
Timberline Course
Timberline Golf Club

About this course
Timberline Golf Club in Calera, Alabama, opened in the mid-1990s as a Jerry Pate design serving the growing communities south of Birmingham. Pate, a former U.S. Open champion who turned to course architecture after his playing career, has designed several courses across Alabama and the Southeast, typically emphasizing playability for a range of skill levels while incorporating the natural terrain. Timberline reflects this approach, routed through rolling piedmont landscape characteristic of central Alabama, with elevation changes and wooded corridors defining many holes. The course sits in Shelby County, part of the Birmingham metropolitan area's southern expansion along the Interstate 65 corridor. The routing takes advantage of the property's natural contours, with fairways moving through stands of pine and hardwood. Water features come into play on several holes, and the design includes strategic bunkering that rewards accurate placement over pure distance. The layout provides variety in hole lengths and shot requirements, typical of Pate's work during this period. Timberline serves primarily as a daily-fee facility, accessible to public play while also hosting member events and local competitions. The course has been part of the area's golf landscape for nearly three decades, offering a Jerry Pate design option in a region where golf development accelerated during the 1990s. It represents the kind of regional course that provides solid golf in a natural setting without the tournament pedigree or national rankings of Alabama's more prominent venues.
Rankings
Ranked by CV ratings from golfers who've played this course. Positions are shown worldwide, by country, and by state; the Public column compares courses anyone can play.
Best in World
Best in USA
Best in AL
Quick facts
- Location
- Calera, AL, USA
- Access
- Public
- Year built
- 2002
- Holes
- 18
- Designer
- Jerry Pate
- Par
- 71
- Length
- 6,745 yards
- Difficulty
- 73.3/137
- Course Vaults score
- 7.1
Getting there
Timberline Golf Club sits in the rolling terrain of central Alabama, most easily reached via Birmingham-Shuttleworth International Airport (BHM), roughly forty minutes north by car through the gentle transition from urban sprawl into the forested foothills that define this corner of the state. The drive south from Birmingham carries you through increasingly verdant countryside, where pine and hardwood stands thicken along the approach to Calera, a small town that serves as the quiet gateway to the club's secluded grounds. Those arriving by private aircraft will find nearby options including Bessemer Airport, though the final miles to Timberline unfold along rural roads that feel deliberately removed from the commercial world, arriving at a destination designed to reward the journey with championship-caliber golf set against Alabama's native woodland character.

FAQ
Common questions about Timberline
Ratings, design, and course details pulled from Course Vaults.
Timberline has a Course Vaults score of 7.1 out of 10 based on 21 logged golfers.
Timberline was designed by Jerry Pate.
Yes. Timberline is listed as welcoming public or guest play on Course Vaults.
Par at Timberline is 71.
Timberline plays 6,745 yards from the back tees on Course Vaults.
The slope rating at Timberline is 137.



