Ross Bridge Resort
The Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa is a resort destination in Hoover developed by the Retirement Systems of Alabama and opened in August 2005. The facility includes a championship golf course (part of the RSA's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail), a four-diamond resort hotel with a restaurant and conference center. The facility, managed by Steve Miller, is the current host of the Regions Charity Classic PGA Champions Tour event.
The Ross Bridge community also includes a 1,600 acre residential and mixed-use development along "New Urbanist" principles. The development of the Ross Bridge community is shared by USS Real Estate and the Daniel Corporation. The name of the development was taken from Ross Bridge, which was built on the farm of James Taylor Ross for a Confederate railway.
Golf Course
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Ross Bridge golf course was designed in the "parkland" tradition by Bobby Vaughan and Roger Rulewich on a sprawling 330 acre site. The typical course arrangement is 7,874 yards (8,200 yards from the back tees) which is exceptionally long, but it also features generous fairways and greens. The greens were designed to accommodate 6 pin placements each with a 10 foot radius around any pin.
10 of the holes skirt the edges of two artificial lakes which are connected by an 80-foot waterfall between the 9th and 18th greens. A picturesque grist mill was constructed on the spillway by the developers to create an association with the mining history of the site.
Except during tournaments, the course is open to the public.
A misapplication of herbicide killed the grass on 14 of the course's bentgrass greens in 2022. Golf reservations were moved to other courses as operator SunBelt Golf Corporation investigated how to repair the damage. In concert with that work, the managers took the opportunity to scale down the bunkers, reconfigure cart paths, modify some landscaping, and re-plant the greens with Bermuda grass. The course reopened on October 13, 2023.
Hotel, spa and conference center
Marriott's "Renaissance Hotels and Resorts" division operates the resort's 6-story, 259-room hotel, 12,000 square-foot spa/salon, and 21,000 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities for groups of 20 to 600.
The hotel and conference center was designed by Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood and constructed for $56 million. Its design draws from classic resorts of the Canadian Rockies such as the Fairmont Banff Springs. The materials include stone walls, limestone flooring, cherry trim and hammered copper hardware.
The hotel has a swimming pool and jacuzzi as well as tennis courts and a jogging/cycling trail. The facility underwent a $5 million renovation to the guest rooms and bar in 2013-2014.
The resort's on-site dining options include Brock's, a full service restaurant; JT's bar in the lobby, a clubhouse restaurant and a coffee shop.
Another renovation project completed in 2024 added a social pool with its own bar, seven cabana rooms, an expansion of the spa facility, and a refresh of interior fixtures and finishes. The Cafe MacRae coffee shop was also added to the lobby.
References
- "Winner Overall - Ross Bridge Resort." (March 3, 2006) Birmingham Business Journal
- Kent, Dawn (December 21, 2005) "Developers Cross Ross Bridge Goals Faster Than Expected." The Birmingham News
- Cason, Mike (September 13, 2022) "Misapplied herbicide to cause ‘slow burn’ of greens, temporarily close Ross Bridge golf course." The Birmingham News
- Lusk, Jason (September 20, 2022) "Ross Bridge on Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama suffers accidental poisoning of greens, closed indefinitely." Golf Week/USA Today
- Leech, Marie (March 6, 2024) "Inside Renaissance Ross Bridge's $20M renovation." Birmingham Business Journal
External links
- Ross Bridge Resort website
- Ross Bridge at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail site
- Rennaissance Ross Bridge at Marriott.com