Farm Links at Pursell Farms
Pursell Farms is southern goodness and hospitality at its finest. A quiet and peaceful spot set across a sprawling and remote 3,500 acre campus, the property has a little bit of everything. On site activities range from horseback riding to tennis to an expansive clay shooting area. While I am sure it’s a great place for families, it seems catered towards hosting corporate events and guys golf trips. The property sits some fifty miles due south of Birmingham with it’s closest neighboring area being Sylacauga. Auburn, Alabama is also around an hour drive. I had to do some additional research to really understand some of the history of Pursell Farms, specifically its golf course, Farm Links (thank you Jon for leading me down this research road). The property itself is rich in history. The Pursell family originally started in the fertilizing business where they transitioned into a technology company in the agronomy industry. Under the leadership of David Pursell, Farm Links was built in 2002. David’s vision was clear: this wasn’t going to be your everyday golf course. The Pursell Farms website broadcast Farm Links as the worlds soul research and demonstration golf course. What does this mean? I had to ask the same question. Basically from what I have read and understand the idea is to grow and nurture different ecosystems throughout a eighteen hole golf course testing fertilizers and grass substrates along the way. Fairway and green types may vary over the course of a round. Not sure where else during a round you may get exposure like that on a golf course.
Farm Links is extremally unique in that is a test and research facility and hosts golf superintendets from all over
I had always heard great things about Farm Links at Pursell Farms even back in my time at Auburn. The word of mouth stories lived up to the talk. The course weaves and wind its way through the expansive Pursell Farms property. The golf course takes up a pretty sizeable portion of that, in part due to its generously sized fairways. Farm Links comes in number four in the state on Alabama course ranking list via Top 100 Courses. Golf.Com has Farm Links at number seven on its top ten list of Alabama Golf courses. The course was designed by Michael Hurzadan and Dana Fry and opened for business in 2003. Tee time rates for non stay-and-play packages are demand-based. If I were to book a prime time morning tee time on this crisp fall Saturday as I write, I would be looking at $275. Expect to pay $200 or more for most higher demand times. Farm Links has five sets off tees creatively named Longhorn, Copperhead, Whitetail, and Bobcat. It plays 7444 yards from the tips and carries a maximum slope rating of 141. A 141 slope rating from that yardage is relatively low in my humble opinion, which speaks to the playability. The property is set up to cater to the guys’ golf trip, with a number of onsite lodging options including ‘Masters Row’. Masters Row is a series of four large cabins encircled by a large putting and chipping green that backs up to the course. Farm Links offers a number of stay-and-play packages and will provide guests in cabins with golf carts for the weekend which means being able to park the car for the stay.
On site Masters Row provides cabins with a large putting and chipping green for guest back yard access
One of my primary takeaways from Farm Links is the course is generous in size with sprawling fairways and greens. It’s an inviting scene to any golfer. While many of the holes are relatively flat, there are some fairly significant elevation changes, particularly on the par threes. All four of the par threes play with adjusted slope, including the signature downhill fifth hole. The course boarders nothing but trees and green for 16 holes making for a quiet and peaceful round away from any major city (there is a house behind 17 green and 18 comes in behind the clubhouse and some on site lodging). The course is well designed and has a nice variety of golf holes on both front and back nine. The course was very well maintained and was relatively quiet during our stay as we had mid week tee times in the dog days of August. As covered above, Farm Links is used as a facility for different grass surfaces so the golfer may be playing off different grass types for approach shots throughout the round.
Individual Hole Analysis
Number 1: 502 Yards, Par 5, ‘ The Farm’*
Tee Yardages from Whitetail Tees*
The opener at Farm Links, known as ‘ The Farm’ is a moderate length par. The hole bends slightly to the right and plays to a large green. Put the early first tee jitters aside here because even a errant tee shot should be in decent position to recover with plenty of fairway real estate ahead and side to side. I say that and I still almost managed to lose a ball off the tee during one of our rounds. The hole sets up nicely for the golfer to have a look at a early red number or at least get some confidence set early for the round ahead. Number one is a foreshadowing of many of the holes to come with wide fairways and large greens; there are worse things on a golf course.
The opening hole at Farm Links has two airport runways worth of real-estate to land your tee shot
Number 4: 426 Yards, Par 4, ‘Lower 40’
The fourth hole at Farm Links is easily the hardest hole on the course and ranks as the number one handicap. The longest par four on the course plays 426 yards and requires some distance off the tee to be left with what will likely still be a long iron approach shot for most golfers. The golfer will play their approach shot to a two tier green requiring carry over a creek. The creek should not come into play, but trouble can come into play with errant shots to the left or right. Finding the correct side of the green with the pin placement here can be critical to coming away with a good score. The hole name here refers to farming and a certain field that requires a full days work, an appropriate analogy for a difficult golf hole.
The par four fourth is the most difficult and longest par four on the course
Number 5: 172 Yards, Par 3, ‘Whitetail’
Number five is the signature hole at Farm Links. The cart path weaves and winds its way to a elevated tee box with the green playing up to a 172 foot drop from the tips. The hole plays to one of the larger greens on the course. Despite that, I managed to only hit the green one time in three rounds. The elevation drop takes several clubs off your shot, I found myself hitting wedges for a hole on the scorecard that plays 172 yards. The miss here is long with the green size. Anything short of the green is likely lost in the waste area ahead of the hole. Take a few extra minutes on this tee box to take in the signature hole and the surrounding views.
The signature hole at Farm Links also provides for one of the best views on the property at Pursell Farms
Number 17: 145 Yards, Par 3, ‘Big Gulp’
I wonder if the hole name came before or after Dumb and Dumber. You’ll see pictures of this hole posted at various places at Pursell Farms as another profiled hole. Like the other three par 3’s on the course, the hole plays to an elevation change. The tee shot requires a carry over water to - you guessed it - another large green. The green does funnel back towards the lake. This should not be a hard golf hole with the safety net of a expansive green over the drink. I cannot put my finger on it, but this hole did do not that much for me compared to some of the other profiled holes on the course.
Clear the water on 17 for a good chance for par or better
Number 18: 563 Yards, Par 5, ‘Orchards’
I thought 18 was a great finishing hole at Farm Links. Like many driving holes at Farm Links, it holds a large fairway with some room for error off the tee. Two large trees are in the golfer’s eye from the tee box; one playing as what could be a target line and the second off to the right of the fairway. I liked the large tree in the middle of the fairway, without it the golf hole loses some character. The hole is wide enough where only a very errant tee shot would be out of play. With a good tee shot, long hitters may be going for the green two. A layup on the second shot is a fine way to go as the approach shot plays into a wide open green with almost no risk. A par five with minimal risk and opportunity to score is a nice way to finish a round of golf.
The finishing hole at Farm Links provides another good scoring opportunity to close the round
In Summary
A tranquil and rustic feel on property at Pursell Farms offers the opportunity to step away from the daily grind to enjoy a quiet and peaceful place. Farm Links is one of the best courses and certainly most memorable I have played within the state of Alabama. With its wide fairways and sprawling greens, the course can be enjoyed by any skill level of golfer. The property caters and is setup for group golf trips with golf packages and lodging with easy accessibility to all key areas of the property. Visit in the dog days of summer and you’ll find a barrel full of chilled apples at the turn, which was a real selling point for me. Not many holes for me to pick or plow into on this farm.
Course Rating: B+ (closer to a 88/100 than a 85)