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 ANYTIME IS THE
RIGHT TIME
Gulf Shores, Alabama
Texans headed east for golf vacations will find the Gulf Coast of Alabama to be a tempting—and easily accessible—alternative to more traditional destinations such as Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head. Ten top-notch courses are complemented by miles of sandy white beaches, family friendly activities and all sorts of well-priced accommodations.
Ernie Smith, who went from being a small town mayor to golf club general manager after moving to the area a few years back, likes to say that The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail put Alabama on the golf map, but the facilities that make up the Gulf Shores Golf Association (GSGA) could be the state’s best-kept secret. “I never thought anything could beat The Trail, but this does,” Smith shared one afternoon at The Wharf, a course he opened out of what was previously the Gulf Shores Golf Club.
Formed 17 years ago, the GSGA is a cooperative effort among the area’s courses and beach accommodations to attract everyone from snowbirds to golf buddies. In direct partnership with the various hotels, condos and other properties, the GSGA places what executive director Duncan Millar calls a “golf guru” as a middleman to answer questions on everything from green fees to overseeding schedules, along with providing information on deep-sea fishing trips, restaurants, kid’s parks and more.
Decimated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, the region has rebuilt, renovated and reemerged despite a struggling economy. “Not only have we grown in numbers, but each year the new places are a little nicer than what was here before,” says Herb Malone Jr., president and CEO of the Alabama Gulf Coast CVB.
But it’s golf that brings new visitors to the area. “We’re very accessible and very accommodating,” Malone says. “Prices are competitive to The Trail, and with the variety of courses we offer, golf is distinctly different each day.”
A good place to start is Lost Key Golf Club, near the Pensacola Airport. Once three feet under water, Lost Key is the king of risk-reward golf on the Gulf. A word of advice: Make sure you have plenty of golf balls, since the wetlands that weave through the course gobble them up like alligators munching on frogs.
Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club, one of three in the area run by Honours Golf, boasts three different nines designed by Earl Stone. Known for their playability, Peninsula is family friendly golf at its best. At Peninsula—as well as Rock Creek and Craft Farms, also managed by Honours Golf—service levels stand out. For example, getting iced, mango-scented towels delivered regularly during an early August round can make anyone forget their last double-bogey.
The granddaddy of all courses in the area is Craft Farms, where Gulf Coast visionary Robert Craft turned his turf farm into two Arnold Palmer signature courses, Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend. Both of these scenic gems can offer better golfers a test from the back tees, but also provide an enjoyable round for the resort golfer.
Craft Farms is a full-service resort, with luxurious condominiums as well as a Courtyard by Marriott on site.
If Craft Farms was the area’s first standard bearer, Kiva Dunes is the new benchmark. Designed by native Alabaman Jerry Pate, Kiva Dunes has hosted many of the state’s top golf events since opening in 1995. Kiva Dunes owner Jim Edgemon jokingly said of Pate, “We gave him a tremendous site and his job was to not screw it up.”
The course, which sits closer to the Gulf than any in the area, can play differently every day, depending on the weather, particularly the wind. According to GSGA executive director Millar, “You can play this course a dozen times and it will never play the same.”
The same can be said for the area’s off-course
activities. Aside from a handful of upscale restaurants such as Cobalt, the culinary hot spots tend to be a little more down-home, such as Tin Top (the pecan-crusted grouper is a must) and Lulu’s, where Jimmy Buffet’s sister, Lucy, serves 100,000 cheeseburgers a year and live music is heard every night of the week.
And every fun-loving golfer should check out the landmark Flora-Bama, a world-famous road house that sits right on the Florida/Alabama state line. Closed for eight months after Ivan, and scaled down a bit from the old days when it had 17 bars, Flora-Bama is what one long-time employee calls “the last of the great honky tonks.”
“The Gulf Coast of Alabama is a very family friendly beach destination with a casual, laid-back atmosphere,” said Millar. While early spring and late fall bring ideal weather for Gulf Coast golf, anytime is the right time to have fun.
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