Limestone Springs Golf Club

Limestone Springs Golf Club opened in 1999 in the Appalachian foothills near Oneonta, in Blount County, Alabama. It was designed by Jerry Pate, the U.S. Open champion and University of Alabama alumnus, who routed a counterclockwise par-72 layout of just under 7,000 yards across more than 200 acres of rolling, wooded terrain. Pate used the land's natural creeks and streams as hazards and let exposed limestone outcroppings define much of the course's character, including a set of long, downhill par-3s. On opening it vaulted onto Alabama's must-play lists, spending more than a decade among the state's top-ranked courses and earning national recognition among the best public courses you can play. After a period of ownership changes and industry-wide downturn dimmed its conditioning, the course has been the focus of restoration efforts to return it to its early standing.