#8 Crossings Course

Magnolia Grove:

Mobile's Wonderful RTJ Facility.

Mobile Alabama has roots that date back to the very early 1700’s when French Canadians settled the Mobile River as part of the formation of Louisiana. Over the decades this burgeoning Gulf Coast port city has seen French, English and Spanish control. Currently Alabama’s third largest city, Mobile is home to a variety of cultural and recreational facilities. One of these notable facilities is Magnolia Grove Golf Club, one of the 11 Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail facilities that provides great golf options and millions of tourist dollars to this southern state each year.

Built as part of the grand vision of the RTJ Trail when Dr. David Bonner used the Alabama Pension Funds to build golf resorts around the state promoting tourism and providing stability to the pension funds. His ambitious plan hatched arguably the most successful and recognized “trail” in the industry.

Located a short drive northwest of downtown Mobile, just off US 98, Magnolia Grove features three highly regarded courses laid over the somewhat surprising rolling landscape of coastal Alabama. In addition to the two championship courses, The Falls and the Crossings, the facility also features a highly acclaimed short course that is consistently rated as one of the best in the U.S.

Location:

Mobile, Alabma.

Course Stats:

Falls Course: Par 71, 5049 - 7158 yards, rated 69.5 - 74.6 slope rating 126 -142

Crossings Course: Par 72, 5261 - 7212 yards, rated 68.6 - 73.6, slope rating 114 -125

Short Course: Par 54, 1829 - 3140 yards

Access: Public Play

The Falls Course:

Course Stats:

The Falls is considered the sternest test of the bunch playing as the only Par 71 course on the entire trail. Featuring vast bunker complexes, plentiful wetlands and an abundance of watery graves for errant shots, The Falls is filled with both beautiful vistas and challenging demands on your shot making. Opening with a series of holes where the considerable drop in elevation must be accounted for off the tee. The meat of the course is the four hole sequence in the farthest reaches from the clubhouse. The tee shot on the uphill dogleg left Hole 8 from high above Clear Creek must play toward the right side bunkers avoiding the overhanging limbs jutting out protecting the corner. The approach must account for the considerable climb in elevation while steering clear of the nasty fronting bunker. The ninth also doglegs left, but this time the tee shot must avoid a bunker on the left side of the landing area. The second shot must carry a vast wetland to the green protected by trench bunkering left and twin bunkers embedded in the hillside right.

Editor's Shot Maker's Picks: The Falls

The signature Hole 10 is a formidable dogleg left par 5 that brings the namesake “Falls” into play. Hitting out of a tree lined chute you must split a pair of bunkers at the corner of the dogleg. A layup will be required for anyone not named Bubba or Rory as the aforementioned falls fills a creek filled chasm crossing the fairway 90 yards from the green. A precise wedge is needed to clear the fronting bunkers and find the correct part of this large and sloped green. The par 3 eleventh is a beautiful but nerve wracking short hole. A long iron or hybrid must carry the lake all the way to a long narrow green extending out on a peninsula and filled with enough humps and bumps to make any putt a challenge.

The Crossings Course:

Course Stats:

The Crossings hosts the LPGA each year providing the world’s best women a chance to experience this challenging and beautiful layout. The layout is a little tighter put plays a couple shots easier than The Falls even though this routing plays to a full par of 72. The front nine plays over and along the tree covered hillsides, presenting creative doglegs mixed with a few forced carries over wetlands and a large pond fronting the intimidating Hole 5. The devilish Par 3 eighth is a brute that will take all you can throw at it to clear the significant wetland and avoid the four pot bunkers that surround the raised green.  

Editor's Shot Maker's Picks: The Crossings

The back nine is something special, with a collection of holes that will test all facets of your game. The stretch opens with a terrific risk / reward par 4 that tempts you to hammer a drive over the trap guarding the corner. Uphill the entire way, take more club for the tricky approach, as all the trouble lies short. The first of the short holes is a dramatic downhill shot across a large pond framed on the right by a charming covered bridge. Finding the putting surface is critical for a realistic chance at par. The 15th is a great example of mean and nasty. This lengthy brute presents two water crossings, a vast waste bunker left and a heavily sloped green site framed by a pond and trees. Two perfect strikes are required to give you a reasonable chance at scoring an elusive par.  The penultimate hole is a beastly par 3 playing over massive sand and grass bunkers to a green with severe slope and ridges. The finishing hole is a fitting challenge playing over a pond off the tee for the final “crossing” off the day. The hole plays uphill where avoiding the bunkers at the corner of the dogleg right and then again ringing the green is critical to navigating your way home.

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has become the benchmark for which all other golf trails are measured. Mobile’s RTJ facility at Magnolia Grove is a facility that has to be experienced. With 54 memorable holes laid over the rolling hills and mixed forest landscape of coastal Alabama, your golfing dollars will be well spent.

Related Editorial:

Grand Hotel Marriott Resort & Lakewood Golf Club

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail

Contact:

Magnolia Grove
7001 Magnolia Grove Parkway
Mobile, AL
36618
251-645-0075

[website]