a destination. The seafood can be wonderful, while the beaches are flat and fine. There is an amusement park in the area and Fairhope has been called the "Carmel of the Southeast."

I enjoyed it, even in August.