RTJ sr’s design philosophy is not held in high esteem as many of today’s pundits call it too penal. In an era where everyone wants options and a viable path to success, the Judge does the opposite. It demands power, accuracy, and execution. If one is able to do all three, then par is the reward. A birdie requires excelling in one of them. Regardless of how well you play, you’ll definitely remember the shots you’re required to hit.
(The par three third reminds me of Coore/Crenshaw’s Dormie Club fourth green. The way it sits on the hill with a high left to back right bias demands that one favors the left side. It’s a cool feeling watching the ball feed to back hole location.)
(The par four fifth has a carry off the tee and then another one into the green. A fronting bunker hides the putting surface and is a solid eight to ten feet deep. Plenty of room to take an extra club.)
The Judge does a great job taking advantage of its setting. It’s in a river basin and doesn’t shy away from the water. In fact, it comes into play on fourteen holes. It has an island green, a peninsula fairway, and a bevy of forced carries. It’s exactly what you would want and expect on piece of property like this. Take a look at the par threes! They are all over water. The sixth is an island green with different bowls and ridges defining the pinning areas. Same thing on twelve and sixteen. Twelve is over the corner of the lake and sixteen is a peninsula green extending out to an uncomfortable length.
(The island green sixth can play up to 229 yards. It’s actually an oversized island so there’s plenty of room but big misses will get wet.)
(The par three twelth plays over the corner of the river but today it looks like a lake due to the swelling rain. Note the tree directly in front of the tee. It’s a beautiful shot hit to a handsome green built into the hillside.)
(The par three sixteenth is terrific! When the pin is on the left, nothing stops one from taking dead aim, but when it moves further to the right, the shot is suddenly stretched out to unnerving proportion. Note the back tee can be extended to 256 yards!!)
The greens had a nice variety to them. Some were heavily manufactured with fortress like features. Very little could be seen on those putting surfaces as bunkers and elevation took away the sight lines. Other greens were low key with smaller mounds “holding” them. These greens could be accessed through the air and on the ground. There were a few shelved greens too where they were place on natural high spots on the property.
(The par five seventh has a fantastic drive over water to a peninsula fairway. The tee box is connected to the island green sixth, situated where no one needs to worry about errant tee shots…
…it’s a long par five that may take an extra stroke to reach if into the wind or a one hits a careless shot. From the tips, this is a brutal 675 yards!)
Like Ross Bridge in Birmingham, the Judge has Kyle Berkshire type length playing to a 7,813 yards. Three par fives play over 600 yards (the tenth is a mind boggling 711 yards). While there are no par fours in the 500 yard range, three of the four par threes are 229 yards or longer. Of course there are five sets of tees to make it playable for everyone. We played a makeshift combo of orange and white tees since 6500 is too long and 5900 is too short.
(The par four ninth plays into a bowl shaped valley before ascending to a perched green above. Note the extended bunkering to thwart long hitters from being too aggressive off the tee.)
Of the five courses we played on the RTJ Trail, this was the overwhelming favorite. It has an incredible setting punctuated by great holes and memorable shots. It’s not marketed as the premier course but definitely deserves that distinction. The wildlife found on the river adds to atmosphere (there’s gators here to my surprise) and the day we played it, a huge fishing tournament was taking place. All of this adds up to fantastic day on the course. I give the Judge a 7 (great)(worth driving 3-4 hours to play). The only thing that holds it back from being higher is the last hole which looked like it was an afterthought.
(The final hole is a short par four with a waterfall fronting the green. Driver is taken out of your hand, and players can still hit a short iron. In my opinion, it is the only weakness on a stellar course…
…to the right of the green is this wooden bridge. Remember the first tee has a 200’ drop!
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