The Ledges

Getting To Know: The Ledges

An Insightful Interview With Terry Wilbanks, Membership Director, PGA Class A Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Terry Wilbanks who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
At 1,582 feet, the highest point in Huntsville, The Ledges offers an 18-hole Championship Golf Course like no other in Alabama. The course was designed by Hurdzan/Fry GCD, Inc. and first opened in 2000. Designer, Michael Hurdzan, was named Designer of the Year in 2003 by Golf Magazine for his work at The Ledges. Members experience breathtaking panoramic views for the valley, downtown Huntsville, and even the Space and Rocket Center.

Bent grass greens, zoysia fairways, and bermuda rough make up the landscape of the course. Designed with five different sets of tees, sculpted greens and wide rolling fairways, the course offers an outstanding and memorable golf experience for golfers of all skill levels.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Ranked #3 in State behind Shoal Creek and Birmingham CC.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The golf course was built around top of Huntsville Mountain, and a tee shot going left will fall some 1,500 feet off the ledge.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
Best golf course in Huntsville, by Huntsville Times Reader poll.

In the top 5 in the State by Golf Digest.

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
#15 Tee and #18 Green, panoramic views of valley and Tenn. river.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The Ledges Burger, sweet potatoe fries and an Arnold Palmer!

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Spike McRoy 64 non competitive championship tees

Back Tee Stats
Par: 71
Yardage: 7136
Slope: 132
Rating: 74.9

More Information
The Ledges
32 Castle Down Drive
Huntsville, Alabama, 35802
256-883-4191
www.theledges.com

Revised: 09/18/2012 - Article Viewed 33,017 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.