Day 55 - Thursday, October 13 - Alabama << Index
Anticipated: Play golf at Bent Brook Golf Course in Birmingham, Alabama
Travel:
  Itinerary:
Leave motel for 9:00AM tee time at Bent Brook Golf Course. After golf we will drive to a motel in Commerce, Georgia. casino
  States/Provinces Played:
Web: Bent Brook Golf Course - Brook/Graveyard Course - Bessemer, AL
Actual: (Photos and text)
Click on the photos below to enlarge

Alabama welcome sign and Bent Brook Golf Course signs

Pat with Dave Smith, Director of Golf, and his wife Johna

Pro shop attendants Betty Smith and Elizabeth Byrd and golf course ranger, Joe Kennington

Scenes from the golf course
We knew we were in for a golfing treat as we drove up to Bent Brook Golf Course this morning. There was a slight fog and heavy dew on the fairways; however, the grounds crew had been out clearing the moisture from the middle of the fairways, so they were ready to play. Bent Brook has three nine hole courses that are played in three eighteen-hole combinations. We played the “BROOK” and the “GRAVEYARD” courses. Both have wide-open fairways with only a few trees that can affect your shots. The greens are exceptionally large, slightly undulating, and fast. The Graveyard Course has water hazards coming into play on seven holes. The Brook has water hazards coming into play on six holes. We both did well avoiding the hazards; however, Jim did find two of them. Jim shot 85 (yardage = 6601) and Pat shot 106 (yardage = 5420). Bent Brook has been voted as one of the best public courses in Alabama. It’s hard to believe that it is a public course because it is in such excellent shape. We rate Bent Brook as one of the top courses that we have played on this trip

There was a tournament scheduled for the afternoon on the Windmill and Brook courses, so we played the Brook course first. David Smith, the Director of Golf was participating in the tournament, so we were fortunate to see him before he teed off. Dave introduced us to his wife, Johna before she joined the rest of the players. We both met Dave many years ago at the annual PGA merchandise show in Orlando, Florida. He was one of our first pro shop system customers, and we are happy to say, still remains a valued customer. We want to thank David for his complementary passes for the golf and carts. We really enjoyed playing Bent Brook.

We also had pleasant conversations with Betty Smith (no relation to Dave), one of the office managers, and Elizabeth Byrd, pro shop attendant. We were happy to meet Joe Kennington who is in his 16th year of being a marshal for Bent Brook. After lunch at the club, we got back in our van and headed towards Atlanta on Interstate arriving at our motel at 6:00PM . Tomorrow we will play our 56th round of golf just outside of Atlanta.