• Very clean older park in older neighborhood
• Course spread out over big, big area
• Concrete tee pads on all holes
• Multiple pin positions on all holes
• Lots of benches, trash cans
• Lots of shade--very helpful since I played during 100 degree weather
• Good mix of long/open and medium/technical holes
• Great mix of elevation: flat holes, up holes and down holes
• Creek in play on many holes affecting your shot selection
• Easy to navigate for a first-timer using the map printed from this website

• Lots of conflict with other park activities at busy times (walking trails, roads & pavilions)
• Many of the unique tee signs are heavily rusted and unreadable

This is a 20-year old course in an ancient park near downtown Birmingham, and both have aged quite well. The park is obviously well maintained as is the course. The landscaping was pristine and there was not a speck of trash to be found anywhere. Also, I observed the local guys at a few holes talking to the park officials to obtain permission to upgrade the tee pads with new concrete. Considering the tee pads are already in pretty good shape, this shows just how high a standard the locals want to maintain. I played at midday on a Friday when the park was virtually deserted, but during busy times I could see a lot of conflict with other park users since the course is intertwined with numerous walking trails and access roads. Otherwise, this is just a super nice course that I highly recommend as a "must play" to anyone in the area.

NOTE: I did not play (nor did I even see) the newest six holes since I was somewhat pressed for time, so this review is based on the original 18 holes only.

This is a very fun course to play regardless of skill. There are multiple pin positions. The course is very well maintained and clean. Makes good use of what elevation they had. It is a very forgiving course. Many birdies can be achieved. The park that it is in is very pretty.

Not a lot of real challenging holes and I could see it being a birdie or bust course pretty much for a pro level player. The 6 newest holes are ok at best and I think the original 18 could stand on there own.

I really enjoyed playing this course and will play it again when I am in the area. I ran into some of the locals and they were very friendly.

1) just a well thought out course, some trees, great use of elevation...ect

2) Nice people, ran into two other groups ( i was playing alone) and they both let me play through immediately

3) well maintained, saw a couple of tee pads being replaced...glad to see a course being worked on

4) GREAT tee signs.

5) fairly easy navigation

6) Scorecards...always a small plus in my book

1)Hole 4 and 16 both seemed off from the tee signs.

2) Holes A-F (the new ones i assume) while it is nice to have wooded holes, I was slipping all over the place on this hill...Carpet tees too...Fairly easy to follow, but most people still seemed to play the original 18

3)Hard finding hole 14's tee box, a directional sign would be useful...

overall, a good course, probably a 4 if not for holes A-F.

Located in the historic George Ward Park, which is just south of Downtown Birmingham, off 65. (Use the 10th Ave S entrance to access the DG course).
-Bulletin board at 1st, this is where you will find the Scorecards
-Well manicured, maintained, and landscaped park
-Multiple Pin Placements
-Great use of elevation. Multiple tee's will have you driving from atop a hill or along a hillside.
-Excellent and informative Tee signs, with maps, all 3 pin locations, and footage. As well as concrete tees. (A couple of the Tee signs are little bit faded)
-9 of the holes are between 300-400ft.
-There is an extra 6 holes between 14 and 15. (For the sake of time, I opted out of playing them.)
-Course is divided nicely, allowing for a quick 9 hole round on either front or back 9. Both Front and back 9 start and finish at the parking lot
-Beginner friendly, yet will still offer a challenge to the advanced player.
-Multiple water shots, discs should be easy to retrieve. ...for the most part.
-Vendors. Tom Monroe does sell discs here on certain days.
-Great overall "Fun Factor", This is one of my favorite courses.
-The people here have been very nice, and friendly.
-The people that are behind this course, have done an excellent job in maintaining this course. It looks great, and it's fun to play.

FWIW...
-George Ward now has a Dog Park or "Bark Park".

-Course is fairly easy to navigate, but a map could be a helpful aid for first timers. I would print one of from this site. (I threw on the wrong baskets a couple of times. Mainly because the basket appeared to be in the right place. This happened to me teeing off from #4, I threw on 6's basket and interrupted an other groups game. I apologized, though they didn't appear amused by my error.)
-You could find yourself playing near a family reunion or birthday party that is using the shelter house on 16.
-There are walking trails on some of the holes.
-Sometimes they will reorganize the baskets during a competition. They are usually changed the week of, and might still be in the same placements the week after. This could create some confusion, since they are not in sync with the board. (I've ran into this both times I've played here.)

I have always enjoyed visiting Birmingham, it is just a great city. Now I can add George Ward to my list of things "To do" while in town. George Ward offers a challenging course, where you will find yourself throwing a variety of shots. Each hole offers it's own unique challenge. Though it may not offer a big challenge to a pro;I have read where a few pros still enjoy playing here. It's a fun course to play, and the park itself is enjoyable to walk through. Here at George Ward, you will find yourself throwing up and down hills, across fields, and working lines between a fair amount of trees. Here you will be required to think about your lines, and plan your approach. Speaking of lines, definitely consider the power line on #7. I've been deflected twice by that power line, mainly because I didn't see it.

While I was waiting to tee off, I got to chat with Tom Monroe, the "course professional", for a few minutes. He talked to us about the history of the park, and the course itself. Which I found very interesting. He also helped navigate me around some of the different pin placements that were left over from the previous weekends tournament.

If you are in Birmingham, this course is a must play. I prefer to come here during the middle of the week, when it is less crowded. Everyone that I have met here has been very nice and friendly. I won't hold anything against the group whose game I interrupted! That was, after all, my fault! I look forward to playing George Ward every time I come to Birmingham.

This is a nice park setting that utilizes many old trees, lawns and open fields. The course accommodates a "grip & rip" type of play for a majority of the drives, while forcing accurate placement for the approaches on the longer holes. Topography is utilized well such as great elevation changes and a deep creek bed that runs through several holes.

The signature hole for me (as many others noted here) is #15, which tees from an elevated position out into a field with some early guardian trees, and the pin positioned in front od a deep creek bed, making most approaches a knee- knocker! If you can only play 9 holes, I recommend the back 9.

Each 9 holes loops back to the beginning- a big bonus. Nice tee pads, benches, and signs (though showing wear).

Without a map (or a local), there are many tees that would be difficult to find.

The longest hole #5 is a yawner - wide open, flat and not a single obstacle (has an OB path, but you really have to shank one).

Alternate holes (A-F) are not marked so I couldn't play them. Even the local I played with did not know how to play them! At LEAST they could number the baskets and mark the tees with temp. stakes and numbers.

Earlier reviews mentioned that the pin positions are ALL in A, B, or C. That was not the case when I was here.

You must enter through the North end of the park, and go to the 2nd lot.

The course has a good mix of all types of holes and shots required- short/long, up/down, open/wooded. The water hazards are interesting, fun, and fair. Other obstacles are trees, boulders, hills, and power lines.

There are 24 holes, with options. If you want to only play 9 holes, you can choose the front or back and each brings you right back to the parking lot. You can also insert the new 6 holes on the back.

I thought the overall course design was excellent, nice variety and spread out. Each hole is unique with several memorable holes (little to no repetition from hole to hole). Tee signs are fantastic and the kiosk is very informative. The locals were very friendly and helpful.

My favorite thing about this course was the combination of 3 basket locations per hole, the tee signs, and the system of basket placement. Each hole has 3 pin placements (A, B, C) and the kiosk tells you what placement is being used that day which makes locating the baskets a breeze. The tee signs clearly indicate the 3 positions. But what I love is that the A location is not the shortest on every hole. Sometimes B is the shortest, sometimes C, same for middle and longest. This means that all 3 rotations are relatively equal in total course length. (In contrast with- one day it is easy breezy day, and another day you decide to make every hole a par 4 so you don't feel so bad, like so many courses I have played.) The course designer and basket movers deserve a lot of credit here.

The new 6 holes. Yeah, it adds 6 holes, but to me they detract from the rest of the course (at least right now.) First, they are poorly marked, and baskets and tees are hard to find. I played a couple of the holes to wrong baskets. Second, they don't really fit in with the style of the rest of the course, thicker woods with narrow fairways, the area is not as pretty as the rest of the course and, and a few holes are very close to a busy exterior road. However, the nice thing is they are set up in such a way that you can play them or skip them without interrupting course flow or adding long, unnecessary walks. It seems most people were only playing the original 18. So these 6 holes are only a minor con because you have the option (which in some ways could be a plus!)

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. Hole #1 is a great starting hole. The 2 holes over the ditch are terrific. Much fun playing here! I would highly recommend this course, I would like to get a chance to play it again.

I like it better than the other popular course in Birmingham (Civitan), and it seems most people feel the same, because this course was crowded and Civitan was practically deserted.

George Ward Park represents the fundamentals of maximizing a given space and showing players what good course design looks like. Its looping design allows players to play a quick nine holes (front or back at their choosing), take in a full 18, or be a little adventurous and play the bonus six holes for a full 24 hole experience.

Much like Civitan Park (John LeMaster DGC), this course makes good use of the elevation, trees, water hazards, and other terrain features. Plus, I love having water hazards come into play, but never have to worry about actually losing my disc.

There is decent length variation from the short 200' shots, to some high 300' and 400' bombs indicative of early 90's designs. The longer holes are very open allowing you to really shape a big drive, while many holes make you shoot a precise line if you're hunting for birdie.

Also, there are three possible basket locations, which get rotated frequently to keep the course playing fresh. In addition, holes #5 and #13 had an additional long basket to shoot for if the front placement isn't enough challenge for you.

BEST HOLE/S: #13; #15

Some of the tee boxes definitely show their age, and I almost sprained an ankle on the absurdly short #12 box, which is unfortunate since it plays as such a nicely elevated tee area. Crowds can also be an issue - with this being the only course centrally located in Birmingham. Plus, there are many other walkers and other park uses you'll need to be wary to watch for. If you're not a crowd person - this course can be a real pain.

The bonus six holes - is this a negative or just an interesting bonus? The good - you get six more tree lined holes to play that again utilize the elevation, obstacles, and length to its greatest advantage. The bad - they are completely unmarked, so you had better be willing to scour the hill for worn down dirt pads tees and shoot to what you hope is the correct basket. Hole F is the easiest to spot being in close relation to #14 and #15, so you'll just have to make the choice if you want this additional experience. My ranking doesn't suffer because of these holes, but it certainly doesn't improve it much either.

WORST HOLE/S: #5; #7

Although I personally wasn't playing well that day, I still was impressed how a 20-year old course could still hold a challenge to today's player. I had an equally good time playing Civitan Park (John LeMaster DGC), but rate this course higher based on the better overall course design and versatility that has made it the most popular course in the greater Birmingham area. Play it, and enjoy.

Great course hole designing! Multiple holes. Ace tee pad. Great atmosphere! Well maintained park! Go play this course,, its worth it! Holes are easy to find. A-F extra holes after ur 18!

Have to wait to civilians to walk before u tee off. A-F holes dont have good hole directions.

Great course to play. one of my favorites yet!

Lots of variety. Well maintained. I beat Johnny G and the rest in our group.

It was crowed, but I was playing on a Saturday afternoon.

If you get a map from Google maps to the coordinated for this course, it will take you to a dead end next to the park. Enter the park through the main entrance.

This course is right off of I-65 and is very easy to get to. The course is set in a clean park and has concrete pads, mulitple pin locations, and a couple of pro pins as well. There are an extra 6 holes inbetween 14 and 15 that you can play if you like but don't have too.

This course was not a tough play and is pretty begginer/intermediate friendly but was a ton of fun to play. You have a good mix of up hill, down hill, long, short, water, woods, and open. There are no reall heavily wooded holes and the wooded holes are very clean. Not much underbrush. There was almost no poison ivy on the course. #6, 13, and 15 stand out the most to me and were my favorites on the course. The course was extremely easy to fallow and flowed well. There wasn't a hole on the course that I really disliked.

There is a nice disc golf store right before the park that had a good selection of discs.

The signs are faded and some cannot be read at all. They need to be replace.

The course is pretty easy. Do not expect a championship style round.

THis was just a really fun course to play. I played it twice while I was in town and really enjoyed it. If you are a good player you are not going to find a lot of stress but you will still enjoy the variety of holes and nice clean setup. This course is very well designed for anyone to be able to play it. If you are close it is well worth playing.

The local club has put a lot of work into this course with muliple basket positions, kisosk, signage, some engineering work such as steps and bridges. It's fine land for a course with nice rolling terrain, enough trees for shade on the Alabama days and a drainage ditch to throw over and around. The course is very well designed in that both the front and back nine start and finish at the parking lot. This gives one the option of playing 9 holes (front or back), the full 18, or the extended 24, all the while starting and ending at the lot. Six additional holes have been added up on a hill. This course is not the longest but provides enough challenge but most every players. Pros are probably looking for a course with more distance. The local pro always seems to be in the parking lot selling discs and talking golf.

It's a high use park and much of the course crosses a new walking/jogging path. Also a picnic shelter comes into play on one hole. The recently installed walking/jogging path creates some very tight OB on some holes. Local pro giving unsolicted advice.

The added six holes aren't yet fully developed, no teepads or signs, but that will come. It's a little bit difficult to find the park as the park entrance isn't signed. Read 33tango other thoughts on getting to the course. Well worth playing in the Birmingham area.

This course could be a 4 or 4.5 if not for the walking paths. It presents a variety of fairways which demand creative and accurate shots without artificial OB's or masses of trees. Only a few holes are actually in the woods. Most wind through a well-manicured park, and use the available elevation, water, trees, and shrubberies to great effect. The alternate pin positions are significant but mostly add just distance. The concrete tees are good size and have excellent signs. There is also a great putting basket near hole #1. Restrooms, trashcans, water, and other ammenities are available but not overly convenient. The locals are friendly, I've never seen the course empty, and on average the course seems to be used by more skilled players than most courses. (So, you can probably get a good, competitive round in when you drop by.)

Many of the holes (particularly on the front nine) require throwing over walking paths or drives. My favorite hole, #15, is a great shot off a hill and out of the woods over a creek, but it is marred slightly by crossing a road and by its proximity to a patio-like seating area. A few of the tees on the back nine are hard to find the first time. Also, beware the red clay of Alabama; when the guys before you have tracked it onto the tees, they will stay slick.

I'm partial to a course that starts and ends with a relatively easy shot near the parking lot. This course does so.

The best thing about the course is Tom Monroe hanging out in the parking lot. Talking to him would be very usefulf for new players, but apart from that, I'd recommend the course to more advanced players. The holes are a little long for newbies, and the hills can be wearying if you're just out for a lark in the park.

The local disc golf club is active; check their event calendar if you are planning to drop by.

The park has a few entrances. Not all of them will lead you to the disc golf course. Check a map; you need to get to the top of the hill, behind the tennis courts.

A great mix of long, short, and medium holes. Hole 5 is great to grip-it-and-rip-it with a pin around 415 ft. and another permanent hole for a little more experienced player that is around 480 to maybe 500 ft. away. Different pin locations that change every 2 to 3 weeks. Very fun course and will play for years to come.

Not a fun place to play when it has rain the days before. It can get very soggy n wet. Very to twist your ankle if you don't watch your step. Hole 13 can be somewhat difficult for right handed players with a good 6 ft. deep ditch/creek right in the middle of the fairway.

Great course to play. I would recommend it to anyone in the area.

Parking lot is situated to where it is centered on course, course flows away at #1 and back at #9, away at 10 and back at 18. Local vendor on site selling discs. Concrete tee pads. Lots of friendly locals, at 4pm on a Wednesday course was seeing heavy use but it moved along pretty quickly. Course layout makes good use of elevation especially on #15, a great signature hole starting you out at a height throwing down across a bumblebee laden clover field next to a stream, very scenic. A very fun course with interesting pin placement and shot shaping requirements to get through the vegetation in places.

Many unleashed uncurbed dogs leaving canine landmines on the front 9, especially at the water on #4. Slight safety concern on #16, lots of players hyzering near a group of people at the pavilion having to yell "FORE" to try and avoid hitting other park goers. Improved erosion control needed in places. Some irregular sized (short) tees or tees with unforgiving drop offs at the end. The bridge from #15 to #16 needs some work.

I played alone rather than try and find a group but the group ahead offered to let me play through. I declined and watched the group ahead so I knew where some of the tee locations are. Asking around before starting my round I got the tee locations (all in "c" position noted on tee signs) and warnings about blind water in places(left side of #4). If you only have time to play 9, play the back nine so you can play #15. Did not notice any restrooms. Enter park from the north heading south, turning in off 16th Ave S. through entrance to what looks like the projects apartments. Somewhat baffling, there is no sign for the park on 16th Ave. As you drive into the park ignore the first parking lot and bear left at the tennis shop, continue to the end and that is the disc golf parking lot.

The course at George Ward Park has had a great deal of work put into it. I think that the landscaping around the course gives it a country club feel. There is an informative kiosk beside hole 1. The tiered stairs down to the tee pad at hole 1 are very well groomed and start your round off with an interesting ambience. As for the course itself, all baskets and tees are in excellent shape. The design is solid and elevation and doglegs are used well. It is not the most difficult course I have ever played, but I still found it to be challenging.

The 6 extra holes need maturing. There are no tee pads there yet. There are also very few dirctional signs to follow to locate the next tee. Since this was only for the new 6, I didn't let it factor a great deal into my rating. I am sure that eventually these will be better. We were from out of town...and the park was busy...but no one else ventured onto these 6 holes. All the locals we saw skipped them.

I really enjoyed this course. It was definitely the best course we played in Alabama on this trip. I have played UAH as well and i believe this course is on par with it. Not from the difficulty standpoint, but I found George Ward to be much more enjoyable.

While I am not sure of the number, my favorite hole is the sweeping hyzer that plays downhill and over the large trench. Since it had rained so much that week, there was quite a river flowing through it. I just really loved that shot. I also enjoyed hole 1 and the basket location. (in a group of rocks) I am sure they move the baskets occasionally but I thought it was a very neat location. Geaorge Ward Park is a great stop for anyone passing through. There are a few other courses in the Birmingham area, but in my humble opinion, George Ward is the cream of the crop. The locals were extremely friendly and even gave us directions to our next stop. Many were just hanging out in the parking lot, just talking to each other. They must have a very solid local club.

To close the review, The course design, groundskeeping, and terrain make this an excellent course. The friendly people are the icing on the cake.

I liked the variety of terrain some flat some elevation mixed with wooded and semi open.water hazard adds to the course,it was truly fun to play

some holes were harder to find and a bit confusing with multiple pin placements with the signs not changed.

anytime I am in the area I would play it again,it has a great atmosphere and degree of diffuculty which is worth going back for.

The People, Very Challenging, good layout, lots of different hole options, well maintained, very nice scenery

Almost too challenging, some of the mando's seemed unnecessary

I played this course with a few friends one being a local while passing through it was a great time everybody was friendly and willing to chat for a bit as well as talk to trash cross holes with other groups. It was definitly a fun course even though my score didn't reflect it

The original 18 holes have good concrete tee pads with 3 pin placements for every hole. They also have 6 more holes, but they are not as developed at this time. With the many pin placements, decent elevation change, and the beauty of the park, this is a great course that is fun to play for players of all skill levels. From what I can tell, they keep the positions mixed most of the time, so that the course is never too easy, but also never too difficult for casual players, as well as keeping a great mixture on the shot variety throughout the course. The park seems to be well taken care of, with active casual players who are there at all times of the day. The course does loop back to the front at the half way point.

As already mentioned the 6 new holes could use concrete tees, to further compliment the course, particularly come tournament time. The long pins help but the course could use some longer shots to challenge the pros.

I love playing this course, but it is fairly open. Even in the longs, the challenge is generally to try and get the birdie on most every hole for higher level players. With that said, as a whole, the design is excellent considering the amount of elevation and trees they have to work with.

The local club is very active and is always making improvements and running lots of tournaments at this course. As mentioned, Tom Monroe is almost always at the course selling discs and hanging out with players.

Well manicured with a decent amount of elevation change. Multiple pin positions. Two or three legitmate ace runs.

Probably not tough enough to challenge pros or advanced players.

Mainly open with strategically placed trees.

A very fair course with a great mix off the tee pad on every hole. Sparse trees with the 18 orignal holes; very wooded extra 6 holes. Multiple pin placements on nearly every hole (3 on most, 4 on a few) providing for great variability with each round. Great elevation providing for some nervy putts and unlucky roll aways (I guess a con for some ;-)) There are some blue tees on a few of the holes which aren't clearly marked (natural pads) but provide for an extra challenge on many holes.

Not very challenging for pro players. Not a pitch and putt course by any means but there's not a lot of distance. Three holes have placements beyond 400 ft, every other hole is very easily reachable from the tee. Its hard to get into trouble on the course due to a lack of trees and OB. The extra six are natural tees which can make for an awkward transition during tournament play.

This is my home course and its where I learned the game. Its a great course for me to bring my friends out and introduce them to the game. The local club (DGB) is very active and making lots of improvements around the course. Course pro Tom Monroe sells discs out of his van in the parking lot and is out there almost everday. If you're in the area this is definately a course worth stopping by and playing.