Where to Play
Our picks, in order of conviction. Every course on this list has been vetted — nothing here just because it ranked well on an aggregator.
RTJ Grand National — Lake Course
$100–$175The marquee layout at Grand National and the course most often cited as the RTJ Trail's best overall design. Plays along the shores of Lake Saugahatchee with water in play on 18 of 18 holes — not as a cheap hazard trick but as genuine strategic shaping that demands both distance and placement. Multiple holes play directly along the lakeshore with views that don't feel earned until you've stood on the tees. The must-play on the property.
RTJ Grand National — Links Course
$100–$175The Links Course at Grand National plays through rolling, open terrain with the wide fairways and strategic width of its namesake style — not a true links (this is Alabama, not Scotland) but an honest design that rewards the bump-and-run and penalizes aerial approaches without the right trajectory. Less dramatic than the Lake Course but more nuanced strategically. The right second-day round after the Lake Course has raised expectations.
Still Waters Resort
$50–$10030 minutes north on Lake Martin — a classic Alabama resort course with long lake views and a completely different character from the championship layouts at Grand National. The day-trip option for the group that wants a change of scenery, a more relaxed round, and the chance to be on the water without being in competition mode. The lake views on the back nine are the best on any course in the region.
Where to Stay
Ranging from splurge to smart — pick based on what the group wants to spend and how much time you'll actually be at the hotel.
Auburn Marriott Opelika at Grand National
$$$The purpose-built stay-and-play hotel adjacent to the Grand National courses — a full Marriott property with direct course access, on-site dining, and every amenity a golf group needs without leaving the property. The rooms facing the course let you watch morning play from the balcony before you tee off. The obvious base camp for a Grand National trip.
Hotel at Auburn University
$$$The AAA Four Diamond hotel on Auburn University's campus — 10 minutes from Grand National and in the middle of everything Auburn has to offer. Beautiful Craftsman-style property with the Ariccia Cucina restaurant on-site, walkable to campus and downtown. The right choice for groups that want the full Auburn experience alongside the golf.
Where to Eat & Drink
3 picks across the full range of situations — the big night out, the post-round decompress, and the morning before an early tee time.
Acre
farm-to-tableThe restaurant that changed the conversation about Auburn as a food city. Farm-to-table without the pretense — an 8-acre working farm supplies the kitchen, and the menu reflects what's happening in the fields week to week. Named one of the South's best restaurants multiple times. Reserve for the first night and set the tone for the trip. The chicken is the move.
Red Clay Brewing Company
craft breweryOpelika's anchor brewery and the natural post-round stop for any group staying near Grand National. Rotating craft taps, wood-fired pizza, a taproom that fills up on game days, and the kind of laid-back atmosphere that makes three hours disappear. 10 minutes from the course. The obvious move when the group wants cold beer and no agenda.
Ariccia Cucina
italianThe Hotel at Auburn University's Italian restaurant — house-made pasta, Roman-style dishes, a serious wine program, and a beautiful room that feels more like a Milan hotel than an Alabama campus. The right dinner for groups staying at the hotel who want a full meal without getting in the car. The cacio e pepe is the standard by which everything else in Auburn gets judged.
While You're There
When the group needs a break from golf. All of these are mandatory.
Chattahoochee — River Kayaking
The Chattahoochee River headwaters begin in the hills north of Auburn — the stretch through the valley makes for one of the better easy-water kayaking runs in the Southeast. The off-round activity that the non-golfers will actually thank you for booking. 45 minutes from Auburn in any direction puts you on moving water.
Book this experience →Montgomery — Civil Rights & History
An hour southwest. Montgomery has become one of America's most significant civil rights destinations: the Equal Justice Initiative's National Memorial for Peace and Justice (the lynching memorial), the Legacy Museum, the Rosa Parks Museum, and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church are all within a short drive of each other. Half a day. Plan it into the itinerary — every group that goes comes back having learned something.
Book this experience →Auburn University Campus
10 minutes from the course and one of the most beautiful campuses in the SEC. Jordan-Hare Stadium, Toomer's Corner, the original Toomer's Drug Store, and the tree-rolling tradition that makes Auburn feel like a place rather than just a university. The evening walk that gives the trip its sense of place.
Know something we don't?
Suggest a place for the RTJ Trail — Grand National guide.
Our guides get better with local knowledge. If there's a course, hotel, restaurant, or experience that deserves to be here — and isn't — tell us about it. We read every submission. The best ones make the list.