An utterly beautiful plot of land with lots of good par-3 golf.

-Amenities: Concrete pads, DISCatchers, tee signs with only number, par, and distance, kiosk with map and such.

-Beauty: Phenomenal. Most of the course is in hilly, lush woods with plenty of older trees, but towards the end there are a few more open holes along the river, which is also nice. One of my favorite courses period if I were rating on natural surroundings.

-Elevation: Abundant. Some very steep holes, some more gentle ones, and some flat ones. A couple of valley holes are fun.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: A very enjoyable series of par-3s making good use of the land. Plenty of birdie opportunities, but also a couple of harder holes that will be a challenging 2. The front 11 are mostly very technical, mixing all sorts of shapes with multiple elevation scenarios. The end of the course opens up more, with a lot of medium-wide or field fairways leading to closed-off greens. Highlight holes for me include the par-4 (3), hole (4) leading over a valley with a cave mouth directly behind the basket, hole (13) shooting over a creek into the hilly woods, and hole (14) in the open with a gap and a creek crossing, but you'd get a different list from any other player. Overall, a lot of opportunities to throw a decently powerful shot that requires good touch to score the birdie.

-Atmosphere: Really a combination of all the above factors, because separated they don't do the course justice. Etowah is fun to play. It's relaxing and challenging, easygoing and rewarding. This is the kind of course whose flaws you're willing to overlook because it's a great time anyway.

-Multi-Shot Holes: I think the biggest strike against Etowah is that it only has one true multi-shot hole. I think a great course should include a variety of off-the-tee decisions beyond "which disc will get me parked", and to exclude that level of variety keeps a course from reaching the circle of Excellence.

-Running out of Steam: Not a big con, but this is one of those courses that feels like it's just trying to get back to the parking lot after 14 or so. The holes aren't bad per se, but they're hardly striking and the least interesting part of the course.

-Signage: For a course as nice as Etowah, I'd like to see maps on the tee signs.

-Drainage: (1)-(5) had some problematic mud, and judging from other reviews they are often this way.

-Exertion: Be ready for a hilly workout.

Etowah is a thoroughly enjoyable round of disc golf in an enchanting woods environment. Although the variety may not be top level, I'd recommend the course to anybody who wants a soothing stop on a trip, or just a place to chase birdies in the woods.

Exotic, unforgettable mountainside terrain presents unusual challenges. Accuracy is vital to negotiate narrow, often wooded paths along lowlands bordering a small creek. Other longer tunnel holes such as Holes 3 and 18 reward distance as well as accuracy. Some holes open up a little but still have tough tree obstacles, such as Hole 12 and Holes 15 through 17. Signature holes include the famous 'cave hole' (Hole 4), which is advantageous for overhand and forehand shots, and a thriller ravine hole with hillside obstacles (Hole 7). The tee pads are astro-turf covered and work well, and likely took a ton of work to put in.

The rocky, mountainside terrain is difficult to walk on and traverse, with hiking shoes or boots necessary. There are some benches but due to the presence of wildlife trash cans are few and far between. Though this course is memorable and unique, the majority of the holes are tightly wooded. Fun factor is average. Some water hazards may force you to part with a favorite disc or two.

This is a highly recommended course, with some reservations. Be sure to have rugged foot gear, and be careful on some of the slopes. $5 entry fee.

(3.562 Rating) A moderate to heavily wooded course of intermediate difficulty.
- RAW BEAUTY - One of the more beautiful courses I've ever played and currently in my personal top 15 (268 courses played as of this review) Etowah plays threw the Red Top Mountain area, specifically Vineyard Mountain, and has holes that play threw valleys and small ridges. On hole (13), one can get partial view of Allatoona Dam and full views of the Etowah river. The course is two thirds heavily wooded and manmade structures are limited to park buildings and parks roads.
- HOLE 4 - Wow! I'm at +4,000 unique holes played now and this one would make my personal top 5 favorites. No spoiler description from me, experience it for yourself.
- UNIQUENESS - The hole variety is better than most courses. For one, this is not a fully heavily wooded course, there are some lightly wooded holes on the back nine. There are also a bunch of elevation changes in the +20 foot range and a one maxes out at around 50 feet down on hole (11). Mostly par 3s but a couple shorter par 4s. Holes twist left and right, although the RHBH hyzer play seemed to be more prevalent. Other missing items include a dogleg par 4s, a par 5s and a register-able water play. Yes (12) has water along the entire right side, but it's already out of bounds with the fence before the water.
- CHALLENGING - This course manages to find the perfect middle ground between too easy and too hard with the one set of tees and basket locations. It reads as an intermediate level course and will have these players averaging even to 4 down. I could see recreational thru advanced level players loving this course. Probably not the best course for beginners. Also not championship difficult for the pros, but then again, how many course are?
- CHARACTER - For a young course, not too bad. For one thing, perfect baskets for a woods course with the yellow bands peaking through the trees. Also two practice baskets with distances marked off in the parking lot. There are also drive markers on both par 4s. Great course map at the community board. Simple tee signs showing number and distance that will need to be upgraded. Benches were already at lots of the tees on my visit and shading is at almost all of them as well.
- NAVIGATION - Pretty good. As stated, great course map near (1). Take a picture or have it printed, as I took a couple peaks. Also nice wooded arrows below every basket and a few other directional cues as well. Nice bridges and a couple wood stairs are now installed. The course is not cart friendly IMO however.

Very few issues with Etowah.
- TEES - Among the better turf tees I've played on, but still turf. 5.5 feet wide by 10.5 feet long with a yellow foul line. (15's) tee had the turf blown over due to the wind, probably from the windy day before, but I was able to correct it. (9) and (11) were really abbreviated tees being only 4 or 5 feet long, but in all fairness, major kudos to those involved hauling and constructing these in a hard to reach area. A few of the pads were showing a touch of unevenness.
- AFTER HOLE 11 - The course is consistently entertaining threw 11 holes. Starting at hole (12) the hole to hole quality degrades a bit over the beginning's euphoric high. (12) and (14-17) all play along park roads. The early heavily woodsy portion dissolves to become more lightly to moderately wooded. There is also less elevation and it has the look and feel of a typical city park course. I liked the rocks around (17's) basket, but then (18) was an anticlimactic average looking wide tunnel shot hole. In hindsight I kind of wish the course started at (5) and ended at (4). I was very temped to re-throw (4) walking by it after finishing (18).
- HOLE 7 - A poke and hope shot without a realistic line. I predict a widening at some point.
- PAY TO PLAY - A few bucks to enter the park. Worth it for this course.
- TERRAIN - Some steep terrain on a few holes that's probably too raw for many. Those that have bad knees or ankles should stay clear of this course.

I wish I lived nearby. Cause I'd definitely have a seasonal pass and would be playing this all the time. What an awesome start for a newer course. Anyone traveling along I75 between Chattanooga and Atlanta needs to take a quick pit stop here and check this gem out. Etowah will be beloved by those that are fans of beautiful courses. As this course continues to get more upgrades, I'm sure it will start to challenge the top DGCR rated Atlanta area courses like Tyus, Mulberry and Perkerson. No doubt Etowah's a top 25 Georgia course and its probably knocking on the door of the top 10.
- DRAINAGE - From reading a previous review, I was a bit worried about standing water and mud as I played two days after a one inch rain event. Hole (1) was flooded pretty good, but other than that, just a couple muddy holes and the remainder of the course was dry.
- TIME PLAY - I finished in just over an hour solo. There are a couple long walks between a few holes. Figure a four sum should play this one in about 2 hours.