Pros:
(3.739 Rating) A typical city park course through 3 holes... then awesomeness.
- SKILL LEVEL FRIENDLY - Three sets of tees, albeit only the middle set is paved. This fact really makes Bowers accessible to a wide range of skill levels. IMO, I thought the white layout was Recreational. The Red layout read as Intermediate and the Black layout reads as Advanced. My only quarrels with this, is that this set up does not follow the standard color levels as established by the PDGA and it will be confusing to out of town visitors. I get that these are school colors, but not switching the red and white designations is a head scratcher.
- CHALLENGING - The Black tees are going to be whooping grounds to non-advanced players as they require a great deal of accuracy and some length. Lots of shot shaping and needle lines to thread as well. There are a few holes that work in some creek elements around the basket placements. Holes (1) thru (3) from the blacks are going to require some bombs. Depending on placement, several of these par 3s or 4s go well over 400 feet.
- RAW BEAUTY - After 3 holes I was a bit disappointed thinking "What an overrated course." Then on Hole (4) "Nice." Hole (5), "Very Nice." Hole (6) "Cool." Hole (7) "Wow, this is a great trend." Hole (8) "Solid." Hole (9) "Excellent." Hole (10) "Flip'n Awesome!" The pleasant words to describe the remainder of the course continued all the way to the end. In totality I scored the course roughly a 4 of out of 5 for beauty which would be in my top 40.
- ELEVATION - One of the most moving layouts I've played in Alabama. Several shots have over 30 feet of grade play in them. The Black tee play on (10) no doubt has the most change approaching 60 feet down. For Alabama, the only courses that I know of that go more extreme are Inverness, Clay and Lake Point.
- UNIQUENESS - In addition to elevation, just about all the plays are here. Benders left and right. There are defined pocket shots and tree gaps to split. A few water elements in the form of a 15-foot-wide creek. There are a couple park style par 4s in the beginning and a number of shorter technical plays. If I were to call out a missing element, it would be placement par 4s and 5s.
- RED TEES - Concrete tees of above average size, 5 feet by 12 feet.
- CHARACTER - A bunch of amenities as to be expected from an established course. A Community board at tee (1), although no course map was posted. The one on DGCR seems to be accurate. Adequate handmade signs showing distance, obstacles and large hole #. Seating is on just about every hole. Lots of extra basket placements. I want to say that every hole had at least 3 locations and (13) had 4 locations.
- NAVIGATION - I downloaded the map on DGCR yet I rarely ever glanced at it. Perhaps I was a good guesser on this day but there were lots of intuitive pathways and some direction cues as well. Tee signs show next tee direction.
Cons:
A solid course with most cons being just preferential issues.
- FORGIVENESS - Lots of tighter fairways on this course and I would not advise bringing anyone newer to the game out here. I don't care how good a player thinks they are, they are going to have a bad ricochet a few times and the disc is going to land in some substantial thicket. Some of my recovery plays had no good look at the basket. There are also a few water plays on holes (11) thru (13) where some of basket placements will make a player question their determination to throw at the chains. The creek level on my play was low enough to easily retrieve a disc but I could see lost discs in the creek one or two days after a heavy rain.
- POISON IVY - Not surprisingly, the overgrowth has some patches of poison ivy. The center cut fairways were generally clear of this awful plant but players will no doubt ping a tree at some point and end up in it. I suggest wearing pants or developing an immunity.
- BASKET LOCATION INDICATOR - With all the basket placements, I would have loved to have seen this feature on the tee signage. Players may have to run down fairways to check basket placements on a few holes. Note, they may have been there at one time as I could see nails to nothingness below the tee signs.
- LACK OF MULTI-PLAY HOLES - Yes there are a few par 4s on the first three holes depending on basket placement, but there really aren't any placement holes. I realize this is getting epic picky but I always enjoy it when a course throws me at least a couple holes where I have to accurately execute my plan to leave a play towards the basket on a hole or two.
- SAFETY HAZARDS - Holes (1) thru (3) play along roads and playground equipment.
- DISCONTINUITY - Hole (18) finishes a good 500 feet from tee (1).
- WHITE AND BLACK TEES - These tees are just carpet and I'd say a good majority were uneven. They are just a slight upgrade over natural ground. It seems that the Red Layout must get almost all the plays as a few lines from the alternate tees seemed a tad overgrown out of the shoot.
- TERRAIN - Anyone with bad knees should stay clear of this course. Some of the natural bridges crossing the creeks seemed a bit sketchy. I don't even recall seeing a bridge for the far placement on (11). Perhaps I missed it in my haste considering the basket on my play was up against the creek and not across it.
Other Thoughts:
Bowers is one those courses that teases players with the notion of a blah open park style course, only to dive deep into a majestic forest. There has been a lasting memory on so many tee shots at Bowers that it inclined me to favorite the course soon after. As of this review, Bowers is one of only four course I've favorited in Alabama (61 AL courses played as of this review). The other 3 courses are Inverness, Indian Creek and The Admiral. The course is very similar to Seven Oaks in Nashville TN and Richmond Hill in Asheville NC. Is this a destination course? Absolutely for those that live in Mississippi or Alabama. Overall I have this course as a tweener, falling just shy of the 3.75 threshold for a 4. I actually inputted the numbers three separate times for Bowers and had it fall just shy of 3.75 twice and basically right on the number once. I'd definitely give it a 3.75 if I were allowed to do so. It's a great course.
- TIME PLAY - Average or a touch longer in time play for an 18 hole course. This one took me a hair over an hour to complete solo first time through. Figure 2 to 2 ½ hours for a foursome.