Graveyard/Windmill at Bent Brook Golf Course

Course is in really good shape given how much rain we’ve had this winter.

With even more tree removal since I was here last, this track is nearly completely WIDE open. You can spray it left and right off the tee and still manage to score.

The greens were surprisingly firm, but they roll very true. Excellent greens. Traps had appropriate amount of sand and were very consistent.

The Windmill nine is undergoing some maintenence and they are also massaging a couple of holes, so I’m not sure when it will re-open.

If I had one constructive criticism, a $55 weekday rate is a bit on the high end for Birmingham public golf.

This is course is very well taken care of. Fairways were perfect; greens were very soft (almost too soft). Wide open fairways, only lost 2 balls to the water. Tee boxes need to be marked as far as which hole is which. Kinda confusing. My only complaint is that we decided to take a break after we completed the Graveyard course (front 9). Evidently a group of 6 or so foursomes had a tee time on the Brook course that coincided with when we decided to resume and we had to wait almost an hour, instead of being able to squeeze in when we could. We basically got penalized for taking a break to eat lunch. The staff did make it right and gave each of us a free round for our next trip, so we'll definitely be back!.

It has been about six months since my last visit to Bent Brook and I must say that the course is really stepping up.

There was a lot of tree loss from a major storm almost two years ago, but I noticed some continued tree removal that has really cleaned up the look of the course. I really liked it.

The new AU Victory Bermuda greens have really come in and are stellar. They were very smooth and putted beautifully. They aren’t as grainy as many strains. Still a little firm, but are receiving pitch marks and you can get 8 irons to hold.

Fairways are extremely wide and firm. They are a little too closely-cropped for my liking, but should fill in nicely as the weather continues to warm.

Course was crowded, but we kept a nice pace. Marshals are ever-present to keep things moving along.

Where Bent Brook will win with your average golfer is that it is generous off the tee. You can spray it and still play it. No rough. You probably will not lose a ball. There are few forced carries like the RTJ Trail courses on second shots. And the greens all employ subtle slope. Most are all tilted, instead of having different shelves.

This 27-hole facility continues to make strides to keep pace with the crowded Birmingham upscale public golf market. I wasnt so sure it hadn’t fallen behind on my last visit. After today, I have changed my mind. It can still be competitive.

Bent Brook is a 27-hole facility made up of three nine hole courses. This review is for the Brook-Windmill composite.

This facility is fairly wide open off the tee, though there are enough trees to keep you from flailing away. The fairways were firm and fast. There are some well-placed large trees that come into play on approach shots, making this more of a second-shot course in my opinion.

Though I've played this course many times, it was my first visit since a tornado wreaked havoc here a little more than a year ago. In addition to tree removal, the course did a massive greens and bunker restoration.

The greens are fairly large and provide more gradual, gentle slope than distinct tiers like you'll find on the RTJ Trail. The greens were nearly fully healed from recent aeration and rolled very good.

The bunkering on this course, particularly around the greens are very shallow, old-style traps. Even the weakest bunker players won't have trouble extricating themselves from them.

The management also did some massaging of holes, including the par-3 third hole on the Brook course. A rock wall fronting the green replaced railroad ties and a vast sandy waste area. I like that change. One that I am not a fan of, however, is the removal of the pot bunker in the middle of the fairway on the short par-4 third hole on the Windmill course. It took away the only thing that makes that hole interesting and renders it unmemorable.

That is kind of what plagues Bent Brook: while there are some really good holes, there are too many unremarkable ones that become monotonous. As a whole, the par threes are weak. All but one of the dog-leg holes on all three nines move right-to-left. Need some variety there. What makes Bent Brook challenging is its length. From the regular men's tees, it plays 6,600+ yards. There are some challenging long- and mid-iron carries over hazards for approaches. That to me is the course's niche.

Bent Brook was the first upscale public golf facility in Birmingham. It has since drawn stiff competition from the RTJ Golf Trail, Timberline, Ballantrae and Limestone Springs. The walking twilight rate of $23 is an excellent value in a crowded market, and this course is extremely walkable, unlike the aforementioned competition.

The range is very large and flat with an ample tee and a variety of targets. There are three separate putting greens. Would like to see a chipping area that is not on the opposite end of the range near the instruction area. Though I walked, I noticed the carts were equipped with GPS.