The Robert Trent Jones Trail Near Gulf Shores: Magnolia Grove, Lakewood and How to Play Them

The Robert Trent Jones Trail near Gulf Shores means two sites: Lakewood at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, about 51 minutes away, and Magnolia Grove in Mobile, about 96 minutes away. Magnolia Grove has 54 holes (Crossings, Falls and an 18-hole par-3 Short Course) at modest RTJ package prices, and the "Swing" special pairs it with Lakewood.

This guide covers both RTJ Trail sites within reach of the beach, what the specials cost, how booking works, and how to fit them into a Gulf Shores golf trip. Drive times are free-flow road estimates without traffic. Prices were seen in October 2026, are plus tax, and change.

The Robert Trent Jones Trail near Gulf Shores at a glance

Magnolia Grove: 54 holes in west Mobile

Magnolia Grove opened in 1992, designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. with much of the detail work by his associate Roger Rulewich, as on the rest of the Trail. It has a 35,000-square-foot clubhouse with a pro shop, grill, locker rooms and showers. According to RTJ, it's a former LPGA Tour host and hosted the Korn Ferry (then Nationwide) Tour Championship, and it has appeared in Golf World readers' Top 50 Public Courses and Golf Digest's Top 50 Affordable Courses (years not given).

Crossings

The hillier of the two big courses: open, rolling parkland with wetlands, creeks and crushed-oyster-shell waste bunkers, and blind shots. It has Mini Verde ultradwarf greens on every hole.

• 16th: a 596-yard par 5 where the cart path runs through an oyster-shell waste bunker, with the longest green on the course.
• 8th: a par 3 to a green perched above wetlands with four pot bunkers.
• 17th: up to 226 yards, the hardest par 3.

Most players will want the Whites (6,157 yards, 69.7/126) or Golds (5,660, 67.2/124) rather than the 7,212-yard Purples.

Falls

Renovated and reopened in October 2010 with large contoured Mini Verde greens and big cloverleaf bunkers, Falls is now the only par 71 on the Trail. It's shorter than Crossings but its 137 slope (142 on the back nine from the Purples) makes it play tougher for most players.

• 10th: a 570-yard par 5 where water cascades from the lake across the fairway in front of the green. RTJ's yardage book says lay up.
• 11th: a par 3 with the green jutting into the lake and water all down the left.
• 5th: a 582-yard par 5 that is all carry over water if you go for it in two.

Short Course

Eighteen full-length par 3s over marsh and water, up to 3,140 yards in total, with Champion ultradwarf greens. RTJ says Golf Digest named it the best par-3 course in America, which we couldn't verify. It's a good walking add-on after a morning on Crossings or Falls, or a round for a mixed-ability group, but not worth the 96-minute drive on its own. Its price isn't published, and RTJ specials generally cover the regulation courses, so ask whether it can be added.

Lakewood at the Grand Hotel

Lakewood is the closer RTJ site, two 18s at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear that joined the Trail in 2005. Azalea is the friendlier course, with a peninsula-green par-5 14th. Dogwood is the harder one (141 slope) and hosted the 2021 USGA Senior Women's Amateur. Lakewood is cart-only. Our Eastern Shore golf in Fairhope and Lakewood Golf Club guides cover it in detail.

What the RTJ specials cost

RTJ sells seasonal multi-day specials through RTJ Reservations, with a two-day minimum, at least 48 hours' notice, and cart and range balls included. Magnolia Grove prices are "starting at" figures that vary by date.

Lakewood's unlimited-play day was $260 in winter, $345 in spring (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday only) and $360 in summer (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday).

The best value for a beach-based golfer is the winter special: Magnolia Grove from $85 a day, or the $216 Swing for one round at each site. The single-round public rate is shown only inside RTJ's booking system after login, so we haven't listed it. RTJ Trail Card and annual memberships give lower rates but can't be combined with packages. There's an active and retired military discount, and no senior rate.

How booking works

• Online only, 7 days out. Since June 1, 2026, public advance tee times are booked only online, up to 7 days ahead. The shops still take same-day times by phone.
• Members book further out. Trail Card and annual members get 11 days, Platinum 14.
• Packages up to 12 months out. RTJ Reservations (1-800-949-4444, option 2) takes package and group bookings up to a year ahead, with prepayment required outside 7 days.
• Avoid Tuesday mornings for practice. RTJ ranges close for part of every Tuesday.

Our Gulf Shores tee times booking guide compares the windows at every course in the area.

Maintenance dates to avoid in 2027

Schedules are weather dependent. Lakewood's weekly maintenance days are Monday (Azalea) and Tuesday (Dogwood).

How to fit Magnolia Grove into a Gulf Shores trip

As a long day trip. At 96 minutes from central Gulf Shores without traffic, leave early, play Crossings in the morning while your legs are fresh, then Falls or the Short Course in the afternoon. The closest beach-area hotel is Hampton Inn Foley, 83 minutes away; other hotels in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach run about 89 to 112 minutes. Avoid Saturdays in summer, when condo changeover jams Hwy 59.

On the Swing special. Stay two nights at the Grand, play Lakewood one day and drive 66 minutes to Magnolia Grove the next.

On the way home. Magnolia Grove and Mobile Regional Airport (MOB) are both in west Mobile. If you fly out of Mobile, end your trip with a round there. MOB has regional jets only, and airlines plan to move to the new downtown terminal (BFM) in early 2027. See flying to Gulf Shores for golf.

Watch Mardi Gras. Mobile's parades run for about two weeks before Fat Tuesday (February 9, 2027), fill Mobile hotels and add I-10 traffic on parade weekends.

What to know before you go

• Dress code at Magnolia Grove: shirts with collar and sleeves, slacks or knee-length shorts, non-metal spikes preferred.
• No personal coolers on RTJ courses.
• Pull carts are allowed at Magnolia Grove but not rented.
• Rental clubs are available; reserve them with the shop (251-645-0075). Magnolia Grove is a Ship Sticks partner if you'd rather ship your bag.

Plan it on the map

Open the 3D map of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach golf and click your hotel to compare its drive to the beach courses with the RTJ Trail times above. If the Robert Trent Jones Trail near Gulf Shores is the main event, a night or two at the Grand Hotel cuts the driving.