How to Play Golf in Alabama and the Gulf Coast
Alabama is the great public golf bargain of the American South, built around the Robert Trent Jones Trail, 26 courses you can simply book, and finished off by the resort golf of the Gulf Shores coast. There is barely a private gate in sight. Here is how access works, the courses to build around, indicative 2026 fees and when to go.
Photograph: Robert Trent Jones Trail, Alabama, via Google
The short answer
Alabama golf is refreshingly easy to play. The spine of it is the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, a statewide collection of 26 public courses at 11 sites, 468 holes in total, that opened in 1992 and is open to anyone on a daily fee basis. It was conceived as affordable public golf and remains one of the best value golf road trips in the country, with eight of the sites attached to resort hotels. You do not need a member, you need a tee sheet and a hire car.
The other half of the story is the coast. Around Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and across Mobile Bay at Point Clear, the golf is resort and daily fee too, anchored by Kiva Dunes, the Jerry Pate links style design from 1995, and the Arnold Palmer courses at Craft Farms. The Trail's own coastal site, Lakewood at Point Clear, sits beside the historic Grand Hotel on Mobile Bay. Put the two together and Alabama is a low fuss, high value golf destination you can book without a gatekeeper.
Alabama and Gulf Coast golf: how to get on, 2026
| Course | Access | Indicative 2026 fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTJ Trail, statewide | Public, daily fee, book direct | Around 70 to 110 dollars peak | 26 courses, 11 sites, 468 holes; opened 1992 |
| Lakewood, Point Clear | Public; Grand Hotel resort stay | Trail rate, confirm direct | Azalea and Dogwood courses on Mobile Bay |
| Magnolia Grove, Mobile | Public, daily fee | Trail rate, confirm direct | Crossings and Falls courses; LPGA history |
| Kiva Dunes, Gulf Shores | Public, book direct or package | Higher in spring peak, confirm direct | Jerry Pate, 1995; par 72, around 7,092 yards |
| Craft Farms, Gulf Shores | Public, book direct or package | Confirm direct by season | Arnold Palmer, 36 holes; Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend |
Designers, course counts and access verified June 2026 from Trail, resort and course sources. Green fees are indicative, vary by site and season and change without notice, so always confirm current rates and tee times directly before booking. Check Alabama tee time availability.
How access works, region by region
The Trail is the simplest golf booking in the South. Every one of its 26 courses is public and bookable on a daily fee, and a value card and stay and play packages stitch multiple sites into a single road trip. Inland, the marquee stops are Ross Bridge and Oxmoor Valley around Birmingham and Capitol Hill near Montgomery, the last with three full courses on one property. The two coastal anchors are Magnolia Grove just outside Mobile, with the Crossings and Falls courses and a long LPGA tournament history, and Lakewood at Point Clear, whose Azalea and Dogwood courses run beside the grand old Grand Hotel on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay.
Down on the beach at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, the golf is resort and daily fee rather than private. Kiva Dunes, Jerry Pate's 1995 design out among the dunes and lakes near the Gulf, is the headline name and books direct or through a package. Craft Farms carries Alabama's only Arnold Palmer signature courses across 36 holes, and its sister club Peninsula adds 27 holes of Earl Stone parkland with views over Mobile Bay. None of it needs a member or a sponsor. Book direct, build a multi round package, and turn up.
Where to focus an Alabama trip
For a value golf road trip, run the Trail: a few days around Birmingham and Montgomery playing Ross Bridge, Oxmoor Valley and Capitol Hill, with the resort hotels making the logistics easy. For a beach and golf week, base on the Gulf Shores coast for Kiva Dunes and Craft Farms and add a crossing to Lakewood and the Grand Hotel at Point Clear. For the fullest picture, combine the two, an inland Trail leg and a coastal resort leg, which is the trip that shows off both halves of Alabama golf. Whichever you choose, the courses are easy to book, so the planning is really about routing and the calendar.
Plan an Alabama golf trip
Tell us roughly when you want to travel and who is in the group, and one concierge routes the Robert Trent Jones Trail and the Gulf Shores coast into one clean trip, books the rooms at the Grand Hotel or the beach, and costs it to the head. No obligation, and a reply within one working day.
Alabama golf access questions
What is the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail?
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is a statewide collection of 26 public golf courses at 11 sites across Alabama, 468 holes in all, that opened in 1992 and is open to anyone on a daily fee basis. It was conceived as an affordable public golf experience and remains one of the best value golf road trips in the United States, with several sites attached to resort hotels. On the coast, the Lakewood courses at Point Clear sit beside the historic Grand Hotel on Mobile Bay. Always confirm current rates and tee times directly before booking.
Can you just book golf on the Gulf Coast of Alabama?
Yes. The Alabama Gulf Coast around Gulf Shores and Orange Beach is a public and resort golf market, so the best courses are bookable without a private member, either directly or through a golf package. Kiva Dunes, the Jerry Pate design from 1995, and the Arnold Palmer courses at Craft Farms are all daily fee, as is the Peninsula club on Mobile Bay. Book direct or as a multi round package, and always confirm current rates and tee times directly before booking.
How much is golf on the Alabama Robert Trent Jones Trail?
The Robert Trent Jones Trail is deliberately affordable, with indicative 2026 peak green fees commonly in the region of 70 to 110 dollars at most sites, lower in summer and winter and on multi round and stay and play packages. Coastal resort courses such as Kiva Dunes run a little higher in the spring peak. These are indicative figures that vary by site and season, so always confirm current rates directly before booking.
When is the best time to play golf in coastal Alabama?
Spring and autumn are the prime windows on the Alabama Gulf Coast, roughly March to May and September to November, with warm, settled weather and the courses in fine condition. Summer is hot and humid with afternoon storms, best played early, and winter stays mild and playable at the lowest rates, which is why the coast is a popular winter golf escape. Always confirm current conditions and rates before booking.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.