RTJ Trail in May - Itinerary - Thoughts? Comments?

I am planning for a group of 8 of us who will be starting a yearly golfing tradition! First year will be the RTJ Trail in Alabama.

I have read countless threads and have come up with this itinerary. Please let me know if this is too much or perhaps I am missing something.

This trip will be in the end of May so I'm sue it will be packed and slow but at least sunset is about 7:40pm.

Itinerary:

Arrive in Atlanta on Wednesday night and drive to Prattville for Capitol Hill.

Thursday - 8am - Capitol Hill - Senator

Thursday - 2pm - Capitol Hill - Judge

Drive to Birmingaham Thursday night

Friday - 10am - Birmingham - Ross Bridge

Stay in Birmingham Friday night. Wake up early and drive to Farmlinks

Saturday - 9am - Farmlinks - Just 18 and lunch and drive to Grand National

Saturday - 4pm - Grand National - Par 3 Short Course

Stay in Auburn Saturday night

Sunday - 7:30am - Grand National - Lakes

Finish around 12pm. Have lunch, drive to Atlanta, get back into Eastern time zone and catch 7pm flights back home.

How does that sound? I would enjoy comments from those who have taken similar trips and perhaps give me suggestions.

Thanks!

Jason

Sounds like a lot of driving for such a short trip. But, if your okay with that, then so be it. Having played Farmlinks, I suggest you play 36 there. It will blow away that par 3 course.

Thanks adam. That does seem to be the biggest question mark. We originally had the all you can play at Farmlinks but everyone raves about that par 3 course.

So...that was a compromise. But thanks for the input

Thursday: 7am Judge, 1130am Senator, 4pm Legislator. You can easily play 54 in one day, I played 72 at Oxmoor and Ross Bridge, walking, on June 20 when both courses had full tee sheets. Also, I'd play 36 on Friday...but other than volume, there isn't anything I'd change.

[quote name='Johnny Biarritz' timestamp='1356048564' post='6098051']
Thursday: 7am Judge, 1130am Senator, 4pm Legislator. You can easily play 54 in one day, I played 72 at Oxmoor and Ross Bridge, walking, on June 20 when both courses had full tee sheets. Also, I'd play 36 on Friday...but other than volume, there isn't anything I'd change.
[/quote]

Wow. Thats a lot of golf. May have to wear gloves on both hands for that schedule! Haha

Some of the guy didn't want to do more than 36 nor have 2 consecutive days of 36 holes. Tough to please 8 people.

I'm kinda bumbed myself on only playing 18 at Ross Bridge on the Friday. Maybe I'll move that up to 8am and leave a few of us room to play Oxmoor in the PM. Too bad they don't let you do replays in RB as that would be best.

Again....thanks for the feedback. This is my first golf trip and, more importantly, first time trying to schedule one for a large group.

Everything looks good, except I agree with the poster above that 36 at Farmlinks is a MUCH better idea than the Par 3 at Grand National. Farmlinks is a unique experience, plus it's a better deal to get the all-you-can-play rate, which includes a nice country-style lunch.

RB has a replay rate --- at least in Feb, which is when we're going. It's walk-on only and is about 40% off of the rack rate. Oxmoor is not worth it, IMO. The Ridge is okay, but just okay, and will pale in comparison to RB in just about every way.

Have fun!

If you play 36 in Birmingham, do Ross Bridge twice and forget about Oxmoor.

What does "Wednesday night" mean? Because drive time from Atlanta to Prattville is 2 1/2 hours, plus baggage time and check in at hotel. Just making sure you know that. And yes, I am sure Ross Bridge has a replay rate...I know in mid-June of this year they had a twilight rate which was about 50% of the rack rate, I think. I know the twilight rate was either $59 or $69 and that is far cheaper than the rack rate. But they may not be doing that in May when you are there.

Try to budget some time for "emergency" golf. Like when 2 or 3 guys want to go bust out another 9 or 18 holes, but the other crowd doesn't. Certainly the Friday at Ross Bridge is a prime candidate for this.

As far as skipping Oxmoor Valley...not sure what to tell you. I've played all the courses there, they are fair, not nearly as good as Ross Bridge though. Depends what you are doing though...when I travel long distances, I like to play as many new courses as possible. So I would pick a round at Oxmoor Valley over a replay at Ross Bridge for that reason alone. But if you are looking to have the highest quality overall, then go with 2 at Ross Bridge.

Been there over the last 8 years with buddies and have played many of the sites. Never played Farmlinks, we were thinking about it but with no beer allowed on the course we bailed

As mentioned above thats alot of driving...save some for next year. If you guys like golfing, having a few and just enjoying a golf trip, less driving more golf is my suggestion. If I were take a stab at your schedule I would make the following changes:

[color=#282828][size=3]Thursday - 8am - Capitol Hill - Senator (Legislator as a warmup. Not sure why but we find Senator boring whith all holes running back and forth and repetitive. Or even play Judge in the am. its a beast and to play it second round in the afternoon is work....Just a comment).[/size][/color]
[color=#282828][size=3]Thursday - 2pm - Capitol Hill - Judge[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Drive to Birmingaham Thursday night[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Friday - 10am - Birmingham - Ross Bridg[/size][/color]
[color=#282828][size=3](Maybe throw an Oxmoor 18 at Ridge or Par 3 Course. Not as good as GN Par 3 but fun. We get the bets going and play some fun games)[/size][/color]


[color=#282828][size=3]Stay in Birmingham Friday night. Wake up early and drive to Farmlinks (This is what I would change. I would drive to GN and DEFINITELY play the Links Course and Par 3 in afternoon. The LINKS Its a course you cant skip!)[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Saturday - 9am - Farmlinks - Just 18 and lunch and drive to Grand National[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Saturday - 4pm - Grand National - Par 3 Short Course[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Stay in Auburn Saturday night[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Sunday - 7:30am - Grand National - Lakes[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Finish around 12pm. Have lunch, drive to Atlanta, get back into Eastern time zone and catch 7pm flights back home.[/size][/color]

[quote name='g8tor20' timestamp='1356038686' post='6097249']
[size=3]I am planning for a group of 8 of us who will be starting a yearly golfing tradition! First year will be the RTJ Trail in Alabama.

I have read countless threads and have come up with this itinerary. Please let me know if this is too much or perhaps I am missing something.

This trip will be in the end of May so I'm sue it will be packed and slow but at least sunset is about 7:40pm.

Itinerary:

Arrive in Atlanta on Wednesday night and drive to Prattville for Capitol Hill.

Thursday - 8am - Capitol Hill - Senator
Thursday - 2pm - Capitol Hill - Judge

Drive to Birmingaham Thursday night

Friday - 10am - Birmingham - Ross Bridge

Stay in Birmingham Friday night. Wake up early and drive to Farmlinks

Saturday - 9am - Farmlinks - Just 18 and lunch and drive to Grand National

Saturday - 4pm - Grand National - Par 3 Short Course

Stay in Auburn Saturday night

Sunday - 7:30am - Grand National - Lakes

Finish around 12pm. Have lunch, drive to Atlanta, get back into Eastern time zone and catch 7pm flights back home.


How does that sound? I would enjoy comments from those who have taken similar trips and perhaps give me suggestions.

Thanks!

Jason[/size]
[/quote]

I think the itinerary is "spot on"! Great planning btw! Any changes would just be splitting hairs. You'll have a great trip!

You should compare your price with a golf travel company, I know people who booked with My Golf Concierge and if you have 8+ golfers like you do, they give the guy who organized it (you) a large discount...

[quote name='pquarta1' timestamp='1356059941' post='6098961']
Everything looks good, except I agree with the poster above that 36 at Farmlinks is a MUCH better idea than the Par 3 at Grand National. Farmlinks is a unique experience, plus it's a better deal to get the all-you-can-play rate, which includes a nice country-style lunch.

RB has a replay rate --- at least in Feb, which is when we're going. It's walk-on only and is about 40% off of the rack rate. Oxmoor is not worth it, IMO. The Ridge is okay, but just okay, and will pale in comparison to RB in just about every way.

Have fun!
[/quote]

Thanks for the opinion on Farmlinks. We're divided as a group on what to do with that day.

And since that is the heavy time for Ross Bridge, there are no replay's allowed. Only rack rate.

[quote name='Johnny Biarritz' timestamp='1356065444' post='6099311']
What does "Wednesday night" mean? Because drive time from Atlanta to Prattville is 2 1/2 hours, plus baggage time and check in at hotel. Just making sure you know that. And yes, I am sure Ross Bridge has a replay rate...I know in mid-June of this year they had a twilight rate which was about 50% of the rack rate, I think. I know the twilight rate was either $59 or $69 and that is far cheaper than the rack rate. But they may not be doing that in May when you are there.

Try to budget some time for "emergency" golf. Like when 2 or 3 guys want to go bust out another 9 or 18 holes, but the other crowd doesn't. Certainly the Friday at Ross Bridge is a prime candidate for this.

As far as skipping Oxmoor Valley...not sure what to tell you. I've played all the courses there, they are fair, not nearly as good as Ross Bridge though. Depends what you are doing though...when I travel long distances, I like to play as many new courses as possible. So I would pick a round at Oxmoor Valley over a replay at Ross Bridge for that reason alone. But if you are looking to have the highest quality overall, then go with 2 at Ross Bridge.
[/quote]

I like that emergency golf time. I may move the RB time up so that leaves time for some of the guys to play 36 that day. Good call

[quote name='Smooth spin scott' timestamp='1356105190' post='6100557']
Been there over the last 8 years with buddies and have played many of the sites. Never played Farmlinks, we were thinking about it but with no beer allowed on the course we bailed

As mentioned above thats alot of driving...save some for next year. If you guys like golfing, having a few and just enjoying a golf trip, less driving more golf is my suggestion. If I were take a stab at your schedule I would make the following changes:

[color=#282828][size=3]Thursday - 8am - Capitol Hill - Senator (Legislator as a warmup. Not sure why but we find Senator boring whith all holes running back and forth and repetitive. Or even play Judge in the am. its a beast and to play it second round in the afternoon is work....Just a comment).[/size][/color]
[color=#282828][size=3]Thursday - 2pm - Capitol Hill - Judge[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Drive to Birmingaham Thursday night[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Friday - 10am - Birmingham - Ross Bridg[/size][/color]
[color=#282828][size=3](Maybe throw an Oxmoor 18 at Ridge or Par 3 Course. Not as good as GN Par 3 but fun. We get the bets going and play some fun games)[/size][/color]


[color=#282828][size=3]Stay in Birmingham Friday night. Wake up early and drive to Farmlinks (This is what I would change. I would drive to GN and DEFINITELY play the Links Course and Par 3 in afternoon. The LINKS Its a course you cant skip!)[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Saturday - 9am - Farmlinks - Just 18 and lunch and drive to Grand National[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Saturday - 4pm - Grand National - Par 3 Short Course[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Stay in Auburn Saturday night[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Sunday - 7:30am - Grand National - Lakes[/size][/color]

[color=#282828][size=3]Finish around 12pm. Have lunch, drive to Atlanta, get back into Eastern time zone and catch 7pm flights back home.[/size][/color]
[/quote]

Well...Farmlinks says on their website that they do have alcohol now. Haven't confirmed it yet though.

Can't play Judge in the AM since they have a tourney that morning.

I like the Oxmoor par 3 idea. It's just tough to make 8 people happy.

[quote name='James_Par' timestamp='1356237703' post='6106847']
You should compare your price with a golf travel company, I know people who booked with My Golf Concierge and if you have 8+ golfers like you do, they give the guy who organized it (you) a large discount...
[/quote]

Thanks for the heads up. Never heard of them. Worth a shot. Haven't thought about hotels too much but I guess thats the next thing to look at

Thank you to everyone who chimed in. Its tough planning your first golf trip to a place I know nothing about. Also thanks to all those who have given advice on other threads as I have learned a lot by reading past RTJ threads. Thanks!

May can't get here fast enough....

Gator- PM coming your way...

Just did the SilverLakes, Farmlinks, Ross Bridge & Oxmoor this past Oct.

Far and away Farmlinks was the best. Play 36 stay there and play 36 again - it's that good.

Ross Bridge was VERY good but had a few in our group who HATED it. - Not me - thought it was very good - Skip Silver Lake - nothing special.

The Grand National courses and Prattville are very dood - and the par 3 is lots of fun (we play a group of 8 - last man standing match wneh we can and it's a blast).

The only other comment is - dont spend so much time racing from one course to the other - hang and chill out a bit - more golf and less jumping works much better for our group.

This is good advice and holds up on a recent trip I did to those same courses. 

Agree with the lukewarm opinion of the Senator. The Judge is so good with lots of variety...the Senator is one hole after another that feel the same, and that tall grass just off the fairways eats a lot of balls. 
 

My advice for anyone playing RTJ courses is to play tees one set forward from where you think you should play. The greens are all *so* well protected...you don’t want to be hitting mid irons into many of them. 

On 12/23/2012 at 5:44 AM, g8tor20 said:

[quote 

... It's just tough to make 8 people happy.

I've planned golf trips for groups of 8 to 20 for many years. If there is one "Golden Rule" that I've learned, it's that you will rarely, if ever get unanimity and that on any decisions where you don't get a consensus and even sometimes when you do, you as the group leader and planner should make the final decision based on what you think is best. You get more than one vote

On 12/23/2012 at 5:46 AM, g8tor20 said:

Thank you to everyone who chimed in. Its tough planning your first golf trip to a place I know nothing about. Also thanks to all those who have given advice on other threads as I have learned a lot by reading past RTJ threads. Thanks!

May can't get here fast enough....

I coordinate a golf trip. Started with 8 guys and we’ll have 20 next year. 
best advice I can give you is to start a coordinating council. Identify 2 other guys to bounce ideas off and the 3 of you make the decisions. If you put it to all 8 players you’ll never come to a consensus. I have guys thank me every year, they say “I just show up and don’t have to think about any of the planning”. 
Then. Over beers after your last round, do some lessons learned and start throwing out ideas for the next trip. 

It's always good to throw in a surprise. Some little last minute diversion. Say a visit to a par 3 course that no-one knows about, or an invite to a private club if you can swing it. Even something after hours is good. Leave it off the trip itinerary.

Also guys love a t-shirt or a polo or a cap with some relevant logo or words. Bandon does this very well or you can do it yourself. eg last year or 2019 actually, I had caps made up with the names of all the courses we were playing embroidered on. The guys loved it and saved them buying a heap of one off caps.

Definitely play 36 @ FarmLinks.  If I were you, I would spend the night there and play another 18 in the AM.  One of the best courses around.  Not only in conditioning and layout, but the people there are salt of the earth.   5* all around