Grand National's courses are tucked into the hills of Alabama near Auburn University. Upon reaching the course, you quickly realize how expansive these courses truly are. The clubhouse, perched atop a hill is flanked by rolling fairways and Lake Saugahatchee at their base. We quickly realized why
Golf Magazine has Grand National's Lake Course in the number one spot for their
best public course in Alabama, and
Golfweek doesn't have it
far behind.
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| From the peak of the driving range at Grand National |
Unbeknownst to me, the driving range, an elevated tee setup stepping down to the fairway, was a great indicator of what was to come on the eighteen holes that lie ahead. Nearly every hole tackles elevation change in some format. We found ourselves clubbing up a fair amount to make the uphill climbs. The yardages could be rather deceiving. As the name of the course indicates, the lake is a focal point of the course, as it's in play on two-thirds of the holes. For that reason, the par 3s on this course are much more difficult than you would typically expect.
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Fifteen from the tips
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The fifteenth hole, a 230 yard island green, is an amazing sight. The green is pretty fairly narrow, and feathers quickly at the edges. I purposely clubbed up, so I wouldn't fall short as I had earlier in the day. Of course, this was the moment today I hit my club as well as I should have all day. Right over the green it goes. Sigh. At least I was able to practice my chipping from the drop zone instead!
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| Fifteen from my angle |
If the water and rolling fairways weren't enough to challenge us, the super fine sand of the bunkers, wind, quick greens that were tough to read, and the ever-present dog legs were enough to tire us out. We both found the course to be
enjoyable but challenging. A nice mix of target golf and traditional elements, the course requires you to trust your shot and follow through with your intentions. It definitely took me a few holes to shake the intimidation, although it seemed as though each time either of us found a rhythm, some element of the course threw us right back off track.
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| Bridge over Lake Saugahatchee |
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The approach on 17. Land left in the bunker, marsh, or lake.
The choice is for you to make.
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Some other notable aspects of the course include a shared green on holes one and six. This deep green wraps around a small pond, which creates a difficult approach from either fairway. Lake Saugahatchee not only runs along twelve of the holes, but the course is actually split by it as well. After nine, head over for holes 10-16, and return back to finish up. Given the rolling landscape of this course, we were thrilled to find the carts are the type that apply the brake on their own. No time wasted trying to get the brake to click into place (perhaps that's only a personal problem). Lastly, we wish winter and the spring would have been a little more cooperative in anticipation of our visit. While the fairway and green grass was playable, the outlying grass was still dormant. If you just so happened to land outside the fairway (clearly that never happens), I could only imagine the ground would be pretty dry and hay-like. Looking at photos of this course in its prime time makes us consider a comeback. If we were to return, I'd love to try out the links course. Many experts rank it right up there with (or above) the lake course, and from the bit we could see, it looks equally as stunning.
If you should make the trip down to Grand National, be sure to carve out some time to roam around Auburn University's campus. It's a gorgeous campus with school pride extending well beyond the Auburn city limits. I guarantee y'all can expect a good time.
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