FORMIDABLE FOLLOW THROUGH
By providing a stellar golfing experience on par with lauded courses around the world, Alabama’s RTJ Golf Trail has proven a wise and wide-reaching investment for our state and its citizens.
“Economically, the stronger I can make Alabama, the stronger I can make the pension fund. If the state fails, then we fail.” It was this knowledge that drove Dr. David Bronner, head of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, to undertake a carefully planned but gargantuan risk. He would create, in one fell swoop, a world-class golf trail covering the state of Alabama as an investment in tourism and economic development that would pay dividends for decades.
Now, nearly 40 years after work began on the largest golf course construction project in history, the Robert Trent Jones (RTJ) Golf Trail includes a total of 11 sites and 468 holes. Since the first courses opened in 1992, more than 12 million rounds have been played on the Trail. It has hosted professional golf events ranging from the PGA Tour to the LPGA and Symetra Tour. RTJ is one of the state’s top tourist attractions, drawing visitors from throughout the country and around the world. In addition to golf, many of the courses boast on-site or nearby resort properties and spas operated by Marriott or Renaissance. “By creating something that nobody else had, we moved tourism to a more than $12 billion industry,” Dr. Bronner said.
According to the book “The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: Its History and Economic Impact,” by Dr. Mark Fagan, annual reports for the Alabama Tourism Department showed tourism spending in the counties of Autauga, Elmore, Montgomery, Lee and Butler at the inception of the Trail sites (and their associated hotels) was $462 million. For 2016, their tourism spending totaled $1.492 billion; an increase of $1.03 billion.
Additionally, Dr. Fagan pointed out, “Hundreds worked to develop the Trail and thousands have worked as a result of the Trail. Financial, legal, political and economic impact details for each of the golf sites, hotels, adjacent housing and commercial development were the outcome of RSA’s investment.”
IF YOU BUILD IT
Dr. Fagan was a consultant to RSA on the development of the Trail. At the time, he was a program developer for the Alabama Advantage for Retirees program at the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Interestingly, the project had a large focus on retired people as an audience for the Trail, while the pension fund overseen by Dr. Bronner provides support for the state’s retirement system. “If it’s good to have tourists here for a week, it’s better to have them for two weeks,” Dr. Fagan said. “Retirees have the time and the money to spend. In 1990, the economy in Alabama wasn’t so good; we were and are still feeling the effects of racism and repercussions of that. The Golf Trail gave them a reason to stop here.”
But Dr. Bronner didn’t want to just build 18-hole public golf courses in a few spots; he wanted to build 378 holes at eight sites throughout the entire state, all at one time. He wanted to create a golf experience that would span the state, with each of the courses easily accessible from major airports and interstates. He wanted them close enough together that it would be convenient for people to access one from the other, to create a true golf Trail. He enlisted legendary architect Robert Trent Jones Sr., arguably the premier golf course architect in the world, to create what would become the RTJ Trail. “More dirt has been moved on this project than when they built the Panama Canal, and the engineering has been compared to the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge,” Dr. Fagan said. “We built 40 lakes and over a half a million square feet of buildings.”
Dr. Bronner required a partnership with the communities where the golf courses were located, to provide necessary infrastructure to support the project. In this way, they would be invested in it and active in helping it to succeed. Generally, at least early on, Dr. Bronner worked it out where he did not pay any money for the land – It was either donated by the developer or rented for $1 a year from the city or some other public entity. Then the local government would build access roads and put in utilities and other infrastructure, so it became a joint public- private project.
KEEP IT COMING
A second wave of investment accompanied the golf course construction with the addition of hotels and resorts. Historic hotels were renovated, and new properties were constructed to provide visitors with a complete vacation experience along the Trail. Within the last 10 years retirement resorts and communities have become part of the project. Currently there are two – the Columns at The Grand Hotel and National Village at Grand National.
In order to promote the Trail, Dr. Bronner enlisted the RSA-owned Raycom Media network of more than 100 newspapers and more than 60 television stations to spread the word about the unique golf opportunity in Alabama. “You’re not going to go to something if you’ve never heard of it,” he said.
As the Trail helped change the image of Alabama, it attracted industry as well as tourism, and had significant impact in the River Region. “The Trail is a unique draw for industries that think golf is a big deal to their employees. Hyundia and Kia are examples of that, along with their many suppliers,” Dr. Bronner said. “It helped us recruit that industry where golf is a favorite pastime. It wasn’t available to any extent like it was here.”
The Trail is constantly growing and being updated. Some courses have been reworked and freshened. The resort at Auburn/Opelika is expanding in 2018 to add 95 more rooms and a full-service spa. RSA, through the Trail, also is negotiating with the PGA to bring three of their schools here that qualify golfers to play in the PGA. These schools bring in people from around the world to qualify to be a PGA member. The Trail has already proven itself a hole in one for the state and the River Region and will continue to be a valuable player in the future.
Hit the Course
Check out 11 golf opportunities around the state. No matter the region, 18 holes of green are waiting to mix a little pleasure into the business of golf in our state.
Tourism spending in the counties of Autauga, Elmore, Montgomery, Lee and Butler (and their associated hotels) have seen an increase of $1.03 billion since the inception of the Trail sites.
Montgomery is essentially an RTJ hub, with three of the courses, including the highly praised Capitol Hill, less than an hour away.
