Area golf course gets top ranking

When it comes to prime golfing venues, one area course is truly up to par.

After several months of compiling information on golfing destinations across the country, GolfWorld magazine has named Opelika’s Grand National Golf Course as the No. 1 public golf course in the United States.

The news is something Jason Harris, head professional at Golf Pro, thinks is “pretty special.”

“To be rated by the readers and those who are actually out there playing golf makes this news even more special,’ said Harris.

The news didn’t come as a surprise to Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller.

“It (Grand National) certainly has my vote,” said Fuller, who has played the course a number of times, including recently when his team went 12-under par in the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s World’s Largest Shotgun Start, a fundraising event for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

The course’s good news also translates to the community.

The top ranking ultimately means more visitors traveling to Opelika as a golfing destination from the viewpoint of John Wild president of the Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau.

“The markets in the Midwest seem to be one of the stronger golfing visitor draws for us and being able to carry that No. 1 ranking out to the golf shows we travel to will only help that,” said Wild. “Golfers that travel to the area know our state, and they know the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Grand National is not only a great place for them to play, but it’s a good value for them as well.”

During its research, GolfWorld readers were invited to rank the best private, resort and public courses, and magazine editors evaluated them across multiple criteria to identify the nation’s premiere facilities, according to a release from the tourism bureau. “They received more than 21,000 individual golf course ratings and 252,000 criteria evaluations, out of which came Grand National’s first place ranking,” the release states.

According to the tourism bureau, Golf Digest named the Auburn-Opelika area the number one golf city in America in their last survey, thanks in part to the playability, beauty, and affordability of Grand National.