There was one moment during my incredible three-day weekend odyssey on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama that I will never forget. My golf buddy Daniel and I were playing at Oxmoor Valley in Birmingham. After a grueling and exhilarating day on the championship Ridge course, we were winding down on the facility’s short course: 18 holes of awesome one-shot golf—a terrific feature of every facility throughout the Trail.

Uwe, a native of Berlin who was in Alabama on business, made us a threesome. He was a gregarious owner of a goofy golf swing—he flared both his elbows chicken-wing style as he took the club back—who liked to provide bilingual commentary as his ball fell toward the green. He warned us that he was “only novice in skill, so do not expect much Tiger Voods from me”—and after three holes proved the accuracy of his self-assessment. But on the 185-yard fourth, after he hit a shot with eyes for the flag that landed less than a foot from the pin, he screamed out, “Oh mien Gott, that vas almost perfection!” Beginner, yes. Hooked on golf for life? Absolutely.

The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail was the late-’80s brainchild of Dr. David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. He was looking for a way to diversify the assets of the state’s pension fund. His idea was to invest in an already hot commodity, golf, and make Alabama one of the best places to play in the country. Bronner figured it would increase tourism and attract retirees, creating revenue opportunities throughout the state. He was right—the Trail now receives approximately 15,000 calls for reservations a month. The goal of offering high-quality and affordable golf was integral to the plan. After helping to form SunBelt Golf Corporation—which oversees everything from the construction of the courses to their management—Bronner approached legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., who had designed over 500 courses worldwide, including 35 of Golf Digest’s “America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.” Jones, who was in semi-retirement at the time, agreed to take on the project. The rest is history.

There are eight stops on the Trail, a veritable compass rose of golf that treks across the entire state of Alabama, with stops running as far south as Mobile’s 54-hole Magnolia Grove facility and Auburn/Opelika’s Grand National facility. My trip starts at the northernmost point on the trail, Huntsville’s Hampton Cove, another 54-hole facility. It’s a three-hour drive from Nashville, and I meet my instructor’s husband, Gary, at the sprawling, modern colonial clubhouse for our 9 a.m. tee time.

My first impression of the Trail couldn’t be better. The grounds are immaculate, the service and staff at the pro shop are exceptional. The golf carts lend an air of high-tech luxury to the experience: Every cart has an onboard GPS system that gives you information on yardage from ball to green, along with news flashes regarding weather and course conditions; plus, the on-board computer lets you score your round electronically and order food.

Of the two championship courses, we play the Highlands, a gorgeous, wide-open Scottish Links course. We are well into fall—early November—but the temperature hits 80 by noon. Not that Gary or I are complaining; the Highlands quickly confirms itself as a golfing pleasure on every level. The course is beautifully landscaped, its fairways lined with mature oaks, dogwoods, and Japanese black pines, and every hole is exceptionally challenging, bringing some element of the landscape into play from tee to green and any number of hazards all along the way. Jones’ philosophy of hard par, easy bogey is never more in evidence than on the third hole, a 518-yard par-5, dogleg right, with a 185-yard carry over water off the tee, followed by an approach over water to the green. Gary double-bogeys; I make a snowman. We both have goofy smiles on our faces, like we’re drunk for the first time.

After a quick 18 on the Highlands short course—it takes under two hours to play—I’m on the road south to Birmingham to meet my buddy Daniel. We have a very early tee time the next morning at Oxmoor Valley’s 54-hole facility, and we realize we’re in for something special when we arrive at the driving range. The practice area drops over 100 feet from tee boxes to various islanded greens. We play the Ridge course, which begins with a spectacular first hole, a 414-yard par-4 that drops so precipitously from the tee it’s like driving a ball into a canyon. The fairways are densely lined with trees, and the rolling course plays tight.

Birmingham was once known as the Pittsburgh of the South for its thriving steel industry, and the whole facility is built on mining land formerly owned by U.S. Steel. The course seems carved out of shale, the tree-lined, dragon-back fairways falling from 150-foot elevations and rising back up again. The course leaves us spent—and ready for more golf.

But first it’s time to eat and drink, and in this department, Birmingham does not disappoint. V. Richard’s Market (3908 Clairmont Ave.), located in the Forest Park area, serves terrific sandwiches and is also a first-rate gourmet grocer. We have dinner that night at Chez Fonfon (2007 Eleventh Ave. S.) in Five Points, a French bistro-style restaurant owned by nationally acclaimed chef Frank Stitt. I have the steak frites—a heavenly grilled rib eye with maître d’butter and pommes frites. Daniel has the pork cutlet with chicken-apple sausage, coarse-grain mustard, and watercress that tastes as good as it sounds. A couple at the table next to us rave about the upscale Italian fare at Bottega, Stitt’s other restaurant next door, as well as Surin West. If either restaurant is half as good as Chez Fonfon, they’re worth visiting.

The next morning, it’s an hour-and-a-half drive northeast to Silver Lakes, a 36-hole facility in Anniston/Gadsden that is our final destination of the weekend. We have rainy weather in the morning that lets up on the drive, but the sun begins to shine when we drop our bags off at the clubhouse—“Someone upstairs wants us to play,” Daniel says.

More likely, someone upstairs wants our golf-egos to be flogged. Unlike Oxmoor Valley and the Highlands, Silver Lakes is divided into three championship nines (and a nine-hole short course) with the rather daunting names of Mindbreaker, Heartbreaker, and Backbreaker. Each earns its name. The combination of sleep deprivation and golf saturation leads to Daniel’s first full-scale, club-throwing meltdown after making a snowman on Heartbreaker’s 568-yard, par-5 first. Me, I experience my meltdown on Mindbreaker.

These are by far the most challenging courses we encounter on the Trail. Par becomes a triumph. I will remember forever the birdie I made on Heartbreaker’s seventh hole, a 550-yard par-5, until the day I die (and not just because it’s the only one either of us makes all day). Silver Lakes’ natural beauty rivals anything we’ve seen so far on the Trail. The property abuts the Talladega National Forest and is set at the base of the Appalachian foothills. But the highlight of the facility is arguably its short course, with water in play on seven of the holes and almost all the tee shots requiring carries of over 180 yards.

And that’s the end of the weekend. One hundred eight holes of golf (although admittedly we squeezed in another four as we were losing the light) in three days. Three and a half hours of driving later, I’m back home in Nashville. Two days later, I’ve already got my spring trip planned—for anyone who loves golf, the Robert Trent Jones Trail is that much fun.

—Adam Ross

For information about the Robert Trent Jones Trail, call (800)949-4444. Package rates start at a $167, with package hotel rates averaging $39 per person per night. Reservations are required 15 days before the first day of play.

—Adam Ross

For information about the Robert Trent Jones Trail, call (800)949-4444. Package rates start at a $167, with package hotel rates averaging $39 per person per night. Reservations are required 15 days before the first day of play.