The Alabama Golf Foundation recently purchased 80 acres next to Pine Tree Golf & Country Club to build Golf House Alabama, a hub that will house the state’s golf organizations alongside a new Alabama Golf Hall of Fame. Construction is expected to begin this November, with the facility slated to open in 2028.
Alabama Golf Foundation + Irondale land deal timeline
The Alabama Golf Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit formally incorporated in Alabama on April 3, 2026, according to Secretary of State filings, growing out of a partnership between the Alabama Golf Association and the PGA of America’s Alabama-Northwest Florida Section. The foundation is currently raising money toward a $30 million goal to cover the first phase of construction.
State filings list Grantland Rice III as the foundation’s registered agent and an incorporator, alongside directors James M. Gorrie and Eric Eshleman.
Two Irondale City Council actions cleared the way for the site:
- November 4, 2025 — Approved the sale of 45 acres, the site of the former Shades Valley Auto Tech facilities, which the city had used to house its fire administration building
- May 5, 2026 — Expanded the sale to 81.229 acres
Gorrie, executive chairman of Birmingham-based general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie and a member of the USGA Executive Committee, helped secure the site and has been advancing the foundation’s capital campaign. Through his company, Pine Whispers LLC, Gorrie separately acquired the neighboring Pine Tree Golf & Country Club in May 2026…