Golf at the Silver Lakes Golf Club of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is not for the fainthearted. The three-sets of nines and the short course on this golf vacation destination were built to break even the best golfer’s composure with the challenge they impose. The names of each nine are a tell-all: The Mindbreaker, The Backbreaker, and the most intense, The Heartbreaker. And do not be deceived: the short course doesn’t come short of challenging.

The Mindbreaker nine is perhaps the easiest of the three sets of nines on the Silver Lakes Golf Club. The secret to conquering this nine lies in excellent club selection. The more difficult one is The Backbreaker with its signature hole that features a jaw-dropping 623-yard par-5 hole no. 7. If you think that isn’t difficult enough, water comes into play TWICE in that hole. If it’s any consolation, this nine offers the best view of the Appalachian mountains. And there’s The Heartbreaker. It wouldn’t be called a Heartbreaker for nothing. This has been dubbed as the toughest nine in the entire trail. Holes no. 8 and no. 9 are the most notorious of the third sets of nines in this golf vacation destination. Hole no. 8, a par-3, plays 200 yards over water and uphill to the green, and the par-4 9^th hole is a 450-yard shot that plays with the water on the entire left side of the fairway. The short course is a set of “demanding” par-3’s that require water play in 7 of its 9 holes.

Located right at the edge of the Talladega National Forest near Anniston in Alabama, the Silver Lakes Country Club will make for that no-ordinary golf trip. With its three tougher than tough sets of nines, and an even more difficult short course, Silver Lakes will test even the toughest.