Canebrake Club 
Athens, AL 



Reviewed: 2005
Canebrake Club, home of this year’s Alabama Open
By Ian Thompson

It had been almost five years since I’d visited Canebrake Club in Athens in north Alabama to do a cover story on the then brand-new course. On my recent return visit I was immediately struck by three things: the nines have been switched, the maturity of the course, and the size and scope of the community surrounding the course. Quite a number of beautiful homes have been built, with many more coming out of the ground.
Director of Golf Stephen Puryear noted the decision to reverse the nines was taken as the former first hole was some distance from the clubhouse, whereas the new first hole is much closer. The new first hole is also a much, much stronger hole, as the original first hole was probably the weakest hole on the golf course, a wide open, short par 4. More on the course in a paragraph or two.
Puryear and Canebrake Club are eagerly looking forward to hosting this year’s Alabama Open.
This championship, run by the Dixie Section of the PGA, will be played July 22-24, one week later than it’s traditional date opposite the (British) Open Championship.
“We were looking to bring a big-name tournament here,” Puryear said. “Discussions began some months ago and we are delighted to bring a championship of this stature to north Alabama.”
Puryear, who has been at Canebrake since January 2003 as a teaching professional, noted that this was the first time the Alabama Open had been played north of Birmingham. Certainly in my 10 plus years of covering it this is the case.
In recent years TimberCreek in Daphne has hosted four times, including the last two years, so it’s move from one end of the state to the other was overdue.
Puryear noted that MacGregor and Srixon had already pledged support to the championship. He also said that part of his proposal to host included him guaranteeing a certain level of local sponsorship money.
“I am confident that the local community will support this championship. We have the city council involved and have previously supported an event on the Hooters Tour.”
Four-time Alabama Open winner Todd Bailey won last year’s Hooters Tour event at Canebrake with a four-round total of 18-under-par and would have to be installed as one of the favorites for this year’s open. Mike Genovese of Pensacola, Fla. is the defending champion and is eligible to play in the championship because he is a professional at a club within the Dixie Section (Alabama and Northwest Florida). He was the first club pro to win the open in many years, as it has been dominated by mini-tour players.
Canebrake Club is a semiprivate facility that opened in 2000. It can play a shade over 7200 yards and is a par 72.
“We have added two new tees (Nos. 1 and 12) and plan to narrow some of the fairways in advance of the open,” Puryear said.
Let’s take a detailed look at the course.
To my mind, the first two holes are two of the very best on the golf course. No. 1 is a downhill dogleg from left to right. Heavily tree-lined on either side, but with a more than adequate landing area, a par 4 here will be a welcome start to your round.
For many people it won’t be a driver off the tee because a hazard crosses the fairway and will catch a lengthy drive. The best aiming point is a beautifully manicured area in the distance to the left of the fairway. Fade your tee ball off of this point and it should be perfect. You then face an uphill second shot to a large green.
Leaving the green behind you take a scenic drive or walk through to the next tee. On the day I played the sun was streaming through the canopy of trees and made for a beautiful dappled effect. To me the second is the most picturesque hole on the golf course. Piney Creek runs down the left side of this par 4, which moves slightly from right to left and meanders downhill. For obvious reasons a quick hook (assuming you are right-handed) would be the wrong shot at the wrong time.
A hazard crosses the fairway, but it is well out of range from the tee. After a solid drive, which hopefully finds the fairway, take a second to look left at the creek. This flows by beautifully at this point with overhanging trees reaching down almost as if to drink from the water.
After two fairly tight holes the more prevalent look of the course presents itself on the par 5 No. 3. It is wide open, and I mean wide open, so much so that you will be encouraged to wail away with abandon. Fairway bunkers could catch your ball on your second shot, and you have to be a little more careful on your approach shot as a hazard could be in play to the right.
After the fourth, a fairly long par 3 to a large green, and the fifth, a dogleg to the left and what should be a routine par 4, comes two very strong back-to-back par fours.
Cross a wooden bridge over the same creek mentioned before leaving the fifth green and turn the corner to view No. 6. From the back tee you can aim safely at the cluster of four bunkers to the left of the fairway and work your ball from left to right to the center of the fairway. Thick grass awaits anything pushed right and you want to be in the fairway as you have to cross a hazard to reach the green, which is guarded by a long, thin bunker to the right.
There is no relief as No. 7 is the hardest hole on the front nine. It’s gut check time as a man-made lake to the left must be carried off the tee. The further left you go, the more lake you must carry, but the reward is a shorter second. The best line from the back tee is flying one bunker and working your tee shot right to left off of another bunker further down the hole. This will leave you in the widest part of the fairway with a mid-iron approach.
After the pretty mundane par 3 eighth, comes the second of the par fives, which is another wide open longer hole. The tee shot is fairly flat, but then the hole moves left and goes sharply uphill. A big hitter taking the “tiger line” can cut the corner and put the green in range with two big shots.
The second par five in three holes is No. 11 and again a big hitter could get home with two well struck blows. The landing area for your tee shot is blind. A straight ball on this straightaway hole will be fine. Anything off line could fall foul to one of seven fairway bunkers or tall grass to the right. Then the second shot is downhill with yet more bunkers in play.
The two par threes on this side are much stronger holes than their predecessors on the front nine. Case in point is No. 12, which I rate as the best of the bunch. This long par one-shotter plays slightly uphill and will require a well hit long iron to find the putting surface. A deep bunker guards the front of the green, which is framed by surrounding trees in the background.
No. 13 is not a hard par 4, but it does fit the land and your eye well. Trees frame the left side of this hole that moves right to left. The fairway splits into two levels; I recommend the right side as it is much easier to hit and going left is really no gain.
The 14th is a beast of a hole. Make a par 4 here and you will be well pleased, which is also the case on the closing hole. There is a fairly long forced carry off the back tee just to reach the fairway, with four bunkers on the left corner of this dogleg to the left very much in play. You shorten the hole considerably taking them on, but if you don’t clear the sand then you are staring at least bogey square in the face. Finding the fairway you will be left with a substantially uphill second to a large, two-tier green.
No. 15 is an interesting par 4 in that even though it measures 372 yards from the back tee, a brave long hitter could drive the green. This is because if you take the gamble and fly the large fairway bunker on the right side of the fairway then your drive will hit the downslope and roll unimpeded toward the green.
No. 16 is another massive scale par 5, with a straight downhill tee shot to the largest fairway on the golf course. Bunkers abound and hitting the green in two is all but impossible due to the bunker crossing the front of the green. But you should have a solid birdie chance with a wedge in your hand for your third shot.
Play No. 17 from the back tee and the look of the hole changes completely. For one thing you have to carry a lot more of the hazard from this angle; whereas the regular tee is much more straight on.
Somewhat unusually the No. 1 handicap hole at Canebrake is the final one. What this does for bets I don’t know, but I do know one thing, it earns the No. 1 ranking. It is the longest par 4 on the course and plays appreciably uphill on the second shot. Needing a par here to win the Alabama Open will be a stiff test, but one that is not beyond the best golfers in the state by any means.
Multiple fairway bunkers guard the left portion of the fairway, but at least you would find your ball in them as they beat the alternative of a shot pushed too far right into grass thick enough that you’ll never see your ball again. Then comes a long iron (and I recommend clubbing up) to a large green, of which you can’t see the short grass from down below.
This semiprivate facility is looking forward to testing and entertaining the field in the Alabama Open. Course designer Ron Garl happened to be in attendance the day I visited and he expressed his joy at the way the course had matured since he had laid it down. He travels the world designing golf courses, makes his home in Lakeland, Fla., but has ties to Alabama having spent time in both Talladega and Tuscaloosa.
I mentioned earlier that Todd Bailey would be the probable favorite, but expect Tyler Williamson, a transplanted Californian now a Decatur resident playing the Nationwide Tour who knows the course well, to push him hard for the title. Plus they’ll be quite a few other players with something to say about the outcome.
Bring on the players; Canebrake will be ready for them.